Kim Bugi, Director of the Marine Plant Research Institute, "Will Lead the Smartification of Marine Technology"

[Asia Economy Reporter Joo Sang-don] "The digital convergence trend of the 4th Industrial Revolution era is opening new doors of opportunity. Marine smartization and securing core technologies through new technology development will be a turning point for South Korea to lead marine technology."

On the 15th, Kim Bu-gi, director of the Ship and Offshore Plant Research Institute located in Yuseong-gu, Daejeon, expressed confidence that the marine smartization promoted by the government will serve as a catalyst to elevate the level of our marine technology to the next stage.

In November last year, the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries announced the 'Marine and Fisheries Smartization Strategy' to improve the structure of the marine and fisheries industry and create new future growth engines by applying 4th Industrial Revolution technologies such as big data, Internet of Things (IoT), and artificial intelligence (AI).

This strategy includes the development of autonomous ships in the shipping and port sectors, as well as the establishment of smart ports, hyper-connected maritime communication, and high-precision location information, building smart maritime logistics infrastructure and services.

During the strategy formulation process, the Ship and Offshore Plant Research Institute participated in various research planning related to the nine major tasks of the smartization strategy. It is playing a leading role in the fields of ship and port intelligence and the construction of hyper-connected maritime traffic infrastructure.

In particular, the institute participated in the planning of autonomous ship development at the IMO Level 3 standard, which passed the preliminary feasibility study last year, referring to autonomous ships with minimal crew onboard. They identified key areas and development technologies for smart autonomous ships and operation systems and prepared promotion strategies.

To this end, the Ship and Offshore Plant Research Institute established an Autonomous Ship Business Promotion Team within the institute. The institute plans to focus on developing integrated platform technology for autonomous navigation and autonomous engine systems, situation awareness systems, AI-based autonomous navigation systems, performance demonstration and verification of autonomous ships, and accident response technology for safe navigation.

Director Kim said, "Currently, we are exploring cooperation plans among industry, academia, and research institutes for full-scale technology development," adding, "In the future, we plan to upgrade the promotion team to a headquarters organization and expand the workforce to about twice the current 12 members."

Director Kim expects that such marine smartization will contribute not only to leading marine technology but also to creating new marine industry opportunities. He explained, "By applying digital twin technology that digitally reproduces virtual models of real-world objects, it can be used for fault prediction and safety assurance of ships or marine structures, as well as performance enhancement of various marine equipment."

The Ship and Offshore Plant Research Institute plans to actively involve small and medium-sized enterprises in such marine smartization R&D or share research outcomes with them. Last year, the institute transferred ultra-high-speed container inspection technology using X-rays, developed for the first time in the world, which can inspect the inside of containers in a short time without opening them.

Director Kim said, "Since smart technology requires the convergence of various technologies, it is difficult for a single company to develop it and create new industries," adding, "Therefore, the institute will lead the creation of new marine industries by integrating accumulated technologies not only in ships and offshore plants but also in marine traffic safety and maritime communication technologies, and by developing necessary technologies in the mid to long term."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.