‘Practical Use of Science and Technology in Full Swing’: Automation in the Manufacturing AX Market Gets Smarter

[The Financial News] #1. Mass-produced food products are difficult to check one by one by opening each package to see if they have been cooked properly. Vision artificial intelligence (AI) inspection solves this problem. It can detect defects or abnormalities in the food without opening the packaging of cooked products. CJ OliveNetworks’ vision AI inspection supports smart quality control for a wide range of products such as Hetbahn.
#2. AI working in collaboration with humans is one of the defining features of future work environments. In offices, AI handles tedious, repetitive tasks, while on production lines it intelligently monitors hazardous operations in unmanned conditions. This is the “AI Workforce” environment introduced by POSCO DX. The company says it is significantly boosting work efficiency through AI.
On the 4th, Asia’s largest manufacturing AX (AI transformation) exhibition, “Smart Factory + Automation World 2026 (AW 2026),” opened at COEX in Gangnam-gu, Seoul. For the first time, an AI Factory special exhibition was set up, showcasing a wide array of AI technologies. As AI is applied across manufacturing, logistics, and office work, the practical use of science and technology is entering a full-fledged phase.
■ POSCO DX’s “AI Workforce” draws attentionPOSCO DX set up an “AI Workforce” theme zone in the AI Factory exhibition area. AI Workforce is a future-oriented work environment in which AI agents collaborate with people across office and manufacturing sites to solve problems. POSCO DX explained that it is actively introducing this “AI Workforce” approach, where AI agents work alongside humans to streamline tasks. The company is currently expanding it across office functions such as HR, procurement, and business analytics, and is developing more than 110 AI agents in total.
A POSCO DX representative said, “We developed an AI agent that automatically verifies Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) and Business Management System data for financial closing, and even performs settlement and report drafting, cutting work time by about 80%,” adding, “Based on the experience data of skilled workers in industrial sites, we are also applying AI agents optimized for operations and control, and pushing ahead with automation of equipment operation at the unit level, data processing, and decision-making.”
■ CJ OliveNetworks showcases its AI FactoryAI utilization in industrial sites also stood out. Under the theme “AI FACTORY FOR LIFE,” CJ OliveNetworks exhibited cutting-edge technologies that have emerged as core solutions in smart factories and automation. Using AI, companies can design end-to-end industrial site solutions and apply AI technologies tailored to each operation. At the AI Factory exhibition, CJ OliveNetworks operated an “AI Discovery” zone, where it presented optimal solutions customized to each company’s environment for customers considering AX adoption in their manufacturing and logistics sites.
CJ OliveNetworks stated, “Visitors to the ‘AI Discovery’ zone can receive free expert consulting that not only proposes which manufacturing and logistics AX technologies can be applied to their own companies, but also walks them through real-world use cases so they can move all the way to commercialization,” adding, “Based on on-site data from the Manufacturing Execution System (MES), Real-time Data Management System, and Real-Time Database (RTDB), agentic AI can automatically analyze process and equipment conditions, determine whether there are any anomalies, and even provide response guidelines.”
Beyond the AI Factory exhibition, various new domestic physical AI technologies were also on display, drawing interest. Robot sensor company AIDIN Robotics used the Smart Factory + Automation World 2026 (AW 2026) international factory automation show to unveil its “AIDIN Hand Gen2,” a second-generation humanoid robot hand targeting the humanoid market, for the first time in Korea. Compared with the first generation, it is smaller yet capable of much more agile movement. The second-generation model is scheduled for official launch in the first half of this year. Smart factory company Aim Systems also showcased its differentiated capabilities in operational control for smart logistics. Through a strategic collaboration with autonomous mobile robot specialist TWINNY, it demonstrated software and integrated control technologies between equipment that maximize logistics efficiency. This year’s AW 2026 features about 500 companies and 2,300 booths, and runs for three days from the 4th to the 6th.

jiany@fnnews.com Yeon Ji-an Reporter