KT to Build a '24-Hour Lights-Out Factory' in Jeonbuk

[Financial News] KT is moving to build a dark factory where artificial intelligence (AI) will operate the entire production process. The company plans to install a small AI data center (AIDC) at the factory and develop technology to apply AI agents trained in virtual environments to actual manufacturing sites. It will later commercialize the technology as physical AI solutions tailored to different industries.
KT announced on the 17th that it had begun developing the technology after joining the Ministry of Science and ICT-led project to develop AI-based dark factory design and construction solutions as a joint research institution.
The project is a subproject under the Ministry of Science and ICT's initiative to build a research and development ecosystem for software (SW) platforms based on collaborative-intelligence physical AI. Its goal is to establish a dark factory near Jeonbuk Innovation City—an unmanned, automated facility capable of operating 24 hours a day by applying AI technology throughout the entire production process. KT, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST), LG Energy Solution, Harim Industry, Shinsung E&G, and Korea Productivity Center (KPC) are participating in the research.
KT will be responsible for creating an environment in which AI agents can be trained and operated and managed at actual factories, using modular edge AIDCs. These are small, distributed AI data centers built in prefabricated modular form at factories, enabling AI processing close to manufacturing sites.
The company will also develop a SimReady synthetic-data generation and validation system to create virtual manufacturing environments. The plan is to reduce errors that may occur when AI agents trained in virtual environments are deployed at actual industrial sites and to secure the AI operation and monitoring capabilities required for dark factories.
KT will demonstrate an integrated dark factory platform—including modular edge AIDCs and a data flywheel—at the actual manufacturing sites of participating companies. A data flywheel is a structure that continuously improves performance by repeatedly feeding field data into the training of AI models.
KT plans to commercialize the technology secured through the demonstrations as industry-specific physical AI solutions and use it to enter the global manufacturing AI market.
Park Jae-hyung, executive vice president and head of KT's AX Future Technology Institute, said, "Building on our technological capabilities, we will take the lead in driving productivity innovation in South Korea's manufacturing industry and fostering the physical AI ecosystem."
[email protected] Choi Hye-rim Reporter