What Happened When Those Who Struggled in Industrial Sites Went to UNIST? They Solved On-Site Problems with AI

Graduation Ceremony of the 1st Class of 'AI Novatus Academia' at UNIST AI Innovation Park on the 25th

36 Trainees Completed 11 AI Projects for Industrial Site Improvement

On the 25th, the AI Novatus Academia graduation ceremony was held at UNIST Industry-Academia Convergence Campus.

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Kim Yong-woo] #1. Samyangsa Ulsan Factory sugar manufacturing line. Sugar manufacturing process conditions vary depending on the characteristics and quality of the raw materials. Until now, this process has been selected based on accumulated experience.

Lee Jae-kyung, team leader at the Ulsan factory, tried to solve this challenge using artificial intelligence based on data. By building data on the relationship between sugar production efficiency and quality according to raw materials and implementing an AI model, Team Leader Lee’s challenge was solved instantly.

It is expected that applying this model to the field soon will reduce manufacturing costs by 160 million KRW annually.

#2. SkySys Co., Ltd., an IT solution company headquartered in Ulsan, is developing a ‘smart’ CCTV to be used in manufacturing sites.

This is a smart CCTV that understands production flow and protects workers’ safety. The problem was that unnecessary images of workers kept being recorded in the footage. Team leader Park Bo-eun used computer vision technology combined with artificial intelligence to automatically erase the images of workers.

The company reduced the development cost, which was expected to be about 200 million KRW, and a green light was given for future orders worth 5 billion KRW.

These are real cases of graduates from the ‘AI Novatus Academia’ conducted at the Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST) Artificial Intelligence Innovation Park.

They are employees of companies in the Ulsan area who took basic AI education and carried out field-customized projects, gaining hands-on experience by directly solving problems in industrial sites.

The ‘AI Novatus Academia 1st Graduation Ceremony’ was held at 9:30 a.m. on the 25th (Friday) at the UNIST Industry-Academia Convergence Campus.

At the ceremony, certificates were awarded to a total of 36 trainees. Attendees shared the achievements of the education program so far and exchanged their impressions.

Sim Jae-young, head of the AI Innovation Park project group, said, “I applaud the courage of the trainees who boldly challenged industrial site innovation using artificial intelligence,” and added, “Graduates reborn as AI industry experts will lead more changes in the field.”

AI Novatus Academia is an education program for industry employees conducted by the UNIST AI Innovation Park.

Students were selected in February, and professors and teaching assistants from the UNIST Graduate School of Artificial Intelligence and the Department of Industrial Engineering conducted theoretical and practical education for a total of five months.

The trainees first took theoretical education including basic AI programming for two months. This education was an intensive short-term course conducted every Friday with full-day classes and online supplementary lessons.

After completing the theoretical education, the trainees carried out practical projects using data from their companies’ sites.

Eleven projects were organized as practical assignments. Topics tailored to the needs of various industrial fields such as automotive parts, shipbuilding and marine, petrochemicals, biohealth, food, and construction were selected.

Employees of each company brought their own company data and tackled problem-solving. They performed data preprocessing using Python, applied AI algorithms, repeatedly verified performance, and acquired AI application capabilities in a short period.

Among the 11 projects carried out, three with significant expected effects will be conducted as joint research projects with UNIST in the future. These projects will receive 100 million KRW in research funding over one year.

President Lee Yong-hoon said, “The manufacturing industry in the Ulsan region can expect greater growth through the combination with advanced digital technologies,” and added, “Digital innovation centered on the AI Innovation Park will continue.”

The AI Innovation Park plans to recruit the 2nd class of AI Novatus Academia students starting in July. About 40 students will be recruited for the 2nd class and will receive education from August to December.

The UNIST AI Innovation Park is a project launched in January to create an AI innovation ecosystem in the Dongnam region including Ulsan. It utilizes the Industry-Academia Convergence Campus in Duwang-dong, Nam-gu, Ulsan, to conduct employee education, joint research, and startup incubation. The Ministry of Science and ICT and Ulsan City invested a total of 3.5 billion KRW in the 2021 project budget.

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