Korea Coast Guard Strengthens Marine Pollution Response System with AI Robot Technology

First Government Demonstration and Procurement Project
Applying Innovative Startup Technologies

The Korea Coast Guard announced on the 19th that, together with the Ministry of SMEs and Startups, it will begin a full-fledged demonstration of marine pollution response technologies using artificial intelligence (AI)-based robots.

This initiative is part of the government's first demonstration and procurement project to support the growth of startups in new industries. The project is designed to help startups in new industries have their R&D outcomes verified by government and public institutions, after which their products can be designated as innovative products, followed by pilot purchases and support for overseas market entry.

By the end of this year, the Korea Coast Guard will participate as a demand institution for three projects: demonstration of AI-based swarm robot oil spill recovery devices, initial incident recognition of marine pollution accidents using drones, and demonstration of AI drones for monitoring vessel emissions.

Coast Guard Headquarters Building

The Korea Coast Guard plans to provide a field-oriented demonstration environment so that robotics and AI technologies developed by startups in the response sector can be utilized at actual marine pollution accident sites. In addition, the agency will support technical validation of operational scenarios and offer expert consultations and advisory services.

Going forward, the Korea Coast Guard intends to further expand cooperation with startups in the response sector, actively supporting the establishment of a marine pollution response system based on new technologies and the vitalization of the related industrial ecosystem.

Kim Hankyu, Director General of the Marine Pollution Response Bureau at the Korea Coast Guard, stated, "Through this project, we will strengthen field-oriented technology demonstrations and enhance our response capabilities based on public-private cooperation."

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