Gwangyang Steelworks Develops 'AI Slab Surface Defect Inspection System'

Published 11 Feb.2022 08:57(KST)

AI Slab Surface Defect Inspection System for Detecting Various Types of Slab Surface Defects

Improving Slab Quality and Reducing Worker Burden through AI-Based Model Development

Gwangyang Steelworks Develops 'AI Slab Surface Defect Inspection System'

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters, Reporter Heo Seon-sik] POSCO Gwangyang Steelworks (Director Lee Jin-su) announced that it has developed a technology to automatically detect defects on slab surfaces using artificial intelligence technology and is working to enhance quality competitiveness.

A slab is one of the steel semi-finished products used as raw materials for producing steel plates or coils. Since defects missed during the quality inspection stage can lead to defects in rolled products, quality verification is extremely important.

Previously, slab surface defect inspection involved operators visually interpreting images of the slab surface. As a result, small defects were difficult to detect, and continuous concentration on image interpretation during working hours caused accumulated eye fatigue.

The Steelmaking Department, Heavy Plate Department, and AI Research Institute of the Future Technology Research Center at Gwangyang Steelworks collaborated to solve this issue and succeeded in improving slab quality while reducing the burden on workers by developing the ‘AI-based Slab Surface Defect Inspection System.’

The ‘AI Slab Surface Defect Inspection System’ not only autonomously detects defects and informs operators of their presence but also analyzes them through AI and suggests the most appropriate response guidelines.

By using this system, inspectors no longer need to worry about missing defects and only need to decide whether additional defect removal work is necessary by following the AI-provided guidelines.

POSCO plans to install and operate the ‘AI Slab Surface Defect Inspection System’ at all locations of the Steelmaking and Heavy Plate Departments at Gwangyang Steelworks, reflecting workers’ needs and completing problem improvements. The system will then be expanded company-wide to accelerate slab quality improvement.

Park Yeon-ju, a senior staff member of the Steelmaking Department at Gwangyang Steelworks, said, “The AI Slab Surface Defect Inspection System has improved quality defects and, above all, has greatly helped by reducing the burden of inspection errors on workers.” She added, “I hope that smart technology will continue to be applied throughout all processes in the future, maintaining our status as a lighthouse factory.”