Gyeongju City selects AI Factory Government contest...車Components Manufacturing Innovation in earnest

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Gyeongju City is working on a project to use artificial intelligence (AI) to improve manufacturing in the local auto parts industry.

On the 20th, Gyeongju City announced that it had been selected for a new project called the "2026 Mechanical Equipment Industry Technology Development Project (AI Factory Field)." The project is led by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy and the Korea Institute of Industrial Technology Planning and Evaluation (KEIT).

The project will run for three years, until 2028, with a total investment of 6 billion won. Its goal is to combine data from different manufacturing processes and develop an AI-based manufacturing system that works across an entire factory.

Ecoplastics, a local company that makes car bumpers, will lead the project. The Korea Institute of Textile and Machinery Convergence, the Korea Institute of Industrial Technology, Dongyeon SNT, and Dongguk University WISE Campus will take part as joint research and development partners.

The main goal is to make auto parts production more efficient and improve quality control by using AI. The project will create a platform that collects and manages data from different manufacturing equipment. It will also develop AI technology to predict defects and improve quality at each stage, including molding and painting. In addition, the team will test AI-based process control technology at actual production sites and set up systems to operate and check how well it works.

In January this year, North Gyeongsang Province secured its third government-funded public project in the auto industry. The earlier projects were the Ministry of SMEs and Startups' "Project to Promote Related Industries in Si-gun-gu" and the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy's "Building a Foundation for Evaluation of Convenient Components Centered on Future Motor Vehicles," secured in April.

Gyeongju Mayor Joo Nak-young said, "Through this project, we will lay the foundation for the local auto parts industry to adopt AI. We will also work with related organizations to help the project run smoothly."