POSCO Holdings-LG Electronics, Smart Factory Collaboration
POSCO Holdings and LG Electronics will build a safe and smart manufacturing site by applying robotics, artificial intelligence (AI), and wireless communication technologies.
On the 30th, the two companies signed a business agreement for technology development in the fields of robotics, AI, and wireless communication at LG Electronics' Seocho R&D Campus. The signing ceremony was attended by Kim Ji-yong, Head of POSCO Holdings Future Technology Research Institute (Group CTO), and Kim Byung-hoon, Vice President of LG Electronics (CTO), along with other executives from both companies.
POSCO Holdings and LG Electronics signed a business agreement on the 30th to upgrade the POSCO Smart Factory by applying LG Electronics' robot, AI, and wireless communication technologies. From the left, Kim Byung-hoon, Vice President (CTO) of LG Electronics, and Kim Ji-yong, Head of Future Technology Research Institute (Group CTO) of POSCO Holdings.
The two companies plan to use autonomous robots combined with AI sensing technology to perform safety inspections and facility management tasks on equipment that is difficult for humans to access within steelworks. They also agreed to cooperate to secure world-class manufacturing competitiveness by improving manufacturing and logistics efficiency through real-time control via wireless communication technology.
The manufacturing plants of both companies have been globally recognized for their smart factory technology, having been selected as "Lighthouse Factories" by the World Economic Forum (WEF). Lighthouse Factories refer to factories that lead the future of global manufacturing by adopting core technologies of the Fourth Industrial Revolution.
POSCO was the first domestic company to be selected as a Lighthouse Factory in 2019. The WEF cited POSCO’s establishment of a unique smart factory platform by applying AI technologies such as smart blast furnaces, automatic control technology for plating amounts, and automatic distribution of rolling loads, developed in collaboration with universities, SMEs, and startups to improve productivity and quality.
LG Electronics’ Changwon LG Smart Park and its Tennessee factory in the United States were also selected as Lighthouse Factories last year and this year, respectively. LG Electronics introduced digital technologies such as AI, big data, and the Internet of Things to these factories and built intelligent autonomous factories by integrating advanced manufacturing technologies including robot-based process automation.
Kim Ji-yong, Head of the Future Technology Research Institute, said, "We have contributed to the development of the Korean economy through mutual cooperation in steel and battery materials. We will expand our cooperation to the smart factory field through this agreement."
Vice President Kim Byung-hoon stated, "This business agreement will serve as an opportunity to verify and advance LG Electronics’ cutting-edge technologies in robotics, artificial intelligence, and communication through POSCO Group’s manufacturing sites."
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