KAIST

< Kitae Jang, Director of Mobility Research Institute, Hyeong-sik Jeon, Vice Governor for Political Affairs of South Chungcheong Province and demonstration officials >

KAIST's e announced on the September 23rd that it held the "2025 Technology Demonstration Day" at the Naepo Knowledge Industry Center in Chungcheongnam-do to showcase successful cases of its research findings being adopted by the industry. The event was organized to present the process of commercializing KAIST's accumulated mobility research achievements through collaboration with companies.

The KAIST Mobility Research Institute aims to solve our society's mobility problems by conducting industry-academia research in various technology fields, including autonomous driving, Urban Air Mobility (UAM/UAV), eco-friendly mobility technologies, as well as artificial intelligence (AI) and energy. This demonstration was the result of a project linked to a consignment from Chungcheongnam-do, and it showed a practical example of research achievements connecting with the local industry.

At the demonstration, achievements that have entered the commercialization stage were presented with collaborating companies, including faculty startups FutureEV Co., Ltd. (CEO: Kim Kyung-soo), Dochak Co., Ltd. (CEO: Kim In-hee), and alumnus startup NOTA Co., Ltd. (CEO: Chae Myung-soo). The six core technologies unveiled were: △Mobile Energy Storage System (ESS) Power Platform △Naepo Digital Twin △Autonomous Driving Robots Specialized for SMEs △Remote-Driving Valet Parking △Autonomous Driving Testbed △AI Computing Center.

< Image of the remote-controlled autonomous vehicle developed by Professor In-hee Kim >

The "Mobile Energy Storage System (ESS) Power Platform" is a technology led by Professor Lee Yoon-gu and co-developed with FutureEV Co., Ltd., ECOCAB Co., Ltd., Hanyang Electric Co., Ltd., and Uptech Co., Ltd. It's a solution that can establish a stable power grid in areas with difficult power supply, such as disaster sites or islands, proving its commercial potential in the eco-friendly power sector.

The "Naepo Digital Twin" was commercialized by a research team led by Senior Researcher Kim Tae-kyun in collaboration with Dochak Co., Ltd. It can simulate real-world city and traffic conditions in a 3D virtual environment for traffic monitoring, situation prediction, disaster response, and policy verification. It's gaining attention as a core technology for building smart cities.

The "Autonomous Driving Robots Specialized for SMEs" was developed by research teams led by Professors Kim Kyung-soo and Choi Geun-ha in collaboration with L-Line Co., Ltd. and Torrent Systems Co., Ltd. This autonomous logistics robot, optimized for the logistics environment of small and medium-sized enterprises, demonstrated precise movement and stacking of logistics racks inside a factory at the event, confirming the potential for innovation in the SME manufacturing sector.

The "Remote-Driving Valet Parking Technology" is being commercialized by Professor Kim In-hee in collaboration with Dochak Co., Ltd., Torrent Systems Co., Ltd., E-motion Co., Ltd., and the National Science and Technology Research Network KREONET (operated by the Korea Institute of Science and Technology Information). During the demonstration, a vehicle remotely controlled from Daejeon traveled to the Naepo Research Institute and completed parking at its destination, proving the stability and practicality of remote autonomous driving.

< Image of the KAIST Mobility Research Institute Technology Demonstration Day poster >

The "Autonomous Driving Testbed" is a platform built by Professors Ahn Hee-jin and Noh Min-kyun. It's an example of expanding research achievements in reduced-scale vehicle-based autonomous driving into a platform for education and industrial verification. The KAIST Mobility Research Institute plans to use this as a foundation for the "2025 KAIST Mobility Challenge Competition" next year to simultaneously foster next-generation talent and promote technology commercialization.

The "AI Computing Center" was unveiled by NOTA Co., Ltd., which is soon to be listed on KOSDAQ. The company introduced its RE100-based power system and AI optimization technology and presented its vision for collaboration with tenant companies, stating its goal to contribute to the expansion of the AI ecosystem.

Kitae Jang, Director of the KAIST Mobility Research Institute, stated, "This demonstration was an opportunity to show the concrete process of KAIST's research achievements being adopted by the industry." He added, "We will continue to lead the commercialization of future mobility and AI technologies and the development of local industries through close collaboration with local governments and companies."

KAIST President Kwang Hyung Lee emphasized, "KAIST's mission is to contribute to the nation and local communities through technological innovation. We find it meaningful to see our research achievements creating real change in the industry and will continue to lead global mobility innovation and the creation of new value through collaboration with companies and local governments."