The Ministry of Science and ICT and the Ministry of SMEs and Startups are teaming up to introduce and spread ‘physical AI’—artificial intelligence that judges and carries out tasks on its own—across small and medium-sized manufacturing sites. On September 7, the two ministries visited the Physical AI Demonstration Lab at the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST), where they held a roundtable bringing together technology supplier firms and manufacturing demand companies to discuss ways to cooperate.
 [코리안투데이] Officials from the Science Ministry and the SME Ministry visit the Physical AI Demonstration Lab at KAIST and hold a roundtable with supplier and demand companies © 장형임 기자 |
The Ministry of Science and ICT (Deputy Prime Minister and Minister Bae Kyung-hoon) and the Ministry of SMEs and Startups (Acting Minister and First Vice Minister Roh Yong-seok) agreed to build a cooperation framework linking physical AI R&D and demonstration capabilities with policies that support small manufacturers on the ground, connecting the full chain from technology development to demonstration, commercialization and field diffusion.
Behind this cooperation lies the reality facing small manufacturers. Manufacturing sites are rapidly shifting toward an era of physical AI, in which artificial intelligence perceives its surroundings, makes its own judgments and performs tasks. Yet small businesses have struggled to apply new technologies on the ground because they lack specialized personnel, experience in adopting technology, data and opportunities for demonstration. The two ministries plan to effectively connect technology supply with field demand, establishing a support system that enables small businesses to adopt and use physical AI in real manufacturing environments.
As a flagship project, the ministries will combine the Science Ministry’s ‘AI Factory Manager for All’ with the SME Ministry’s ‘Smart Manufacturing Innovation’ program. Building on the full-stack physical AI technology secured through regional demonstrations in North Jeolla (unmanned factory control and operation) and South Gyeongsang (ultra-precision manufacturing intelligence), the Science Ministry will help small businesses adopt the technology step by step. In 2026 it will provide consulting on introducing autonomous mobile robots (AMR) and automated guided vehicles (AGV) for individual logistics segments; in 2027, consulting on adopting heterogeneous equipment across entire logistics segments and the provision of precision-manufacturing data; and from 2028, it will broaden its scope to consulting on integrated operation and management across the full logistics and production process, along with the provision of operating systems.
The SME Ministry will support the construction and demonstration of manufacturing environments so that physical AI technology is implemented on actual sites through smart factories. It will set up a specialized support program that allows small businesses to pursue smart factory construction while using the Science Ministry’s ‘AI Factory Manager for All’ service, and it plans to spread outstanding demonstration results through ‘Manufacturing AI 24,’ a platform to be built that links manufacturing data, solutions, supplier firms and government projects.
The two ministries will also plan and pursue joint research and development (R&D) to secure future physical AI competitiveness, focusing on new growth sectors including new security, pharmaceuticals and biotech, climate tech, and K-consumer goods such as food and beauty. The Science Ministry will support the acquisition of core original and foundational technologies, while the SME Ministry will handle technology application and demonstration by reflecting on-site demand and commercialization potential—creating a virtuous cycle between technology development and field diffusion.
The hub of public-private cooperation is the Physical AI Alliance. This platform, which brings together relevant ministries, research institutes, associations and companies, connects technology supplier firms with demand companies and identifies R&D and demonstration tasks based on field needs. Taking this collaboration as an opportunity, the two ministries decided to form and operate a task force (TF) within the alliance dedicated to small manufacturers, to identify field demand and provide continued support for linking them with supplier firms.
The site visit was attended by Ryu Je-myung, Second Vice Minister of the Science Ministry, and Roh Yong-seok, First Vice Minister of the SME Ministry, along with Cho Jun-hee, private-sector chair of the Physical AI Alliance, and subcommittee chairs, as well as representatives of supplier and demand companies including Rainbow Robotics, Persona AI, Pebblous, IMFIX, Baekje Food and New Hi-Tech. The event proceeded with a demonstration at the lab, an introduction of the ministries’ cooperation plan, and a roundtable between supplier and demand companies. Participating firms raised the need for a cooperation platform that would continuously connect demand and supplier companies, and called for expanded demonstration opportunities, support for data utilization, the cultivation of specialized personnel, and stronger linkages between projects.
Ryu Je-myung, Second Vice Minister of the Science Ministry, said, ‘For physical AI—one of the three mega-projects—to produce tangible results on industrial sites, it is above all important not to stop at developing excellent technology but to build a virtuous cycle that connects it with the demand of manufacturing sites and leads to demonstration and diffusion,’ adding, ‘We will actively support the application of domestic technology to actual manufacturing sites by rallying the capabilities of relevant ministries and industry, academia and research around the Physical AI Alliance.’
Roh Yong-seok, First Vice Minister of the SME Ministry, said, ‘For small manufacturers to swiftly adopt excellent physical AI technology, it is necessary to secure best-practice cases,’ and added, ‘So that this collaboration does not end merely with the application and verification of physical AI by individual companies but leads to the revitalization of the physical AI ecosystem, we intend to actively pursue everything up to building a data-based feedback system that allows small businesses to make use of outstanding results.’
지역 홍보대사 신청 기자양성과정 신청 코리안투데이 지부장 신청 코리안투데이 인천강화
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