[Report] AI Lowers Defect Rate to '1%' and Robots Lift '500kg'... Visiting LG Smart Factory

On the 18th at LG Digital Park in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi-do
"Smart Factory Solution Business
Targets Trillion-Won Sales and Double-Digit Operating Profit Margin"
Meeting with Intel... Efforts to Secure Semiconductor Customers

Artificial intelligence (AI) freely designs factories. AI listens to human commands like "emergency stop" and halts equipment to prevent safety accidents. Robots controlled by AI lift items weighing up to 500 kg instead of humans. They work on floors where it is difficult for people to pass.

An autonomous mobile robot (AMR) developed by LG Electronics' Production Technology Institute is being tested for navigation in narrow and light-reflective environments.
[Photo by LG Electronics]

The Smart Factory Acceleration Center (SFAC) at LG Electronics' Production Technology Institute in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province, visited on the 18th, was quiet. It was almost as if AI and robots were handling the main tasks.

Upon entering Exhibition Hall A of SFAC, the design and verification simulation system 'PRISM' was visible. It is a solution that monitors factory status in real time and takes preemptive actions every 30 seconds through factory logistics data and control simulations. It is currently used at LG Electronics' Changwon plant in Gyeongnam, Tennessee plant in the U.S., LG Chem, and LG Energy Solution factories.

The part where AI is controlled by human voice stood out. When Shin Jun-hyun, team leader of the New Business Development Task Team at LG Electronics Production Technology Institute, said to PRISM, "A defect has been detected causing a stall (no movement). Requesting inspection by control personnel," a red triangular 'warning' image appeared on the PRISM monitor. The machine, having heard the human voice, automatically stops to prevent accidents. When Shin shouted "emergency stop" toward the 'PRAI-CAM' equipment, the equipment stopped. Shin said, "Applying AI to smart factories allows process control with just a microphone or a walkie-talkie."

At the robot demo line, a robotic arm made by 'Robostar,' an industrial robot company acquired by LG Electronics in 2018, was deployed in the process. The robotic arm found holes on the surface of a washer and correctly inserted a wrongly fitted part. When Shin deliberately removed one part, a triangular warning image appeared on the monitor. Shin said, "A single robot replaces the part replacement work that used to require four people."

It also features AI-based 'bin picking' that picks up items like picking up beans with chopsticks. After training AI for six hours through LG Electronics' real-time AI process detection system 'Vision,' coordinates are stored in Vision. When these coordinates are sent to the robot by AI, the robot picks up the parts automatically. Son Shin-woong, principal researcher in charge of Robot FA Solutions at LG Electronics Production Technology Institute, said, "When small parts are difficult for workers to recognize due to lighting, AI detects them and improves recognition rates," adding, "The error rate (defect rate) was reduced from 5% to about 1%."

LG Electronics AMR is transporting carts for parts and material supply. [Photo by LG Electronics]

Low-profile autonomous mobile robots (AMRs) for industrial use are mainly deployed in secondary battery factories. AMRs equipped with robotic arms transport heavy items. They can lift items weighing up to 500 kg. The upper part (torso) of the robot is a collaborative robot, and the lower part (base) is an autonomous driving robot. When low-profile AMRs are deployed on floors where it is difficult for humans to work, they autonomously navigate and work instead of humans.

Son explained, "There is high demand for low-profile AMRs in secondary battery factories where the products handled are large and hazardous," adding, "We have developed robots that can complete transport and installation, enabling unmanned operations from the electrode process to the assembly process in secondary battery production."

Jung Dae-hwa, president of LG Electronics Production Technology Institute, said, "We are continuously discovering automation solutions for logistics, assembly, and inspection, including ultra-low-profile AMRs."

Jung Daehwa, President of LG Electronics' Production Technology Institute, is explaining LG Electronics' smart factory solution business at Pyeongtaek Digital Park on the 18th.
[Photo by LG Electronics]

About 70 personnel are dedicated to the SFAC project at LG Electronics Production Technology Institute. The total R&D workforce at the institute is about 1,800. The institute began selling smart factory solutions to companies outside the LG Group affiliates earlier this year. So far, it has secured orders worth about 200 billion KRW. Song Si-yong, executive director in charge of the Smart Factory Business at LG Electronics Production Technology Institute, said, "We expect to record 300 billion KRW in orders and 200 billion KRW in sales by the end of the year."

LG Electronics plans to increase smart factory solution business sales to the trillion KRW level within six years. The goal is to raise the operating profit margin to double digits, above 10%. They are increasing orders mainly from newly established factories of Korean companies excluding LG Group that have entered the North American market. Song said, "We will definitely achieve a double-digit profit margin in the B2B business."

They have secured about 20 customers including secondary battery, automotive parts, and logistics companies. They plan to expand orders to semiconductor, bio, and food and beverage sectors in the future. Recently, they visited Intel's factory in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, to discuss cooperation. Song said, "We have not signed a contract with Intel yet, but we are discussing smart factory solution cooperation."

LG Electronics expects their smart factory solutions to be widely used in semiconductor factories as well. They are confident that the quality of their smart factory solutions will not be an issue even though LG does not directly operate a semiconductor business. Jung said, "Our products can be used extensively in semiconductor packaging and shipping, material transport, and equipment anomaly detection processes," adding, "Some semiconductor companies have requested us to solve unmanned projects in a turnkey manner."