The Ministry of SMEs and Startups said on the 18th that it held a launch ceremony for the "autonomous factory construction project" at the Chong Kun Dang plant in Cheonan, South Chungcheong Province.
An autonomous factory operates by having artificial intelligence (AI) analyze data collected from sensors installed on-site to understand conditions, adjust production plans, or detect problems in advance and respond. It is also a smart manufacturing model that uses digital twin technology to reproduce the real factory as is in a virtual space, allowing production processes to be tested in advance and outcomes predicted.
Since last year, the government has been pushing the "autonomous factory construction support project," which provides a total of 1.2 billion won, including subsidy and corporate contribution, with up to 600 million won per corporation for up to two years. Following 20 corporations last year, 20 more were selected this year. In this project, not only corporations that develop technology solutions but also planning institutions that support process analysis and strategy development participate in a consortium format to raise the likelihood of success for the adopting corporations.
The selected corporations will be able to monitor and control production in real time through AI and digital twins, and prevent defects and safety accidents with virtual simulations. Koavis, an auto parts maker selected last year, introduced an unmanned environment and an AI process management system, achieving a 56% increase in productivity and a 20% reduction in process equipment troubles.
Corporations attending the roundtable that day proposed: ▲ follow-up support plans after autonomous factory construction ▲ strengthening capabilities of technology corporations and training professionals ▲ establishing data standardization and sharing platforms. The ministry said it would reflect this in policy to flesh out plans to accelerate AI transition and foster technology corporations.
Noh Yong-seok, Vice Minister of the ministry, said, "An autonomous factory is a future factory that goes beyond simple smartification and aims for autonomous manufacturing by using AI and digital twins based on high-quality data," and added, "We will expand the AI factory budget so that small and midsize enterprises can become the main players in the great transition to digital and artificial intelligence, and we will also establish an institutional foundation to build a smart manufacturing industry ecosystem."