Implementing ‘ Edge AI’ directly integrated into on-site control systems to improve manufacturing data security and productivity 

POSCO DX is pursuing the realization of an intelligent factory capable of immediate AI analysis and control on-site by utilizing domestic NPU to replace foreign GPU and reduce AI infrastructure costs.

POSCO DX (CEO Shim Min-suk) signed a business agreement with AI semiconductor startup Mobilint (CEO Shin Dong-joo) at the POSCO DX Pangyo headquarters on the 2nd to implement AX utilizing NPU. Prior to this agreement, in February, POSCO DX invested a total of 3 billion won in Mobilint through the ‘POSCO DX Corporate Venture Capital (CVC) New Technology Investment Fund,’ which it co-funded with POSCO Technology Investment.

NPU are semiconductors specialized for AI computations, such as deep learning and machine learning. Compared to GPUs, they are optimized for AI inference, offering the advantages of reduced infrastructure costs and high power efficiency. In particular, they are suitable for implementing “Edge AI” by being directly integrated into field equipment control systems, bypassing remote AI data centers or servers. This enables immediate inference without data leakage in manufacturing sites where security is critical, thereby ensuring both security and real-time performance simultaneously.

Under this collaboration, POSCO DX plans to realize an intelligent factory capable of immediate AI analysis and control at the industrial site equipment control stage by integrating Mobilint’s NPU into its in-house developed industrial control system, PosMaster. To this end, both companies will jointly pursue technology development and application to ensure that POSCO DX’s AI model algorithms deliver optimal performance in Mobilint’s NPU-based environment.

Mobilint is the only company in Korea possessing high-performance NPU technology capable of running Large Language Models (LLM) in edge environments. Mobilint’s high-performance NPU enables real-time decision-making and control utilizing vast field data generated from sensors and equipment, and is expected to contribute to accelerating the realization of POSCO Group’s intelligent factory.

POSCO DX plans to expand its edge AI technology to transition existing GPU-based AI systems to NPUs and apply them to various industrial sites, including steel and secondary battery material production facilities as well as logistics.

Cho Seok-joo, Head of the AX Convergence Research Institute at POSCO DX, emphasized, “Through this collaboration , we have been able to secure LLM-based edge AI technology essential for realizing intelligent factories.” He added, “We will develop this into a successful example of collaboration and mutual growth with a domestic startup, rather than a simple NPU supply relationship, to ensure that POSCO Group establishes itself as a company leading the paradigm shift in manufacturing AI .”

Meanwhile, POSCO Group is actively promoting the realization of safe and comfortable workplaces based on technology by expanding intelligent factories to manufacturing sites to respond promptly to the industrial paradigm shift, including AX.

▲ (From left) Cho Seok-ju, Head of POSCO DX AX Convergence Research Institute, and Shin Dong-ju, CEO of Mobilint, are posing for a commemorative photo after signing a business agreement for cooperation in the commercialization of technologies in the manufacturing, logistics, and safety sectors using AI semiconductors at the POSCO DX Pangyo headquarters.

Establishing a Collaboration Model Between Workers and Humanoid Robots to Expand Physical AI to Heavy and Heavy Industries

POSCO Group is accelerating the adoption of physical AI in manufacturing sites by pursuing a project to apply humanoid robots to steel product logistics management.

On the 3rd, POSCO Group signed an MOU at the POSCO DX Pangyo headquarters with representatives from four companies: POSCO, POSCO DX, POSCO Investment, and Persona AI, to implement industrial humanoid robots in the field.

Under the agreement, POSCO will identify potential work sites at its steelworks and assess their feasibility. POSCO DX will design and build a robot automation system and jointly develop a steelworks-specific model. POSCO Investment will support the implementation of a Proof of Concept (PoC), a small-scale preliminary test of ideas and technologies to determine their practical feasibility. Persona AI will be responsible for the development and implementation of a humanoid robot platform tailored to the steelworks industrial environment.

POSCO Group and Persona AI have agreed to begin testing Persona AI’s humanoid robot business in the logistics management of steel coils produced at the steelworks in February. Unloading rolled coils weighing tens of tons requires crane operation. The humanoid robot will collaborate with field workers to attach the crane belt to the coils. This is expected to be an example of human-robot collaboration creating a safer work environment.

Logistics work involving handling coils weighing 20 to 40 tons carries a high risk of accidents and the potential for musculoskeletal disorders due to repetitive tasks. The deployment of humanoid robots is expected to address these issues. Since last year, POSCO Group has been considering the introduction of humanoid robots in terminal logistics processes, such as transportation and material preparation, considering the characteristics of heavy construction sites. If this demonstration process confirms the mechanical safety and collaboration potential of humanoid robots with workers, the group plans to expand their deployment and apply them to various logistics sites.

Persona AI is a US-based humanoid robot startup founded in 2024 by renowned robotics engineers and industry experts. Prior to this agreement, POSCO Group invested a total of $3 million in Persona AI last year. Combining NASA’s robotic hand technology with its own precision control technology, Persona AI is developing industrial humanoid robots capable of everything from assembling fine components to handling heavy loads.

To respond promptly to the industrial paradigm shift, including AX, POSCO Group plans to expand its Intelligent Factory initiative across its manufacturing sites and create a safe and comfortable, technology-based workplace.

▲ (From the second from the left in the front row, moving right) Kyuho Chung, Head of POSCO DX Strategy Office; Minseok Shim, President & CEO of POSCO DX; Nicolaus Radford, CEO of Persona AI; Geunhwan Kim, President of POSCO Venture Capital, along with business representatives, pose for a commemorative photo after signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) at POSCO DX’s Pangyo office for the on-site application of industrial humanoid robots.