KG Steel partners with Inha University to bring AI to steel production, logistics

KG Steel has teamed up with Inha University to apply AI to its steel production processes and in-factory logistics. The company plans to use AI to upgrade production planning — currently dependent on the experience of skilled workers — as well as product movement and inventory management, and to validate the technology at an actual factory.

KG Steel announced Monday that it is working with Inha University's AI Innovation Graduate School, known as the AX Graduate School, to drive an AI transformation at its Incheon factory.

Since launching the joint project in August, the two sides have conducted mutual visits between researchers and factory floor staff to identify the technologies the production environment needs. Through that process, they identified five research tasks and agreed to pursue two first: optimizing production planning and building a smart yard system.

The first task is using AI to improve the company's advanced planning and scheduling (APS) system. In steel manufacturing, production conditions vary depending on the grade of steel being produced, the state of the equipment and the sequence of operations. The continuous galvanizing line (CGL) is particularly complex to plan for, as it requires simultaneous consideration of the production order for multiple products and the operating conditions of each piece of equipment.

KG Steel plans to have AI learn the work rules and equipment-specific constraints accumulated by experienced workers. The company will research ways to combine reinforcement learning with the existing rule-based planning approach to optimize production sequencing and equipment operation.

The second task is building a smart yard to manage the storage and transport of products within the factory more efficiently. The company will develop technology to track the real-time locations of steel products and transport equipment using vision cameras and lidar sensors installed at the factory. Lidar is a device that uses laser light to measure the distance and position of objects.

The goal is to integrate AI into product receiving, storage and transfer operations that currently rely heavily on workers' experience. By analyzing the positions of products and transport equipment and suggesting optimal movement routes and work sequences, the company aims to improve the accuracy of in-factory logistics.

The research will be conducted in connection with Inha University's AX Graduate School program, which trains master's and doctoral candidates who combine deep knowledge of industrial settings with practical AI skills.

The program runs for six years through 2031 at a total scale of about 20 billion won. Of that, about 2 billion won will go toward joint industry-academia research between KG Steel and Inha University and toward AI transformation research for steel manufacturing sites.

KG Steel will provide university researchers with production data and process operating experience gathered at its Incheon factory. Researchers will use that material to develop AI models, and KG Steel will then apply the findings to actual equipment and logistics operations to verify their effectiveness.

The partnership will also run a talent development program that connects real industrial challenges to university education.

Students at Inha University's AX Graduate School will take part in industry-academia projects using production and logistics challenges drawn from KG Steel's Incheon factory, and will gain hands-on experience with steel manufacturing processes through on-site internships. The university plans to train about 50 master's and doctoral-level AI specialists each year.

KG Steel said it plans to identify candidates who combine an understanding of the steel industry with AI skills through this process, and is also considering linking the program to future hiring.

"Working with Inha University on real challenges from the steel manufacturing floor, we will secure AI technologies that can be put to immediate use on-site," said Jung Chun-ho, head of the advanced research team at KG Steel's technology research institute. "We will continue to raise process efficiency and safety through AI, while actively contributing to the development of the hands-on AI talent that industry truly needs."