Pohang City Establishes Foundation for D.N.A. (Data, Network, AI) Future Industry Ecosystem Development!

POSTECH AI Research Institute Establishes D.N.A.-Based Safety Diagnosis Platform for Hazardous Manufacturing Environments

Pohang University of Science and Technology Artificial Intelligence Research Institute.

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Dongguk Lee] Pohang City has secured 6.93 billion KRW in national funding as the Artificial Intelligence Research Institute of Pohang University of Science and Technology (POSTECH) was finally selected for this year’s ‘University Key Research Institute Support Project in Science and Engineering Fields’ promoted by the Ministry of Education and the National Research Foundation of Korea.

The ‘University Key Research Institute Support Project in Science and Engineering Fields’ is a program that supports the establishment of research hubs at university-affiliated research institutes in science and engineering by providing infrastructure support, inducing specialization and professionalization of university research institutes, and discovering and nurturing outstanding young researchers.

The Artificial Intelligence Research Institute at POSTECH is conducting research on a ‘D.N.A (Data, Network, AI)-based manufacturing hazardous environment safety diagnosis platform’ to predict and prevent industrial accidents (such as hazardous gas leaks, worker entrapment, and falls) occurring in the domestic manufacturing industry.

By utilizing D.N.A technology, the institute aims to develop a decision support system that assists in predicting and preventing industrial accidents occurring at manufacturing sites and demonstrate it in the field. The goal is to build a ‘human-centered intelligent D.N.A solution safe from hazardous environments in manufacturing plants’ through research and development, professional workforce training, and industry-academia cooperation. Through this, it expects to secure core D.N.A safety diagnosis technologies for manufacturing companies, enhance the technological competitiveness of local D.N.A+ manufacturing-related supply companies (DATA, NETWORK, AI, ICT companies), and strengthen the safety competitiveness of manufacturing demand companies (small and medium-sized manufacturing enterprises).

Mayor Kang-Duk Lee of Pohang said, “By utilizing D.N.A-based core manufacturing safety technologies linked to Pohang’s main industries such as manufacturing (steel, automobile parts, digital devices, etc.), the development of D.N.A-related industries and the competitiveness of local manufacturing companies will be strengthened.” He added, “We will lead the development and research of next-generation core artificial intelligence technologies and foster a win-win and cooperative system among local governments, university research institutes, and related companies to contribute to nurturing future new growth industries.”

Young-Joo Seo, Director of the POSTECH Artificial Intelligence Research Institute, said, “Although South Korea has world-class manufacturing competitiveness, it unfortunately also has one of the highest industrial accident fatality rates globally. By utilizing artificial intelligence technology, we will not only enhance technological competitiveness in the manufacturing sector but also improve safety competitiveness to create a manufacturing environment where workers can achieve the best results in a safe environment.” He added, “I believe artificial intelligence will be the most beautiful technology when used for human safety, and we will do our utmost to achieve this.”