Focus on the Industrial AI
LG Research conducts AI research for a better world and is putting a lot of effort into developing industrial AI technology and service AI for various sectors. As part of the effort, it jointly held Industrial AI Forum for the first time in Korea on May 26 with Gauss Labs, MakinaRocks, AI Future Forum, and the National Academy of Engineering of Korea to discuss possibilities and future direction of industrial AI and share insights. At the forum, Younghan Kim, the CEO of Gauss Labs; Sungho Yoon, the CEO of MakinaRocks; Woohyung Lim, the Lab Leader of LG AI Research; and Hyoseop Lee, the Vice President of Encored gave presentations on the possibilities of industrial AI and the current challenges. Following the presentations, a SNU Professor led a panel discussion with Vice President Youngjune Kwon of Samsung SDS, Vice Representative Jinwoo Park of RTM, and Senior Director Kiyoung Song of Cognex, and CEO Byungdong Yoon of OnePredict. It offered a great opportunity to listen to different perspectives of top-notch experts leading industrial AI on-site from start-ups to conglomerates.
This year’s Industrial AI Forum was meaningful in that its theme was “Industrial AI.” Based on its potential and marketability, industrial AI and service AI are coming into the limelight. Large investments are being made to develop industrial AI technologies with recognition of its importance. It is predicted that interest in industrial AI will only continue to grow. In this regard, having AI experts from various fields who are actively working on the development of industrial AI in one place to discuss the current status of industrial AI and share different business experiences is meaningful in the new era of industrial AI.
Hyunsil Ahn, the Director of AI Economy Research Institute at the Korea Economic Daily, who was the host of the forum, started the event by saying, “I hope this forum to become a historic turning point in the process of digital transformation and AI advancement of Korean industries.” Following the remark, Eunok Baek, the Chairman of the Computing Committee at the National Academy of Engineering of Korea, expressed her high expectation for the event, “There is only limited data that can be used to study and develop industrial AI technology. However, it is completely different from developing service AI in that domain knowledge that field experts possess can be utilized. The fact that experts who understand such characteristics of industrial AI and have successful experiences in developing AI in their respective fields are gathered for the forum is quite inspiring. I hope this forum to contribute to the active development of AI technology in various industries and strengthen the competitiveness of Korean industries.”
Listening to the stories from the industry
On the day, the forum was divided into two sessions. The first session consisted of presentations by representatives from businesses that are actively developing industrial AI, including Gauss Labs, MakinaRocks, Encored, and LG AI Research. In the second session, researchers and AI experts in the industry held a panel discussion on the topic of “Opportunities, Challenges, and Solutions for AI in Manufacturing.”
Woohyung Lim from the Applied AI Research Lab of LG AI Research gave a presentation on ‘‘Advancing AI for Industry.” Lim mentioned that the current AI development revolves around service AI and started his presentation with a question, “Is it our goal to develop AI that can act like humans to perform tasks that we are simply unpleasant or annoying to do? Is that all there is about AI research?” Lim commented, “AI is an innovative tool that can significantly increase efficiency in various industries, especially in the manufacturing industry. However, AI is not the key to everything. Cooperation with people who are currently working in the industry is essential,” thereby emphasizing that AI is a groundbreaking tool that can increase the efficiency of various industries, especially the manufacturing industry, rather than mimicking human behaviors. Following the presentation, LG AI Research shared that it is actually developing industrial AI technology that is utilized by LG Group's subsidiaries in order to improve productivity and process efficiency in various areas.
In particular, Lab Leader Woohyung Lim shared the case of an AI technology that was used to develop batteries. For example, developing a new type of battery requires developing and introducing the technology as well as testing the battery life. This kind of process can take up to a couple of months and requires a lot of energy and money. LG AI Research is currently working on shortening this process using deep learning to predict battery life and sudden death. We expect this will be very helpful in developing a long-life battery as well. Lim also explained the positive impact that industrial AI research can bring; AI technology could build the foundation for a more environmentally-friendly production process by improving the production cycle to be more efficient. It also proposed a possibility of a new market called the recyclable battery market that can be created after the product lifespan is effectively predicted and the product reaches the end of its lifespan.
In addition to this, he briefly introduced LG AI Research’s current research projects and the progress. LG AI Research is making innovative cases where AI is applied to the entire product development process within LG Group, from optimizing the production and logistics processes by predicting demands to developing new drugs, improving the efficiency of the manufacturing process, maximizing quality and productivity, and managing clients. Lim also emphasized that the most important element in achieving this is securing talents. He added that LG AI Research has been establishing global research networks and running various programs in order to attract excellent AI experts and provide a better research environment. LG AI Research is also running LG AI Graduate School as part of the mid-to-long-term effort to strengthen the AI capabilities and skills of promising LG employees.
Lab Leader Lim also mentioned things that an industrial AI researcher must be cautious of. He strongly emphasized that it is essential to start fundamental research with various perspectives, which should be followed by applied research in various fields in order to use AI as a key to difficult problems rather than a mere tool. In addition, helping people working in the industry to develop a better understanding of AI and establishing strict ethical guidelines for the ideal use of AI is essential for the effective application of the new technologies.
In the panel discussion held in the second part of the forum, experts who are studying and developing industrial AI in various sectors including semiconductor equipment, semiconductor process, petrochemical, and machine vision gathered to share their opinions on the topic, “Opportunities, Challenges, and Solutions for AI in Manufacturing.” The discussion was participated by Vice President Youngjune Kwon of Samsung SDS, Vice Representative Jinwoo Park of RTM, Senior Director Kiyoung Song of Cognex, and CEO Byungdong Yoon of OnePredict. The panel began the discussion by introducing major projects that their affiliated businesses are currently working on to develop efficient manufacturing processes, improve productivity and maximize profitability using industrial AI. Participates actively shared opinions on the prospect and challenges and opportunities of industrial AI. The topics the panel discussed include areas where AI can be applied in a manufacturing business, critical challenges that they faced while developing industrial AI, the profitability of industrial AI, start-ups with promising technology and R&D capabilities, the role of different organizations such as conglomerates, the future of the manufacturing industry and the prospects of industrial AI.
The Industrial AI Forum offered a meaningful time to listen to experts from various fields on their experiences with industrial AI technology, research, and, development. Having an infinite potential for future development and market prospects, industrial AI requires research in various fields of expertise. Applying a broad perspective that encompasses all fields, LG AI Research will continue to work on fundamental research and applied research in various fields and actively communicate with various experts from the industry to facilitate the application of these technologies in the field.
▶Watch Industrial AI Forum:
- AI Economy Research Institute at the Korea Economic Daily: https://youtu.be/oNa6eSxQEts
- The National Academy of Engineering of Korea: https://youtu.be/mFnNNtxfWw0