Inauguration Ceremony Held on the 11th at Busan Panacia
Up to 600 Million KRW Government Support per Company for 2 Years
On the 11th, the Ministry of SMEs and Startups announced that it held a launch ceremony at Panasia, a company located in Busan, with 20 manufacturing companies selected for the autonomous factory construction support project and supplier companies that will assist in building artificial intelligence (AI) and digital twins.
This event was organized to encourage companies starting autonomous factory construction to present successful leading models. It proceeded with a meeting for performance creation and a tour of the Panasia factory, attended by 39 companies and related organizations.
The newly launched autonomous factory construction support project this year provides up to 600 million KRW (300 million KRW per year) in government support per company for up to two years. The project standardizes data generated within factories and builds AI and digital twins based on standardized data to minimize worker intervention. Twenty companies were selected last month.
The selected companies will build systems that allow real-time monitoring and control of product manufacturing processes through AI and digital twins, enabling preemptive prediction via virtual simulation. By optimizing production conditions, they aim to improve quality, prevent product defects and safety accidents in advance, and increase productivity. Additionally, the foundational data for AI learning and digital twin construction will be created based on international standards to smoothly connect on-site processes and equipment with digital twins in virtual spaces.
Simtek in Cheongju, Chungbuk, a semiconductor printed circuit board (PCB) manufacturer, has relied on worker experience due to the lack of data standards for processes and equipment and difficulties in data collection and analysis. This caused challenges in identifying product errors, inefficiencies, and defect causes, as well as a high risk of serious accidents due to chemical exposure. Through this project, Simtek expects to improve quality by analyzing impact data in real time, detect anomalies and predict quality with digital twins, manage ESG (environment, social, and governance), and prevent major accidents by monitoring workers, equipment, and risk situations through AI control.
Panasia, a manufacturer of ship harmful oxide reduction devices and water treatment equipment, primarily exports overseas but has experienced a decline in sales due to COVID-19 and intensified competition with China. The company urgently needs to improve the low lifespan and quality of its core component, the UV lamp, and faces production difficulties when skilled workers are absent. Through this project, Panasia hopes to increase export revenue by implementing real-time integrated control of production processes and AI-based quality prediction and optimization by building AI and digital twins.
At the meeting, manufacturing companies requested continuous linked support for completing autonomous factories, as well as support for increasing employment and improving technology in the root industry. Supplier companies proposed expanding financial support through designation as specialized companies and promoting cooperation between manufacturing and supplier companies.
Lee Dae-hee, Director of the SME Policy Office at the Ministry of SMEs and Startups, stated, “Autonomous factories represent the highest level of smart factories by integrating advanced technologies such as AI and digital twins into data-based sophisticated smart factories, enabling real-time control to optimize and predict production by improving quality and reducing defect rates, while also preventing on-site worker safety accidents. Although this is a somewhat challenging and adventurous attempt for small and medium-sized enterprises, starting today, we will steadily expand policy support so that many companies can autonomize and spread key production processes and present leading models of autonomous manufacturing.”
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