Busan Metropolitan City in Korea has announced a new partnership with Pukyong National University and the Korea Institute of Materials Science (KIMS) to establish the Marine AI Materials Research Center, an initiative designed to drive digital innovation across emerging marine industries.
The aim of the programme is to integrate artificial intelligence (AI) technologies into traditional maritime, fisheries, and shipbuilding sectors, alongside their upstream and downstream industries.
The new facility will be located in the Advanced Laboratory Building on the Yongdang Campus of Pukyong National University. Remodelling of the infrastructure is scheduled for completion by October, providing 615 square metres of laboratory and office space ahead of full-scale operations commencing in 2027.
The centre will operate under a structure consisting of one core hub and three specialised research laboratories, staffed by researchers from both the university and KIMS.
Initial projects will include the development of automated manufacturing processes integrating hull-painting robots, smart maintenance technologies, and autonomous mobile systems. The centre will also pursue technologies to predict the service life of smart components based on maintenance data and digital twin-based verification.
Under the terms of the partnership, Busan Metropolitan City will provide administrative support for the establishment of the facility while pursuing national government funding. Pukyong National University will provide the research facilities, while KIMS will lead the development of core technologies and the planning of large-scale research and development (R&D) projects.
“The advanced core technologies and large-scale R&D achievements that will be generated by the Research Centre will expand across a broad range of fields – from the design of eco-friendly energy materials to robotic manufacturing processes and digital twin-based verification – and will become a powerful catalyst for attracting advanced upstream and downstream industries to Busan,” said Busan Mayor Chun Jae-Soo (translated from Korean).
