A service that lets researchers find and book national research facilities and equipment through a conversation with artificial intelligence (AI) is entering a pilot run.
The Ministry of Science and ICT said it will pilot the National Research Facilities and Equipment Information System (ZEUS) AI search service starting on the 27th.
ZEUS is a cross-ministerial system that integrates and manages information on research facilities and equipment built with research and development budgets, and supports joint use of equipment by research institutes, universities, and corporations.
The service being introduced expands the existing keyword search into a conversational search. Even if users do not know the exact name of the equipment, they can enter their research purpose or the analysis they need to receive recommendations for related equipment. In the recommended results, they can check available equipment and locations and proceed with the reservation process.
The ministry plans to reduce the time required for equipment searches through the AI search service and increase the utilization of existing national research facilities and equipment. The pilot service runs on KT's private cloud environment.
The ministry plans to refine recommendation accuracy and functions based on user feedback and search/use data, then launch the full service in Dec. At the full-service stage, it will build separate high-performance graphics processing units (GPUs) to improve search response speed and service stability.
Hong Sun-jeong, director general of the Performance Evaluation and Policy Bureau at the ministry, said, "By introducing AI search, we will expand the joint use of research facilities and equipment and reduce the time and inconvenience researchers face in finding equipment."