J-Ocean Heavy Industries has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with telecommunications company Ucast to develop a smart shipyard at the Gunsan Shipyard in South Korea using private 5G, artificial intelligence (AI), Internet of Things (IoT), and robotics technologies.
J-Ocean Heavy Industries, which was established by Eco Prime Marine Pacific to acquire the Gunsan Shipyard, will provide demonstration sites, field equipment, operational data, and shipyard-specific scenarios to support the project.
Ucast will develop the project’s master plan, including deployment of a private 5G wireless network, a 3D digital twin platform for real-time monitoring of shipyard assets and processes, IoT sensor networks for equipment such as cranes and vessel blocks, and a paperless work and process management system.
The partners also plan to develop an integrated safety monitoring system using AI-enabled CCTV and gas and environmental IoT sensors for confined spaces to help reduce the risk of industrial accidents.
The project will additionally examine the use of physical AI with industrial and collaborative robots, together with autonomous guided vehicles (AGVs) and autonomous mobile robots (AMRs), to automate shipyard operations including welding, painting, and material transport.
“This agreement is a symbolic step forward in integrating cutting-edge private 5G and physical AI technologies into Gunsan Shipyard,” said an official from J-Ocean Heavy Industries (translated from Korean).
“By incorporating Ucast’s outstanding technological capabilities into Gunsan Shipyard, we will accelerate the digital transformation of our processes and present a safe and smart next-generation shipyard standard that leads the shipbuilding industry.”
