South Korean firms develop ontology-based manufacturing AI

South Korean technology and industrial organizations are advancing manufacturing AI through ontology-based knowledge systems. Konan Technology has launched a project to develop a manufacturing AI solution in consortium with Youngpoong Electronics. The initiative, supported by the Ministry of SMEs and Startups, aims to digitize the expertise of veteran workers in defense electronic component manufacturing. By using knowledge graphs and Large Language Models (LLM), the system will assist junior engineers in fault diagnosis, aiming to reduce analysis time by over 50% and report writing time by over 70%.

Separately, the Korea Industrial Complex Corp (KICO) announced plans to invest 23 billion won by 2028 to build a manufacturing AI foundation model. This project focuses on thermal processes in the steel, cement, and root industries. The goal is to connect fragmented manufacturing data—such as temperature, pressure, and quality metrics—into a unified knowledge system using ontology technology. This approach is designed to reduce the cost and time burden for small and medium-sized enterprises that would otherwise need to develop individual AI models for their specific processes.