"Beyond Smart to Intelligent!" ... Busan City Expands 'AI Technology' from Korea Electric Research Institute and University of Waterloo to Manufacturing Companies

Busan City Hall.

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Hwang Du-yeol] Busan City is actively introducing and spreading artificial intelligence technology from the national research institute ‘Korea Electrotechnology Research Institute (KERI)’ and Canada’s ‘University of Waterloo’ to manufacturing companies in the Busan area.

The ‘AI Convergence Regional Specialized Industry Support Project’ is based on the ‘AI Joint Research Partnership Agreement’ signed last December between KERI and the University of Waterloo.

In January, the city selected two local companies, Daeyang Bolt and Taehwa Precision Industry, to introduce AI technology into manufacturing sites through a public contest.

Daeyang Bolt and Taehwa Precision Industry are companies located in Mieum-dong, Gangseo-gu, manufacturing automotive parts and equipment, as well as heavy equipment parts.

Processes such as heat treatment and precision machining required in parts manufacturing have a significant ripple effect on local small and medium-sized manufacturing companies.

Both companies have many processes requiring high precision, and applying AI technology is expected to reduce defect rates, shorten working hours, and cut tool costs, resulting in an annual total cost saving of approximately 450 million KRW.

Daeyang Bolt, a company specializing in automotive parts and equipment production, will have a big data-based ‘automated high-frequency heat treatment AI technology’ applied and established.

The high-frequency heat treatment process, previously performed manually, will be replaced by a collaborative robot, and AI trained on heat treatment parameters at the site will perform optimized heat treatment of product hardness according to conditions such as temperature, frequency, voltage, and time.

The AI application will greatly contribute to efficiency improvement, industrial safety, and better working environments, with annual savings reaching about 170 million KRW.

Taehwa Precision Industry will apply AI tool management technology to the precision machining process line during the production of automotive and heavy equipment parts.

Previously, reliance on workers’ experience and intuition made it difficult to detect defects, leading to increased defect rates, higher manufacturing costs, and decreased productivity.

After applying the technology, a system capable of AI-based tool condition diagnosis and damage detection was implemented on the production line, enabling quality innovation in the machining process.

By accumulating production data to predict tool lifespan and allowing timely preemptive tool replacement, manufacturing AI will reduce costs related to tools, labor, and rework by approximately 280 million KRW annually.

Park Hyung-jun, Mayor of Busan, stated, “Based on the collaboration between KERI and the University of Waterloo, we will expand the scope of AI application and beneficiary companies to revitalize the manufacturing industry in the Southeast region and boost the local economy.”

KERI, centered on the KERI-Waterloo ‘Changwon AI Research Center,’ has effectively performed tasks such as core component fault diagnosis, intelligent assembly, effective tool management, and optimal customized processing for products at companies located in Changwon City, Gyeongnam Province since 2020.

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