Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI) Group said on November 7 that it held a presentation with KT to share the results of the two parties’ 5G-based business cooperation at the Novotel Ambassador Seoul Dongdaemun Hotel.

Present at the event were senior executives of both companies, including Vice Chairman & CEO Kwon Oh-gap and Senior Executive Vice President Chung Kisun of HHI Holdings and Chairman Hwang Chang-gyu of KT. The two partners, following the MoU signed in May this year, prepared the presentation to unveil the progress of their smart factory and smart shipyard advancement projects and discuss plans for the next year.

HHI Group and KT showcased their jointly developed Hyundai Robot Management System (HRMS) on KT Cloud, mobile service robots (hotel amenity robots), AI (voice recognition) collaborative robots and KT smart factory solutions (Factory Makers) at the event.

Also shown through video clips were actual cases where their jointly developed technologies are being used by shipyards, including 5G kiosks that can download results of communication quality improvement during a trial run of a vessel and high-capacity 3D drawings as well as rescue solutions using a 360-degree wearable neckband in emergency situations.

The two parties have been selecting and working together on key projects in the areas of 5G network, joint product development, new market entrance and R&D, currently in the process of developing a variety of technologies to enhance productivity and efficiency and to spearhead the innovation of the manufacturing industry by combining Hyundai’s robot development and shipbuilding technologies and KT’s 5G network, big data and AI technologies.

Going forward, HHI Group also plans to establish a specialized cloud service by utilizing KT’s 5G Mobile Edge Computing technology, which processes data on a server located in close proximity to the user, thereby ensuring not only ultra-low latency data processing but also robust online security and stability.

The two partners will continue to team up to push for the development of 5G-based shipbuilding and offshore smart communication platforms and convergence services through various collaborative projects, such as network quality optimization, industrial safety, cost reduction and productivity improvement.

“5G business-to-business (B2B) services will bring unforeseen changes to our industry, and of all those services, smart factory solutions are at the heart of 5G B2B models,” said Hwang Chang-gyu, Chairman of KT. “Key to success of the 5G B2B business lies in effective collaboration, and the two companies will band together to drive innovation in the Korean manufacturing industry."

“The ongoing collaboration between Hyundai and KT has opened up an opportunity to take the nation’s manufacturing industry to the next level,” said Kwon Oh-gap, Vice Chairman & CEO of HHI Holdings. “We will spare no efforts to facilitate continued cooperation between the two leading companies, paying close attention to opportunities for further collaborative projects.”