Kyung Hee University Wins Top Prize at 2025 Industry-Academic Project Challenge

Innovative Ideas Recognized Through Industry-Academic Collaboration

Kyung Hee University announced on the 17th that the research team led by Professor Kim Sanghyun from the Department of Mechanical Engineering (Team F1: Park Suhwan, Kang Eunae, Yang Junyeol) received the Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy Award, the highest honor, at the 2025 Industry-Academic Project Challenge organized by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy and the Korea Institute for Advancement of Technology.

The Kyung Hee University team is posing for a commemorative photo after winning the grand prize at the 2025 Industry-Academia Project Challenge. Kyung Hee University

Professor Kim Sanghyun's research team conducted an industry-academic cooperation project with Pitin under the theme of "Development of Autonomous Driving Robot Software Technology for the Automation of Electric Vehicle Battery Replacement." Pitin is the first company in Korea to offer a subscription service for electric vehicle battery replacement. In this service, when a person removes or installs a vehicle battery, a robot transports and manages it. However, there were issues such as the absence of an autonomous driving algorithm for the robots and the lack of a system to manage multiple robots. Professor Kim's team addressed these challenges by utilizing their proprietary robot autonomous driving algorithm and multi-robot control system, thereby solving problems in the industrial field.

The team members worked as interns at Pitin, directly identifying problems on-site and devising solutions based on their findings. As a result, they implemented an autonomous driving algorithm that operates reliably even in complex industrial environments and established a system for multi-robot control and work planning. Following the industry-academic project, work time was reduced by 23%, and a safer working environment was established. Team leader Park Suhwan commented, "Through this project, I was able to experience the entire process from technology development to industrial application and technology transfer, making it a meaningful opportunity to enhance my problem-solving skills."

Professor Kim Sanghyun stated, "This is the result of students and companies collaborating to analyze technical challenges in the field from an engineering perspective and propose practical solutions," adding, "We will continue to strengthen industry-oriented education to foster technical talent."

Meanwhile, the Industry-Academic Project Challenge is a program that connects graduate students in science and engineering nationwide with companies to solve technical challenges in the industrial field. This year, 530 teams participated in the program.