South Korea's Hyundai Robotics Co. said Friday it has joined hands with fried chicken franchise KFC Korea Co. to automate the chicken cooking process.

Under the preliminary deal with KFC Korea, Hyundai Robotics, a unit of global shipbuilding giant Hyundai Heavy Industries Holdings Co. (HHIH), will develop the automation process to cook chickens by using robots.

KFC Korea will provide its stores and cooking know-how under the deal.

Food Tech applying high-end technologies to the food industry is attracting attention in the IT and food industries amid the new coronavirus pandemic.

The global food-tech market is estimated to grow an annual average 5.8 percent to $250 billion in 2022, Hyundai Robotics said, quoting a report by global market researcher Research and Markets.

Hyundai Robotics, which was spun off from HHIH in May, has been expanding its business line from industrial robots to service robots to be used in hotels, cafes and homes.

In that vein, the company signed a deal with South Korean mobile carrier KT to cooperate in the robot business last June.

Under the deal, Hyundai Robotics will develop the bodies of robots, while KT will focus on software development using its 5G network, artificial intelligence (AI) and big data solutions. (Yonhap)