As the global tech industry transitions beyond the proof-of-concept phase, physical AI and the low-altitude economy are rapidly reshaping the commercial landscape. Against this backdrop, the Daegu Metropolitan City hosted the 2026 Future Innovation Technology Exhibition (FIX 2026) at Daegu EXCO from October 21 to 24. The premier event showcased how emerging technologies, particularly artificial intelligence, are breaking out of the laboratory and achieving large-scale commercial deployment.
On the hardware innovation front, Urban Air Mobility (UAM) and intelligent robotics took center stage on the exhibition floor. Germany’s Volocopter brought its iconic eVTOL aircraft fuselage to the show, where Daegu Mayor took a personal ride in the cabin. Ground mobility solutions also delivered major highlights: Hyundai Motor unveiled an autonomous firefighting robot alongside the debut of its ATRIA AI autonomous driving system; NT1 partnered with Neolix to showcase the RoboVan autonomous delivery vehicle; and HD Hyundai Robotics presented a high-precision dual-arm collaborative robot.
Targeting specific industry pain points, exhibitors showcased a wide array of AI solutions with clear, closed-loop business models. The Doosan Robotics Scan&Go system, winner of a CES 2026 Innovation Award, MegazoneCloud’s latest cloud management architecture, and diverse applications spanning AI-powered unmanned retail, fracture surgery navigation, and odor control collectively underscored the deep penetration of technology into vertical sectors. During the academic and industry dialogue sessions, Professor Cho Kyu-jin from Seoul National University declared the dawn of a new era in physical AI robotics. Meanwhile, scholars from General Motors, the Vector Institute, and PAL Robotics provided in-depth analyses of the latest breakthroughs in multimodal large models and embodied AI.
The four-day tech extravaganza drew over a hundred dignitaries from government, business, and academia, including HD Hyundai Vice Chairman Cho Seok, Doosan Robotics CEO Kwon Young-min, and Brian McMurray, President of General Motors Korea Technology Center. To demystify the technology for the general public, the organizers set up interactive zones featuring drone shooting, generative AI creation at the KT AI Station, and robots serving coffee and ice cream. The exhibition was open daily from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., with early closing at 4:00 p.m. on Saturday. To ensure a seamless attendee experience, complimentary shuttle buses ran on a continuous loop between Dongdaegu Station and the venue at intervals of 30 to 60 minutes.