Korea Electrotechnology Research Institute (KERI, President Myeong-ho Myung), Korea's only specialized electrical research institute, has joined hands with Busan Metropolitan City and Changwon City, representative cities in the southeastern region, to revitalize the local economy using artificial intelligence (AI) technology.

KERI announced that it signed a 'Korea-Canada Business Agreement for the Expansion of AI Research and Development Results' at its Changwon headquarters on November 1st, with the attendance of Changwon Mayor Heo Seong-moo and Busan Metropolitan City Deputy Mayor for Economic Affairs Kim Yun-il.

The agreement on this day was promoted with the aim of expanding the 'AI-based regional economic revitalization project' that KERI is successfully carrying out in collaboration with Changwon City and the University of Waterloo in Canada to the southeastern region. The project has garnered significant attention as it is being conducted in Canada, the birthplace of 'deep learning', which gave birth to AlphaGo, with the participation of a research team from the University of Waterloo, which boasts a world-class level of applied AI in manufacturing.

Established in July of last year, the KERI-University of Waterloo Changwon AI Research Center has received rave reviews for its adoption of AI technology into the local machinery industry, resulting in increased productivity and efficiency, reduced tool maintenance costs, and reduced defect rates. KERI, Busan, and Changwon have joined forces to expand the benefits of this innovative project to the entire southeastern region, including Busan, and to revitalize the local economy.

The specific areas of cooperation under this agreement include: △Support for AI research and development activities to revitalize the local economy and improve citizens' lives; △Continuously securing representative AI models for regional specialized industries; and △Cooperation to expand the AI base and spread scientific culture.

KERI President Myeong-ho Myeong said, “The AI business that started last year has been showing great power in the industrial field, and many companies have requested to expand the scale of the business.” He added, “I hope that this agreement will help more companies benefit and serve as an opportunity to revitalize the local economy. I also hope that this will be recognized as an exemplary case of win-win cooperation between government-funded research institutes and local governments.”

Currently, the three partner organizations are continuing their exchanges with the University of Waterloo in Canada through non-face-to-face video conferencing and real-time information exchange. As soon as the COVID-19 situation improves, the University of Waterloo research team plans to visit Busan and Changwon to jointly inspect industrial sites and effectively support local businesses.

Meanwhile, KERI is a government-funded research institute specializing in electricity under the National Research Council of Science and Technology of the Ministry of Science and ICT.