[Future Business Forum] Will AI Replace Sailors? HD Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Preparing for the 'Autonomous Navigation Era'

Interview with Kim Hyung-taek, Head of AI at HD Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering

"Beep-beep-"

As another vessel appeared on the shipping route in front of the Ulsan coast, a warning sound echoed in the control room. When the helm was adjusted, the warning sound seemed to subside, but then the ship was violently rocked by strong waves. Amid the chaotic situation, thick fog suddenly rolled in, obscuring visibility. The series of extreme situations was made possible because it was a virtual simulation modeled after an actual voyage.

Integrated Digital Convergence Center located at HD Hyundai Seongnam Global R&D Center (GRC). [Photo by HD Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering]

On the 23rd of last month, the HD Hyundai Global R&D Center in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province, houses a Digital Convergence Center that assists in developing digital solutions for ship navigation. By simulating various situations that can occur during real voyages in a virtual world, it plays a role in enhancing response methods. A research institute official explained, "The lab is equipped with almost all the major equipment found on ships, such as engines, so you can consider the entire laboratory as a single ship."

On one side of the research center wall behind the ship, a huge monitor displays CCTV footage. This is the integrated safety management solution (HiCAMS) recently introduced by HD Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering. HiCAMS is a system that automatically recognizes unexpected situations on board using artificial intelligence (AI), acting as an AI crew member replacing deckhands during ship navigation. When footage captured by onboard CCTV is fed into the HiCAMS server, it automatically detects emergencies.

The CCTV screen, divided into nine sections, tracked each crew member’s movements with blue square markers. When a fire suddenly broke out in a specific area, it was recognized in red, and the corresponding screen was enlarged with a "Fire" alert. When a crew member collapsed, a "Fall down" notification appeared, indicating the fall. Various situations that could occur on the ship were instantly identified and reported.

Demonstration of the integrated safety control solution (HiCAMS) developed by HD Hyundai Heavy Industries. An alert indicating a 'Fall down' situation appeared as the worker collapsed.
[Photo by HD Hyundai Heavy Industries]

Kim Hyung-taek, head of solution development at HD Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering’s Intelligent AI Division, said, "Events that currently require deckhands to check directly, such as container loss in outdoor areas or intrusion of unidentified objects, can now be detected through CCTV." He added, "We have also applied related functions to shipyards, reaching a level where it can distinguish between fire and sparks generated during welding."

The integrated condition diagnosis solution (HiCBM), developed alongside HiCAMS, is a technology where AI diagnoses the status of major machinery on the ship in real time to detect signs of malfunction during navigation. For example, it detects and alerts when bearings of key rotating machinery or engines are damaged or when exhaust gas temperatures rise sharply. Kim said, "Until now, separate solutions had to be introduced to monitor equipment status, but HiCBM allows monitoring of equipment conditions within a single program."

HD Hyundai is accelerating the development of solutions that manage ship navigation based on AI. This includes the AI-based carbon emission monitoring system "OceanWise" and the "HD-GPT" strategy to introduce AI across all business areas, actively promoting AI utilization in the shipbuilding industry. Kim emphasized, "We are developing technologies so that AI can gradually replace many tasks required for ship navigation," adding, "Our goal is to realize truly autonomous ships that ensure the safety of both vessels and crew."

Kim Hyung-taek, Head of Intelligent AI at HD Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering, is being interviewed by Asia Economy on the 23rd.
[Photo by HD Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering]

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