The Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) announced on the 28th that it has jointly secured a pilot project for the Ministry of Science and ICT's 'Physical Artificial Intelligence (AI) Core Technology Proof of Concept (PoC)' in collaboration with Jeonbuk Province, Jeonbuk National University, and Sungkyunkwan University. KAIST will take the lead in research oversight for this project.
KAIST will lead the research planning on the topic of 'Collaborative Intelligence Physical AI', while Jeonbuk National University and Jeonbuk Province will conduct joint research based on this. The pilot project will begin next month.
Physical AI is a technology that enables artificial intelligence to understand the concept of space and time, allowing robots, autonomous vehicles, and factory automation devices to operate without human directives. In particular, collaborative intelligence physical AI is designed for multiple robots and equipment to work together in a factory to achieve goals, making it a key technology in implementing unmanned factories in the semiconductor, secondary battery, and automotive manufacturing sectors. It rapidly adapts to changes through real-time learning without relying on vast historical data, and combining spatial intelligence with hardware and software is crucial.
In this project, KAIST will be responsible for creating a research environment through the development of foundational technologies and the establishment of a testbed, as well as facilitating industry diffusion. Professor Jang Young-jae, the project leader from the Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering, has been leading research on collaborative intelligence physical AI since 2016.
KAIST demonstrated its technological competitiveness by winning a case study of collaborative intelligence physical AI at the world's largest industrial engineering conference, 'INFORMS', in April 2025, beating out the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and Amazon.
Professor Jang Young-jae of KAIST noted, 'This large-scale national project award is the result of the recognition of KAIST's collaborative intelligence physical AI research capabilities accumulated over the past decade in both domestic and international contexts,' adding, 'This will be a turning point for the manufacturing industry in Korea to establish a global leading 'physical AI manufacturing innovation model.'
Dr. Lee Kwang-hyung, the president of KAIST, stated, 'KAIST is leading the practical industrialization of national strategic technologies beyond academic research,' and added, 'We will leverage this achievement to collaborate with Jeonbuk National University and Jeonbuk Province to develop Korea into a global hub for physical AI innovation.'