With the rapid adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) and robotics, high-risk tasks at construction sites are expected to decrease, while safety and efficiency are set to improve.
The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport said on the 11th that it will join hands with Jeonbuk State, Jeonju, Jeonbuk National University, and the Korea Institute of Civil Engineering and Building Technology (KICT) to establish a tentatively named "AI construction and robotics innovation center" and provide full support for the development of smart construction.
The five institutions agreed to pool their efforts, based on the memorandum of understanding signed this time, to foster the center as a core hub that will lead Korea's smart construction industry.
To expand smart construction technologies—previously concentrated among large corporations and in the capital area—to the regions, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport (MOLIT) plans to take the lead in refining related systems and preparing policies. In addition, the Korea Institute of Civil Engineering and Building Technology (KICT) will support participating corporations with research and commercialization based on its own expertise and technological capabilities.
Jeonbuk State, Jeonju, and Jeonbuk National University will secure a site for the center, cultivate field-ready talent, and support technology for corporations moving into the center, dividing roles to back the construction industry's digital transformation.
Heads of the participating institutions said, "This collaboration will serve as a catalyst to give the construction industry the wings of advanced technology," and pledged to concentrate capabilities to successfully establish the center and lead the advancement of domestic construction technology.
Minister Kim Yun-duk of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport (MOLIT) said, "This will be an important turning point in spreading the achievements of smart construction—developed around the capital area and large corporations—to small and midsize enterprises and the regions," adding, "We will continue to expand innovation centers by region to build the smart construction ecosystem, promote construction AX (AI transformation), and simultaneously achieve the goals of revitalizing local economies and balanced national development."