South Korea’s HD Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering and NAVER Cloud have signed an agreement to build a shipbuilding-specific artificial intelligence and private-cloud ecosystem covering vessel design, production, research and future ship operations.
The memorandum of understanding was signed on 16 July at NAVER’s GAK Sejong data centre in Sejong, South Korea, and announced on 20 July. HD Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering chief executive Kim Hyungkwan and NAVER Cloud chief executive Kim Yuwon attended the signing ceremony.
The companies plan to establish an AI factory with optimised graphics-processing-unit infrastructure and a private-cloud operating environment tailored to HD Hyundai’s ship design and production systems.
The infrastructure is intended to provide secure management of large volumes of sensitive design data while supporting AI applications across the shipbuilding process, from engineering and research and development to yard production.
A joint Center of Excellence will identify potential AI applications, test technologies and help HD Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering develop its own AI and cloud operating capabilities and specialist workforce.
The partnership will also cover ship-data platforms and systems for real-time data processing and control. The companies intend to use computer vision, robot operating platforms and other physical-AI technologies to develop and demonstrate AI applications designed specifically for shipyards.
Their cooperation is expected to extend beyond construction into software-defined vessels, or SDVs, whose functions can be controlled and upgraded through software after delivery.
HD Hyundai said its database contains more than 200 million records relating to shipbuilding and offshore engineering. The group plans to combine that information with NAVER’s AI technology to develop models tailored to shipyards and vessel systems.
The agreement also includes cooperation on power infrastructure for data centres. The companies will examine the use of HD Hyundai’s engine technologies, energy-storage systems and hydrogen fuel cells in integrated data-centre power supply systems.
HD Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering is the intermediate holding company for HD Hyundai’s shipbuilding and offshore operations. It coordinates technology, research and strategic development across the South Korean industrial group’s maritime businesses.
NAVER Cloud is the cloud-computing and IT-services arm of South Korean internet group NAVER. The company operates data-centre infrastructure and supplies enterprise cloud and AI services, including technology developed within the wider NAVER group.