The Korea Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) and Startups Agency (KOSME) announced on March 16 that it has established an overseas demonstration hub for artificial intelligence (AI) robots in Boston, U.S., in collaboration with the Daegu Mechatronics & Materials Institute (DMI) and the Global Robot Cluster (GRC).
The demonstration base for the AI robot sector in the Global Innovation Regulatory Free Special Zone has been set up at the NERVE CENTER.
The Global Innovation Regulatory Free Special Zone is an initiative launched by KOSME and Startups in 2024 to support the demonstration of new technologies and industries in South Korea.
It designates specific regions and fields to assist promising companies that require overseas certification and demonstration, allowing them to validate their technologies in local environments. This project, which enhances existing regulatory-free special zones, is operated by KOSME as a specialized institution.
The Boston hub aims to support market entry for companies designated as global special zone firms in the AI robot sector in Daegu last May. The DMI leads the initiative, with the KOSME and the GRC collaborating.
An KOSME official explained that currently in South Korea, the Personal Information Protection Act strictly limits robots from collecting video, movement, and location data of people for AI training. In contrast, on-site demonstrations can utilize real data to implement advanced autonomous driving features, such as complex crowd environment recognition and pedestrian behavior prediction.
The KOSME plans to compare and validate the learning performance when using original data versus pseudonymous information during the demonstration. It will also analyze the impact of using original data on improving AI performance.
Company A, located in the Daegu special zone, is developing a medical waste transport robot that incorporates AI video learning. The goal of this demonstration is to enhance autonomous navigation within hospitals and improve recognition and identification functions for managers.
Ban Jung-sik, the KOSME’s Regional Innovation Director, stated that securing data through overseas demonstrations is crucial for enhancing the global competitiveness of the AI robot companies. It will continue to assess challenges and provide follow-up support to ensure that special zone companies can establish a stable presence in the North American market.