KAIST and LIG Nex1 to Collaborate on Establishment and Operation of 'Defense Autonomous Systems Research Center'

KAIST and LIG Nex1 will collaborate on the establishment and operation of a 'Defense Autonomous Systems Research Center.'

On July 3, KAIST announced that it had signed a memorandum of understanding with LIG Nex1 regarding this initiative.

Provided by KAIST

Under the agreement, the two parties will jointly establish and operate the 'Defense Autonomous Systems Research Center,' and plan to pursue: joint research on autonomous systems and AI·system technologies in the defense sector; operation of the research center in connection with the Information and Communication Technology Promotion Agency (IITP) ITRC (University ICT Research Center) project; and programs for the training and exchange of specialized personnel.

Currently, KAIST operates the 'Defense Intelligent Swarm Systems Research Center' with support from the Information and Communication Technology Promotion Agency (IITP). LIG Nex1 is participating in this center, carrying out collaborative projects such as a centralized swarm system software (SW) platform, research on manned-unmanned cooperative combat, distributed Embodied-AI research, and research on applications in surveillance, reconnaissance, and interception.

In addition, both sides plan to expand their cooperation in the field of autonomous systems research by leveraging and creating synergy with the research achievements accumulated at the existing center.

Shin Ikhyun, CEO of LIG Nex1, stated, "The combination of LIG Nex1's capabilities in unmanned and missile system development with KAIST's advanced AI research will revolutionize the future battlefield," adding, "We will focus on the early demonstration of advanced defense solutions."

Lee Kwanghyung, President of KAIST, said, "Intelligent swarm systems are a core technology that will simultaneously achieve combat efficiency and cost reduction," and added, "Through industry-academia and defense industry cooperation, we will foster world-class defense AI talent and secure fundamental technologies."