Gyeonggi Province and Gyeonggi Provincial Council Discuss Connecting Physical AI Supply and Demand
On the 22nd, Gyeonggi Province held a ‘Policy Roundtable for Activating Gyeonggi Province’s Physical AI Ecosystem’ in the conference room of the R&DB; Center at the Gyeonggi Institute of Science and Technology Promotion, and discussed plans to expand the adoption of Physical AI among manufacturing companies and activate the industrial ecosystem.
The roundtable was attended by Kim Tae-hyung, chairman of the Gyeonggi Provincial Council’s Committee on Future Science and Cooperation, Oh Nam-seok, vice chairman, and other council members including Jeon Seok-hun, as well as approximately 50 people from companies such as Rainbow Robotics and Maum AI, universities, research institutions, associations, and local government officials.
Physical AI is a technology in which autonomous systems such as robots and machinery perceive their surroundings and independently perform tasks in the actual physical world, such as factory floors and logistics facilities. It is garnering attention as a next-generation core technology that can enhance productivity and safety. Gyeonggi Province is investing 3.008 billion won to build a field-based industrial ecosystem, and is implementing the establishment of a Physical AI Dissemination Center as well as company adoption consulting, demonstration, and training.
Participants shared on-site challenges that manufacturing companies face when adopting Physical AI, including initial investment costs, verification of return on investment (ROI), and shortage of operational personnel, as well as adoption trends stemming from price competitiveness of Chinese-made robots, data leakage, and after-sales service (A/S) issues, and discussed solutions.
There was consensus that to reduce the initial burden on companies, it is necessary to provide usage examples by process, conduct small-scale proof-of-concept (PoC) demonstrations, and support domestic product adoption.
After the policy roundtable concluded, a second preparatory meeting for organizing the ‘Gyeonggi Province Physical AI Council’ followed. Participants re-examined major tasks discussed in the first meeting held on July 1st, including supply-demand matching, regulatory exceptions, and talent cultivation, and discussed subcommittee organization by representative process, utilization of demonstration space within the dissemination center, and plans to expand the participation of system integration (SI) companies. The province plans to specify the council operating plan by reflecting on-site opinions and hold the council inaugural event in October.
Lee Su-jae, head of Gyeonggi Province’s AI Industry Promotion Division, said, “Through the policy roundtable and the council, we plan to connect technological needs from the field to policies and support projects, and reduce trial-and-error and cost burdens for companies adopting Physical AI. We will expand supply-demand matching between companies and on-site demonstrations to enhance Physical AI utilization among manufacturing companies in the province, and foster an industrial ecosystem in which companies, universities, research institutions, and associations continuously cooperate.”