POSCO Mobility Solutions Expected to Expand Robot Automation at Domestic, Poland, Mexico, and India Sites

POSCO Group is partnering with Yaskawa Electric (hereafter “Yaskawa”), one of the world’s top three industrial robot manufacturers, to actively expand robot deployment in POSCO Mobility Solutions’ flagship product, the drive motor core production site.

On the 14th, a three-party business agreement signing ceremony was held at POSCO Mobility Solutions’ Cheonan plant. The ceremony was attended by Shim Min-suk, President of POSCO DX; Kim Sang-gyun, President of POSCO Mobility Solutions; and Yamada Seigo, President of Yaskawa Electric Korea, along with other business partners.

Through this collaboration, POSCO Mobility Solutions plans to gradually implement robots that transport motor cores produced by POSCO Mobility Solutions to quality inspection measuring equipment and sort the transported products by quality grade. These robots will be deployed at POSCO Mobility Solutions’ Cheonan and Pohang plants, as well as overseas sites in Poland, Mexico, and India. Prior to this agreement, POSCO Mobility Solutions and POSCO DX had already installed and operated these robots at the Pohang plant last year. POSCO Mobility Solutions expects this collaboration to enhance safety and maximize productivity in industrial sites, laying a solid foundation for future cost competitiveness innovation.

To achieve this, POSCO Mobility Solutions will identify the robot requirements required for production sites, while POSCO DX will design the layout of the robot automation system, considering integration with existing production facilities and systems, and provide and build the entire automation system. Yaskawa will provide the optimized robots and provide technical support, including after-sales service.

The drive motor cores produced by POSCO Mobility Solutions are key components in electric and hybrid vehicles, converting electricity from the battery into rotational power to turn the wheels.

POSCO Mobility Solutions produces drive motor cores and supplies them to global automakers such as Hyundai Motor Company, Tesla, and Stellantis. Yaskawa possesses motion control-based robotics technology in the industrial robotics sector, providing a competitive edge in high-speed, high-precision processes.

A POSCO Group official stated, “We are pursuing productivity improvements by applying robotic automation to industrial sites such as steel and secondary batteries. Through this agreement, we will strengthen our three-way collaboration with Yaskawa, a global robot manufacturer, and expand physical AI-based robotic automation, combined with AI technology, not only within our group but also to external industrial sites.”

Meanwhile, POSCO Group is actively promoting the creation of a safe and comfortable workplace based on technology by expanding intelligent factories across its manufacturing sites to enhance per-person productivity and by applying unmanned robot technology.

▲ A Yaskawa robot is transporting a manufactured product to a quality inspection measuring device at the POSCO Mobility Solutions Pohang Plant’s drive motor core stator production line.

Introducing Humanoid Robots Specialized in Heavy-Duty Industrial Sites to Enhance Productivity and Safety

POSCO Group is investing in a US-based company specializing in industrial humanoid robots to actively expand the use of physical AI in the field, combining its AI technology with robots.

POSCO DX (CEO Shim Min-suk) announced a $2 million investment in US-based industrial humanoid robot company ‘Persona AI’ and will actively collaborate on joint robot development and field application. This investment was made through the “POSCO DX Corporate Venture Capital (CVC) New Technology Investment Fund,” funded by POSCO DX and POSCO Capital in the second half of this year. An additional $1 million was invested through the “POSCO CVC Scale-Up Fund No. 1,” also funded by POSCO Capital, bringing the total investment to $3 million across the POSCO Group.

Founded in June 2024, Persona AI is an industrial humanoid robot company developing robots specialized for high-intensity, heavy-duty industrial sites. Co-founded by CEO Nicolaus Radford, a former NASA robotics engineer, and CTO Jerry Pratt, former CTO of Figure AI, a US humanoid robot company, the company is now CTO.

Based on NASA’s robotic hand technology, Persona AI implements precision control capabilities capable of everything from fine part assembly to heavy-duty handling. In addition, the company possesses multi-axis tactile sensing and adaptive control technology. This technology integrates data acquired through the robot’s multi-axis tactile sensor in real time to simultaneously control force and position, enabling the robot to perform stable tasks even in uneven environments. Furthermore, Persona AI applies an AI control algorithm based on the Robot Foundation Model (RFM), which acts as the robot’s brain, enabling the robot to autonomously interact with its surroundings and perform advanced tasks.

With this investment, POSCO DX plans to develop a detailed collaboration plan for the development of humanoid robots that can replace high-risk manual processes in the group’s industrial sites. The company explains that by combining its own industrial AI technology with Persona AI’s robotics technology, it will accelerate the spread of physical AI. Previously, POSCO DX is working with POSCO to implement physical AI, which efficiently controls large-scale equipment such as cranes, conveyor belts, and unloading machines at steel mills without human intervention.

The US investment bank Morgan Stanley forecast in a report that the global humanoid market will grow by an average of 63% annually, reaching approximately $38 billion (approximately 54 trillion won) by 2035, with manufacturing and logistics accounting for 60% of the market.

Meanwhile, POSCO Group is expanding its corporate venture capital (CVC) fund, which focuses on venture investments to identify innovative technologies and promising future businesses, from its existing focus at POSCO Holdings to a customized platform for each operating company. In August of this year, POSCO established its first CVC fund, with 50 billion won each for POSCO International and POSCO DX.

▲ Image of a humanoid robot model being developed by Persona AI.

Updating user-centered features such as maximum performance of information management to promote expansion of group companies and external businesses

POSCO DX (CEO Shim Min-suk) has developed a product for PosMaster-HMI Windows, a control system for industrial site unit facilities, and is expanding its field application.

PosMaster is composed of a PLC (Programmable Logic Controller) that controls facilities at industrial sites and an HMI (Human Machine Interface) that monitors the operating status of the PLC and supports workers to control facilities directly, and has been independently developed and applied in the field by POSCO DX.

The upgraded PosMaster-HMI is a product that allows users to select facilities to control, configure control screens, and add logic to operate the system directly. The newly released PosMaster-HMI product was developed for Windows, which is highly preferred by users, following the existing Linux-based product, and POSCO DX plans to meet the needs of customers, expand the range of choices, and expand related businesses.

POSCO DX improved the maximum performance of server information management of the newly released HMI for Windows from 5,000 tags to 65,000 tags, and enhanced the ability to access heterogeneous databases and program them directly. In addition, when users set on/off and temperature exceedance alarms for motors, they can easily identify the location of the occurrence through the HMI.

POSCO DX ‘Installer’, an HMI-specific installation file, to enhance the convenience of users when installing or setting up , and also implemented ‘Service Process’, a program that manages the operation and communication of HMI servers, and ‘Icon Tray’, which and controls the server’s execution status information in real time, to enhance monitoring. POSCO DX has reduced version errors and improved efficiency by managing management for Widows products and existing Linux products from one source.

Changing the operating system requires a development period of more than two years because it goes through a process similar to new development, but POSCO DX shortened the development period to one year through a cross-platform design that can be operated on more than one platform.

POSCO DX plans to apply Windows products to the Pohang Steel Plant’s fourth heavy-duty crane, unmanned crane, and hot metal car autonomous transportation control business, and will expand to other group companies and external smart factory construction projects.

Meanwhile, POSCO DX plans to strengthen marketing activities for the launch of the PosMaster-HMI by conducting special promotions and holding technical roadshows to visit customer sites in each region. PosMaster quotation and A/S inquiries can be made through the official email of the technical support account(posmaster.help@poscodx.com).

▲POSCO DX Technology Research Institute’s development employees are monitoring the newly developed ‘PosMaster-HMI Windows’ screen.

Leading the spread of AX in the industrial field with applications such as coil unloading systems for tens of tons of steel products

POSCO DX (President Shim Min-suk) is accelerating its manufacturing AX (AI Transformation) by advancing its ‘Physical AI’ technology based on virtual environment simulation and applying it to the field one after another.

POSCO DX announced that it has developed an AI model that replicates a real-world factory in a virtual environment and established a ‘physical AI’ development system that efficiently supports AI learning and verification prior to field application. Facilities and sensors at industrial sites are greatly affected by the physical environment such as inertia, acceleration, and noise, and by implementing conditions that can be encountered in the real world in a virtual space and conducting various simulations, AI can learn the optimal movement of facilities.

At actual industrial sites, there were limitations in acquiring field data and testing AI models due to disruption of operations or safety and security reasons. POSCO DX utilized virtual environment simulation to solve these issues and is expected to significantly reduce the time and cost of AI model development and field application.

POSCO DX has implemented virtual environment simulation by adopting Isaac Sim of NVIDIA Omniverse platform. Isaac Sim is a SW that supports verification by simulating the physical environment precisely with actual sensors and systems in a virtual environment.

POSCO DX recently built a specialized optical laboratory in its Pangyo office building to further advance its ‘physical AI’. The optical laboratory is a space where the response of sensors and precision according to specifications, which are difficult to identify in AI simulations, are tested by artificially creating an environment similar to the actual site in terms of lighting, temperature, and movement. By reflecting the sensor data verified here in the AI ​​simulation, it is evaluated that the gap between the virtual and actual sites has been minimized, enabling more efficient simulations.

On the other hand, ‘Physical AI’, which was the topic of this year’s CES 2025, refers to AI that recognizes the surrounding environment and interacts with the real world by controlling physical systems. ‘Physical AI’By applying , AI can recognize and judge various operation situations and control and operate facilities directly with the on-site control system (PLC, Programmable Logic Controller), enabling unmanned operation. POSCO DX is leading the spread of ‘Physical AI’ in industrial sites by converging AI technology with existing IT (information technology) and OT(automation technology).

POSCO DX ‘physical AI’ to cranes that transport atypical products with different sizes and packaging forms.is prioritizing the application of In the first half of this year, POSCO DX developed an AI model to automate the unloading of coil products transported on trailers into cranes, and plans to spread it horizontally by conducting virtual test drives and applying it to the field.

Yoon Il-yong, head of POSCO DX AI Technology Development Center, emphasized, “POSCO DX is pursuing the implementation of ‘physical AI’ technology with the goal of ‘autonomous physical systemization of manufacturing facilities’ based on the convergence of AI, IT, and OT technologies,” and added, “We will strive to establish ourselves as a leading company in intelligent factories by advancing ‘physical AI’ utilizing physical development methodologies such as virtual environment simulation.”

▲POSCO DX AI researchers are testing the physical environment, such as light and distance, of the coil loading and unloading site in the optical laboratory of the Pangyo building.

Save your valuable time. Watch a short version of a long YouTube video in just 3 minutes! In this article, we will introduce POSCO DX’s Robot Automation Center. Shall we listen to the story of POSCO DX Robot Automation Center, which is establishing safe and productive industrial sites by applying industrial robots to high-risk and high-intensity sites?

There are many dangerous and difficult processes at industrial sites. POSCO Group, the largest steel company in Korea, makes molten steel in a blast furnace with temperatures above 1,000℃, removes impurities, and produces high-quality steel with its own recipe. Due to the nature of this work, the company needs engineers with advanced know-how accumulated over 20 to 30 years.

However, a large number of highly skilled workers who have played an active role in the field are about to retire. That number is 7.4 million, accounting for 25% of the economically active population. As a result, companies are increasingly demanding industrial robots that reflect the technical know-how of veteran employees.

POSCO DX is particularly distinguished in the industrial robot market. Now, let’s take a look at the POSCO DX Robot Automation Center and the robot business!

The new POSCO DX Robot Automation Center established earlier this year is an organization that operates robot engineering in manufacturing and logistics as well as software technology for very dangerous and high-intensity work in steel mills based on its know-how at industrial sites. It is spurring the spread of AI robots at industrial sites to create a safe work environment.

Steel mills are considered representative high-risk sites because they handle molten steel. If they are automated with robots, safe work sites can be established. If robots are used in dangerous sites and people are assigned to other places, work productivity will naturally improve.

POSCO DX is becoming an “intelligent factory” powerhouse, automating everything from manufacturing to winning orders and sales beyond a smart factory! Let’s take a closer look at the examples POSCO DX has applied in the field.

① Dross Removal Robot

POSCO Gwangyang Steelworks No. 4 Plating Plant has a process for covering the surface of steel with zinc. In this case, when high-temperature zinc and the steel plate come into contact, a foreign substance called dross* is formed and the process will go smoothly only when this is removed at the right time. However, the zinc plating pot containing boiling hot zinc reaches temperatures around 460℃.
*Dross: Waste material formed when high-temperature zinc and steel plates come into contact.

Now, instead of people, dross removal robots constantly remove dross from the surface of the hot zinc plating pot in the field. In No. 4 Plating Plant, workers are usually in the operating room, and robots take care of the dangerous sites. Prior to the introduction of robots, a team consisting of four workers manually skimmed off foreign substances 10 times a day.

② Band Cutter Automation Robot

In addition, POSCO DX, along with Pohang Steelworks, pushed for the automation of the band cutter in the cold rolling process.

The coils produced in the rolling process of steel materials are thin and bound by bands and shipped to each plant in the form of rolls so that they do not unravel as they move. To perform reprocessing, the band binding the coil has to be removed, but at this time, the band may bounce off and injure workers.

To prevent such safety accidents, POSCO DX introduced the band cutter automation robot. This robot is expected to be expanded further since it can be applied not only to the rolling process but also to the stainless steel and electrical steel production processes.

③ Saggar Robot

Furthermore, POSCO DX is strengthening cooperation with the POSCO Future M Gwangyang cathode materials plant, which produces rechargeable battery materials.

They applied a robot automation system to replace a saggar, a refractory container for baking cathode materials. Saggar is contained in lithium and baked, and corrodes easily, so it must be replaced regularly, but the work intensity is high due to the large quantity.

However, POSCO Future M detected waste saggar with X-rays and POSCO DX automated the work of replacing the detected waste saggar with new saggar, reducing worker fatigue and performing the work more efficiently! POSCO DX and POSCO Future M are also closely collaborating to apply this automation system to the Pohang NCA cathode materials plant.

④ Automated Guided Vehicle (AGV) and AGV Control System (ACS)

POSCO DX’s robot technology was introduced to the POSCO Fulfillment Center in Gwangyang, which was completed this year.

POSCO DX has introduced robots from various manufacturers that play different roles in the field, and applied ACS* solutions for the integrated management of collaboration between robots and task assignments. ACS is a system that assigns a tasks to an Automated Guided Vehicle (AGV) or an Autonomous Mobile Robot (AMR), and creates the optimal route so they do not collide with each other. This system was jointly developed with Daim Research.
*AGV Control System (ACS): A system that controls the traffic of multiple unmanned transport devices.

In addition, POSCO Future M is increasing the capacity of cathode material production and automating raw material transport by using unmanned transport robots. This project is now underway in Pohang, Gwangyang, and Quebec City.

POSCO DX plans to become a leading company in improving safety and productivity by providing industrial robot solutions not only to POSCO Group but also to various high-intensity and high-risk sites. Please keep an eye on POSCO DX, which will grow into a company specializing in intelligent factories beyond smart factories based on its creative robot technologies!

▼Meet the POSCO DX Robot Automation Center through video!↓

Discovering convergence businesses such as IT+OT and promoting expansion to other business sites to achieve carbon neutrality

POSCO DX (CEO Duk-kyoon Jung) will build a system to achieve carbon neutrality at manufacturing sites by preemptively applying mid- to low-temperature power generation and energy efficiency technologies to Hwajin Steel (CEO Byung-soo Kim).

POSCO DX, along with Hwajin Steel, which produces reinforcing bars (deformed bars), was selected as a pioneering plant construction business geared to carbon neutrality and is pursuing business operations on a full scale. With funding support from the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, the carbon neutral pioneer plant construction business aims to pioneer the rollout of eco-friendly systems and high energy efficiency facilities to reduce carbon emissions at the site.

POSCO DX plans to build a mid- to low-temperature power generation (organic rankine cycle) system that produces electricity using waste heat generated from Hwajin Steel heating furnaces. Once the power generation system is built by August 2025, this will enable 750 kW of power per hour to be produced, corresponding to 30% of Hwajin Steel’s power consumption, and greenhouse gas emissions to be reduced by 10%.

Besides this, a high-efficiency inverter is applied to the blower, which was previously operated at a constant rotation speed, to enable speed control, and energy efficiency is also significantly increased by integrated control of the air compressor, which operates non-stop, so that it can be adjusted to demand. In this way, they plan to establish an energy management system that monitors manufacturing site data, such as facility performance, energy usage, and inverter control, to analyze and improve power intensity.

Through this project, Hwajin Steel looks to save KRW 850 million in electric energy per year. With its industry know-how, POSCO DX is undertaking a project to build an integrated control system to save energy at domestic manufacturing sites, and plans to apply it to mid- to low-temperature power generation in the future even.

The head of Pohang Automation Business Office Myoung-nam Kim at POSCO DX explained, “We are actively exploring convergence-type businesses, such as IT+OT, to facilitate the achievement of carbon neutrality in the manufacturing industry,” and added, “We relentlessly work to upgrade the business model geared to manufacturing sites, such as low- and mid-temperature power generation and energy management systems, and kickstart expanded applications.”

Meanwhile, Hwajin Steel has developed its own eco-friendly pyrolysis oil burner that can recycle thermoplastic materials to complete the fuel conversion by applying it to the heating furnace, and pursues low-NOx product certification to expand its business model.

Rollout of smart logistics systems such as the WMS (Warehouse Management System), Auto Store, three-dimensional automatic warehouse, and AGV & ACS

POSCO DX (CEO Jung Duk-kyoon) has collaborated with POSCO Gwangyang Works and contributed to the successful rollout of the first fulfillment center-based (POSCO PF Center) logistics system in the domestic manufacturing sector that integrates ‘IT+ OT (operational technology)+ robots’.

As a facility that provides integrated services from logistics ordering, storage, packaging, delivery, collection, and return processing, a fulfillment center is primarily used by logistics companies to ensure prompt and accurate delivery to their consumers.

POSCO is the first manufacturing company to incorporate the fulfillment concept into procuring materials required for steel mills. Gwangyang Works previously distributed the materials needed for facility maintenance to about 300 material warehouses. To improve the inefficiency and mitigate management problems caused by the same materials being stored separately in each warehouse, a fulfillment center has been rolled out to provide total services from material ordering and inventory management to prompt delivery.

The POSCO PF Center, which POSCO Gwangyang Works completed in the Gwangyang National Industrial Complex on April 8, measures the equivalent of seven soccer fields, with a total floor area of 50,000m2. It is capable of storing materials of various sizes, from large materials to medium/small materials, through more than 34,000 cells.

POSCO DX, which rolled out a logistics system in all fields, excluding civil engineering and construction, with POSCO operations, has improved the efficiency of material storage and delivery management by establishing the Warehouse Management System (WMS) that predicts material demand and manages inventory based on data. The efficiency of material storage has been improved by employing large shelves that automatically store materials in cells using stacker cranes, and Auto Store, a cube-shaped warehouse in which robots automatically store and pick materials.

In the 200m section between the picking zone and the shipping zone, AGV (automated guided vehicles) that transports materials autonomously were deployed, and the efficiency of transport robot operations has been improved by developing an ACS (AGV control system) to control multiple AGV

With user convenience also being improved, users can check and order material images and locations in a 3D metaverse environment without physically visiting the POSCO PF Center, and also check the material delivery status in real time.

Besides this, POSCO DX has installed a 1.4MW solar power generation equipment on the roof of the PF Center, which is enough power for about 500 households to use for a year, allowing this facility to operate as an eco-friendly, low-carbon logistics center.

Through this project, POSCO DX attained the success of building a standard model for the WMS and ACS solutions applicable to fulfillment centers. On the heels of securing design and construction capabilities and specialized technology to build a fulfillment center, it plans to more actively target the domestic logistics automation market.

A POSCO DX official said, “Through this project, the company has established a benchmark reference that integrates the company’s major DX technologies, from IT system construction and facility automation to robot engineering” and continued, “We will plan to leading the construction of intelligent factories through the convergence of technologies such as industrial AI, digital twin, and robots.”

Putting the spotlight on smart factories, industrial robot automation, & smart logistics systems

POSCO DX (CEO Jung Duk-kyoon) is participating in ‘Smart Factory+Automation World 2024’ held at the COEX Convention Center in Samseong-dong, Seoul for three days from March 27 to 29 and has launched full-fledged marketing by unveiling a smart factory, industrial robot automation, and smart logistics system that integrates ‘AI+IT+OT’, such as AI, digital twin, and PLC.

‘Smart Factory+Automation World 2024’ is Korea’s largest smart factory and automation exhibition, during which POSCO DX is garnering attention by showcasing to visitors the know-how of implementing smart factories in manufacturing sites such as the steel industry and secondary battery materials, as well as solutions in related fields.

The industrial robot automation sector showcases examples of applications in steel mills and secondary battery material production plants. An industrial AGV (automated guided vehicle) specialized for heavy and chemical industrial sites is exhibited and AGV control system (ACS) is being demonstrated. POSCO DX, which takes charge of robot expansion under the POSCO Group, develops relevant technologies and solutions and delivers overall solutions for robot automation, including consulting, design, construction and operation for field application.

POSCO DX is also promoting the logistics automation system of Hanjin Daejeon Smart Mega Hub, the largest of its kind in South Korea, built earlier this year. Hanjin Daejeon Smart Mega Hub is equipped with a dock capable of loading and unloading 200 vehicles and unloading 80 vehicles concurrently, making it the largest domestic logistics center capable of processing 120,000 items per hour. This greatly improved processing capacity has been made possible by adopting image recognition AI technology.

In addition to ‘PosFrame’, which collects data from manufacturing sites in real time, analyzes big data, and supports optimal control using AI, smart factory system POSCO Group’s smart factory platform that integrates ‘IT+OT’ technologies such as digital twin and PLC, is also being unveiled to visitors.

In particular, we created a model of an unmanned wire crane that integrates AI + IT + OT, such as Vision AI, AI-based optimization and abnormality detection technology, and facility control, and implemented it in the exhibition hall as a virtual factory using a digital twin, for visitors to observe the movement of the crane through VR. This is garnering keen attention by providing them a first-hand and immersive experience.

A POSCO DX official said, “This exhibition presented a good opportunity to confirm market interest in the company’s various solutions, such as industrial robots, logistics automation, AI and digital twins, and to establish the right direction on what technologies and services to provide our customers.” He then continued, “We will devote our efforts to becoming a company that kickstarts the digital transformation at the forefront of the domestic industry in the future.”

Kickstarting the industry-wide adoption of AI specialized in industrial sites such as steel, secondary battery materials, and logistics

POSCO DX (CEO Jung Duk-kyoon) announced that it plans to lead artificial intelligence transformation (AX) in addition to digital transformation (DX) by kickstarting “industrial AI” specialized for adoption at industrial sites such as steel, secondary battery materials, and logistics.

POSCO DX established the AI Technology Center this year and is integrating AI technology based on data generated from industrial sites to bring about increased productivity and more efficient and safer sites by implementing automation, unmanned operation, and optimization.

With the existing AI organization expanded and reorganized through the launch of a center, it is expected that the company will be able to effectively respond to the demand for AI technology in POSCO Group’s key business areas, such as steel manufacturing and secondary battery materials.

With the mantra of autonomy undertaken at industrial sites, POSCO DX, which has been leading the way in building smart factories at domestic production sites, is ushering in the ‘smart manufacturing 2.0 era’ with systems that operate optimally without human intervention by integrating AI technology to the three core functions of autonomy, namely cognitive, judgment, and control. As Korea’s only IT/OT convergence company, it is introducing autonomous systems through the convergence of AI and existing IT and OT technologies.

To this end, the AI Technology Center is developing AI engines in three fields, including vision intelligence, decision intelligence, and control intelligence, and is expanding its application to various fields.

Foremost, cognitive AI is a field that serves as the eyes of the field, and shows differentiated results by applying not only general 2D image-based deep learning but also 3D image-specific deep learning technology catering to heavy and chemical industry characterized by a wide range of fields to diverse fields like manufacturing and distribution logistics.

In particular, at steel mills, cognitive AI is implemented to cranes that transport tens of tons of steel materials to make them unmanned, as well as industrial robots operated in secondary battery material factories, etc., serving as the eyes and producing great results.

In addition to video data, it is also bringing about unmanned facility management by applying anomaly detection technology that analyzes in real time data collected from facilities in the field to recognize preemptively whether there are any facility abnormalities.

In the field of judgment AI, it is developing logical reasoning technology that determines the work order and allocated equipment, recognized as aspects directly related to improving factory productivity, and extracts the relationship between equipment information and abnormalities through manufacturing-specific large language model (LLM) technology.

In the field of control AI, the company provides support for automatic control by autonomously deriving the optimal operating values of equipment, in addition to efficient production activities by learning the patterns of highly skilled workers through deep learning.

POSCO DX AI Technology Center Head Yoon Il-yong said, “In lockstep with the high interest in service-based AI technologies, there is growing interest in industrial AI to solve industrial requirements such as efficiency, autonomy, and unmanned technology, and “industrial AI” is attracting attention as a field that can create real economic value.” He explained further, “With the importance of reducing both AI development and inference costs, the AI Technology Center is fully dedicated to developing and integrating proprietary AI technology specialized for tech-intensive and heavy and chemical industrial fields, including steel and secondary battery materials, so that POSCO DX can grow into an Industrial AI specialist company.”

Improved productivity and accuracy, and reduced waiting time… Dramatic increase in logistics throughput

POSCO DX (CEO Jung Duk-kyoon) applied cutting-edge technologies, such as AI, to successfully build the logistics automation system for Hanjin Daejeon Smart Mega Hub, the largest of its kind in Korea.

Hanjin Daejeon Smart Mega Hub is the largest logistics center in Korea, equipped with four floors above ground, a total floor area of 148,230 m², the size of 21 soccer fields, and boasts the capability to process 120,000 items per hour.

As the largest of its kind in the country, the system is also vast, taking 3 years and 5 months to build it completely. The center is equipped with a conveyor with a total length of 40km, a 2.5km cross-belt sorter that automatically sorts products, and a dock capable of loading 200 vehicles and unloading 80 vehicles concurrently.

In collaboration with Hanjin Corp., POSCO DX, which was in charge of building the system, introduced its own image recognition AI technology to tasks that were manually sorted by workers with the naked eye. By implementing the ‘AI 3 sorting system’ that automatically recognizes the shape of cargo with irregular shapes and sizes, such as gunny sacks, wrapping cloths, etc., and automatically sorts them by size in advance, sorting tasks previously performed by deploying workers at 80 unloading lines have been automated.

Similarly, it has been evaluated that the automation and accuracy of the sorting process were dramatically improved by building a ‘vision singulator’ that analyzes the shape of courier products sent in large quantities with an AI-based vision camera and then arranges them in a row.

During peak times marked by high volume, POSCO DX adjusts warehousing times and has also established the Dock Management System (DMS) to shorten vehicle waiting times. This system has made it possible to provide a scheduling service that notifies the vehicle driver in advance of the available stocking time every 30 minutes and utilizes image recognition AI to identify the remaining load in the truck working at the dock where products are loaded and unloaded, allowing the next worker to prepare in advance.

POSCO DX has achieved the result of shortening the construction period through scientific project management. From the basic design stage, the construction period has been shortened by applying simulation tools to pre-verify the cargo throughput for each designed layout and eliminate errors.

Cho Seok-joo, head of the Logistics Automation Department at POSCO DX said, “With organic collaboration with Hanjin Corp., we were able to innovatively shorten the production and test run period through IT + PLC (control) SW convergence technology, which is the company’s core competency.” He added, “In particular, we began receiving the entire volume from the nearby Daejeon Logistics Center in early January and have reached stabilization early on by completely handling the volume during the Lunar New Year peak season. It became an opportunity to demonstrate the excellence of POSCO DX’s design and construction capabilities in all logistics center processes, including machinery, electricity, control, and IT.”

Meanwhile, at the design stage, Hanjin Daejeon Smart Mega Hub acquired the “Smart Logistics Center Grade 1” preliminary certification bestowed by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport to courier cargo sorting facilities with excellent efficiency and safety, and is scheduled to be converted to this certification after completion. Certification grades are classified from 1 to 5 based on the level of cutting-edge advancement and automation of the facility, with Daejeon Smart Mega Hub achieving the highest grade.