Upbeat117,000 people came to Daegu to see AI leave the lab — robots, air taxis and a store with no staff
South Korea's Future Innovation Tech Expo, FIX 2026, drew more than 117,000 visitors over four days in Daegu, with 588 companies filling 2,000 booths under the theme 'AI, Beyond Tech into Reality'. Visitors boarded Germany's VoloCity air taxi, watched dual-arm robots and unmanned firefighting machines, and shopped at a fully automated robotic convenience store. An autonomous robot that explores sinkholes before they swallow streets won friends, as did a posture-reading system for rehabilitation. The expo's innovation awards recognised 31 companies, export consultations reached $353 million, and 91 global partners from 12 countries came to meet Korean startups. 'AI-based advanced technologies transform industrial sites and citizens' daily lives,' said Daegu mayor Kyungho Choo.
SDG 9 · Industry, innovation and infrastructure — Mechanism: institutional program