A representative from H Robotics participating in the startup event 'LG Connect' is demonstrating a rehabilitation assistive robot suit.
[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyewon] LG Group is strengthening its global open innovation to discover and nurture promising startups through 'Ontact (Untact + Online)'.
LG will hold 'LG CONNECT with Startup,' an event to explore exchanges and joint research and development (R&D) with startups, over two days from the 14th to the 15th. Now in its third year, the event has been renamed from 'Startup Tech Fair' to 'LG CONNECT' to signify expanding the startup ecosystem by broadening connections not only between LG and global startups but also with the general public.
In line with the new normal era, this year's LG CONNECT will be held as an online virtual exhibition. Fifty innovative startups selected through a seven-month open call by LG will participate, showcasing their proprietary technologies and demonstrating products in fields such as healthcare, mobility, lifestyle-related artificial intelligence (AI) solutions, virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) technologies, and robotics.
The virtual exhibition features ▲ 'FakeEyes' VR education solution, which provides a virtual reality experience that makes users feel as if they are attending classes in a classroom from home through VR ▲ 'iDOT's AI technology that analyzes medical images to detect the presence, severity, and condition of diseases, assisting medical professionals in diagnostic decisions ▲ 'Hempking's technology that reads invoice information received from around the world, inputs it into customs systems, and calculates customs fees entirely through RPA and AI ▲ 'H Robotics' rehabilitation assistive robot suit that enables physical rehabilitation therapy at home using robotic technology.
The virtual exhibition can be easily accessed by anyone via PC or mobile devices. The general public can enjoy the innovative startups' technologies and products through the website and app. Visitors can watch introduction videos of participating companies and ask questions in real-time chat to receive answers.
Through online live streaming on the website and app, seminars on various topics related to the startup ecosystem and the latest technology trends will be held, including 'Mobility Market in the Post-COVID Era' and 'Global Expansion of AI Companies and AI Status in Developed Countries.'
This year, in addition to evaluations by experts such as venture capitalists and global accelerators, online voting by the general public participating in the event will be combined to select three startups with high growth potential, which will receive a total of 60 million KRW in development support funds. Also, in cooperation with 'Wadiz,' participating startups will be supported to attract investments through crowdfunding.
LG supports joint R&D, commercialization, residency in the open research space 'Open Lab' within LG Science Park, and global promotion for collaborative companies among participants. Since 2018, startups that have participated have achieved results such as technology licensing agreements, joint research, and product commercialization with about ten companies.
Last year, LG signed a technology license agreement with 'GenesisLab,' a company possessing deep learning-based emotion recognition technology that participated in the event, and is utilizing it for AI interviews conducted by affiliates such as LG Uplus and LG Innotek. The AI analyzes applicants' interview videos to help assess facial expressions, attitudes, and speaking abilities.
'AmazeVR,' a VR platform service company in which LG invested 2 million USD, continues collaboration by supplying VR content for LG Uplus's 5G service. LG Hausys has supported the commercialization of products by 'Ihae Lifestyle,' a developer of AR-based home furnishing solutions.
Lee Samsu, CEO of LG Science Park, stated, "Our goal is not merely collaboration with startups but to build a larger innovation ecosystem and grow together. We will continue to lead open innovation and discover future growth engines through broad cooperation not only with startups but also with academia, industry, and public sectors."
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