[SIMTOS Story] Seven Tips how to Enjoy SIMTOS 2016

[Amazing Korea] Technology Hub at Center of Northeast Asia

Technology Hub at Center of Northeast Asia

 

 

Korea is an understated country. Maybe that is the reason why one of Asia's most active research and development clusters nestled away in Daedeok Valley has not received the attention internationally of a Silicon Valley. Perhaps the researchers here are simply too busy doing their research in the Korean workaholic style to step back and think about how to publicize their abroad. Or perhaps Koreans still imagine themselves as lagging behind the more "advanced" nations of the world. But in this age wherein Samsung and Hyundai have become global players across multiple fields, and Korea's leading edge in ship building, mobile communications and steel production draws attention, Daedeok Valley is also stepping into the spot light.

When Korean President Park Jung-hee started construction on the science park back in 1974, he had a clear purpose: moving the research centers of Korea, then just starting on the road to high-tech stardom, down to Daedeok Valley in Daejeon far away from North Korea and the dangerous DMZ. But his advisors also had come to believe that the concentration of research institutes in this scenic region would create the mutual stimulation would benefit everyone. Since then the research community has expanded rapidly, with now close to 8,000 Ph.D.s in the sciences working in the valleys between the green hills of Daejeon. In fact many researchers have become so accustomed to the Daedeok environment that they have no particular desire to move.

Most clusters in Asia are new and therefore their roots are rather shallow. Shenzhen or Malaysia's research corridor simply lack the long term institutional maturity to conduct advanced research. Daedeok is quite a different story. Here we find considerable flexibility and innovation, but at the same time sufficient continuity to support a broad research and development effort.

The Daedeok Innopolis ecosystem can be conceived of as six overlapping rings: universities (dominated by KAIST and Chungnam National University), research institutes, government and government-invested institutions, corporate research institutes and venture corporations. The mutual stimulation and cooperation between these six different communities produces remarkable innovation and commercialization of available technologies. When the Boston Consulting Group released recently a list of nations leading in innovation, Korea was ranked number two, just below Singapore. Daedeok Innopolis stands on the front line of Asian innovation, setting the pace for Asia and the world.

Japan's Tsukuba Science town is the only other cluster

Among Daedeok Innopolis' universities KAIST (Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology) is considered the top technical university in Korea and one of a handful with global reach in East Asia. Strong fields at KAIST include computer science, electrical and nuclear engineering, mechanical design, chemistry and telecommunications. The national university Chungnam University also plays a central role in those fields, but brings also focused expertise in biotechnology, medicine and the agricultural sciences. These universities are complemented by such outstanding universities as Hanbat University (a leader in IT), Pai Chai University, Hannam University, Mokwon University and Woosong University.

Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology

Research institutes in Daedeok include the Korea Research Institute of Bioscience and Biotechnology (KRIBB), the Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute (KAERI), Electronic and Telecommunications Research Institute (ETRI), the Korea Aerospace Research Institute (KARI), National Fusion Research Institute, National Nanofab Center, Korean Basic Science Research Institute, Korea Institute of Machinery and Materials, Korea Research Institute of Chemical Technology, Korea Institute of Science and Technology Information, Korea Research Institute of Standards and Science, Marine and Ocean Engineering Research Institute, Institute for information Technology Advancement, Korea Institute of Geosciences and Mineral Resources, Korea Institute of Energy Research, Agency for Defense Development, Korea Institute of Toxicology, Korea Institute of Oriental Medicine, Korea Institute of Nuclear Non-proliferation and Control, National Institute for Mathematical Sciences, Korea Institute of Nuclear Safety and the National Security Research Institute. Among the outstanding technology produced in Daedeok are ETRI's wireless communications systems CDMA, WIBRO & DMB, KRIBB's nano biochips, KARI's KOMPSTAT satellites and NFRI's KSTAR nuclear fusion reactor.

Daedeok is also home to twenty-one corporate research centers with global reach surrounded by an equal number at smaller firms. Some of the notable corporate research centers are Dongbu Advanced Research Institute, (biotechnology, microorganisms and agrichemicals), GS-Caltex Value Creation Center (environmentally friendly products including substitutes for oil), Hanwha Chemical Research (biotechnology, electronics materials, catalysts & nanotechnology), Honam Petrochemical Daeduk Research Institute (synthetic chemistry & petrochemicals), LG Chemical LTD. Research Park (Lithium Ion Battery & Polymer Battery Development), Samyang R&D Center (medical Research and electronics) and SK Institute of Technology (petroleum-related research).

Also such public corporation research institutes as Korea Electric Power Research Institute (hydroelectric projects and nuclear energy), Korea Institute of Construction Materials (authorized test agency for construction materials), Korea Institute of Aerospace Technology (aerospace design, satellites, launch technologies) are also part of the Daedeok ecosystem.
The cross-fertilization between research fields in Daedeok encourages innovation and collaboration. Over the last 15 years, venture companies have sprung up like mushrooms after a spring rain, numbering over 800 at last count. Some of those companies have gone on to become major players and others are coming of age today.
 


Daedeok is often referred to as the "Silicon Valley of Asia" but this analogy risks obscuring the full range of technologies available here. The engine driving Daedeok is the organic circulation of ideas about technology and business between policy makers, researchers and businessmen working in the fields of telecommunications, nanofabrication, biotechnology, water, nuclear and hydro power, nuclear fusion, design, measurement technologies, mechanical engineering, fuel cells, aeronautics, new materials, robotics, new drugs and environmental technologies. Daedeok is exceptionally well endowed in all these fields and is expanding its international ties rapidly. Daedeok Innopolis' membership includes 898 corporations, 35 government invested and sponsored institutions; 6 universities; 15 public organizations.

Moreover, comparison to Silicon Valley con be quite misleading. Daedeok is far more diverse and ecosystem than simply IT. For example, Daedeok is a world leader in nuclear power with outstanding

Daedeok Innopolis refers to the remarkable collection of R&D centers and venture companies that have congregated in the green hills of Daedeok Valley, north of the city of Daejeon in the Republic of Korea. The research institutes and the venture companies constitute one of Asia's top innovation clusters for technology. Daedeok Innopolis derives its power it ability to effectively innovate, an organic and fluid ecosystem for creativity . The research institutes and universities in Daedeok Valley have spun off multiple start-ups and continue to do so at a remarkable pace. Unlike many other clusters one hears about, Korea has invested heavily in building up both the research expertise for over thirty years, creating long-term research programs of scale and depth. There are over seven thousand with Ph.Ds in the sciences in Daedeok and state-of-the-art infrastructure is in place that enables Daedeok to play a leading role in the world. That gives Daedeok the depth and the institutional continuity to conduct first-class research.


Intekplus's semiconductor package inspection systems, Hanool Robotics's remarkable cleaning robots, Menix Corporation's mobile security systems, RayCan's next generation lasers and ABC NanoTech's ceramic nano powder are just some of the products produced by the startlingly diverse panoply of venture companies that thrive in the ecosystem surrounding KAIST, Chungnam University, and the government and corporate research institutes.
The city supports one of the fastest developing business communities with a strong emphasis on technological innovation. The recently opened Daedeok Techno Valley on the north side of town brings together research with light manufacturing to create a unique environment for R&D. The universities and research institutes have set up venture firms here to explore new applications of their technologies. More recently, Daejeon's ACTS (Agency of Advanced Cultural Technologies and Services) has become a Mecca for multimedia entertainment and film.
Daedeok Innopolis has a Business Hub Center to provide one-stob service for possible investors with special facilities for international firms and joint R&D, and plans a Technology Convergence Center and Foreign Investment Complex in the near future.

Source : http://www.koreaittimes.com/story/6028/technology-hub-center-northeast-asia

[SIMTOS Story] NAMSUN MACHINERY CORP - 65 year-long History in Machine Tool Industry

NAMSUN MACHINERY CORP

- 65 year-long History in Machine Tool Industry -

 

 

 There is a company that has continued for 65 years based on the strong trust of customers for the technology. That's NAMSUN MACHINERY CORP is in the forefront of development of machine tool with determination that thing to save corporation is only technology.

 

 SIMTOS 2016 Secretariat visited NAMSUN MACHINERY CORP which recently enhance the status of domestic machine tools industry by being more active sales activities abroad and directly saw technology skills they have emphasized.

 

<SPHINX-5X/65>

 Last month completed internally the preview of energy saving 5-AXIS machine SPHINX-5X/65 in front of the release. After research and development for 5years, SPHINX-5X/65 that is created with energy saving factors such as lightweight design, standby strategy technology in peripheral equipment, monitoring technology during power consumption and etc shows incredible results that it could reduce more 50% power consumption compared with existing products.

 

<SPHINX-5X/30>

 SPHINX-5X/30 has good reactions in Europe. High speed 5-AXIS machine with the best specifications and performance to produce precision parts of clock, medical device and etc competes against products of prestigious global companies. Earlier this year NAMSUN MACHINERY CORP achieved the export contract to P company well-known as watch brand at the end of competing with German company and created an opportunity to instill a new awareness of the Korea machinery in the European market.

 

 Mr. Sohn of said NAMSUN MACHINERY CORP as the oldest machine tool company in Korea with pride in long history would keep proving the power of domestic machine tool around the world by making constant efforts to bring about the revolution.



[Amazing Korea] S. Korea leads global R&D spending: OECD

S. Korea leads global R&D spending: OECD 

 

 

 South Korea boasts one of the world's leading infrastructures for science development, with its spending on research and development (R&D) far higher than those of other countries, a Paris-based organization for economic cooperation said Monday.

  The country's expenditure on R&D came to 4.15 percent of its gross domestic product in 2013, hovering above its members' average of 2.4 percent, according to the OECD Science, Technology and Industry Scoreboard. It marked a two-fold growth from the 2.2 percent posted in 1995. The country spent 59 trillion won (US$52.7 billion) in conducting R&D activities in 2013, up 3.8 trillion won from a year earlier. The figure includes figures from both the public and private sectors.

  Israel, meanwhile, was the top-slot country by spending 4.21 percent of its GDP on R&D over the cited period, it said. The OECD report added South Korea boasted leadership in 11 of top 20 fast-growing technology segments, or "disruptive technologies," including the human interface for digital data transfer, which allows users to activate devices through voice or other non-traditional methods. Other key achievements of South Korea included its patents in the IoT and big-data segments. The country accounted for 14.1 percent of the global patents in the fields over the 2010-2012 period, it said.

"Korea's lead is built upon strong education in science, technology, engineering and mathematics disciplines, with the highest percentage of tertiary graduates in natural sciences and engineering in the OECD area," the organization said.

  The OECD, meanwhile, said South Korea still needs to make more efforts in improving the availability of the Internet for the elderly. While the organization estimated 80 percent of South Koreans were online on the back of the rising penetration of smartphones, the access to the Internet for those aged 55 and above hovered below the average of the OECD. The OECD also cited South Korea's creative economy policy as one of the significant global approaches to innovations.

 The creative economy calls for merging various industry segments to generate new growth engines, which usually focus on utilizing the ICT for different segments.

  The announcement came in line with the OECD Ministerial Meeting Daejeon 2015, World Science & Technology Forum that runs from Monday through Friday in Daejeon, a city packed with science institutes located 164 kilometers south of Seoul.

  

 

Source :http://english.yonhapnews.co.kr/business/2015/10/19/0501000000AEN20151019007800320.html

 

 

[Amazing Korea] South Korean-designed SMART Reactors to be Built in Saudi Arabia for First Time

South Korean-designed SMART Reactors to be Built in Saudi Arabia for First Time

 

 

 

    A diagram of a System Integrated Modular Advanced Reactor. 

 

 

 

 South Korea’s efforts to export its domestically-designed small nuclear power reactors have borne fruit.  The Ministry of Science, ICT, & Future Planning (MSIP) announced on Sept. 2 that the Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute (KAERI), designer of the System-integrated Modular Advanced Reactor (SMART), has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah City for Atomic and Renewable Energy in Saudi Arabia to conduct the Pre-Project Engineering (PPE) program before constructing SMART reactors. This is the first project of the “SMART Partnership MOU,” which was signed at the time when President Park Guen-hye made a tour to the Middle East in March.

 

  Under the agreement, the two countries will jointly conduct a preliminary study to review the feasibility of constructing SMART reactors, build two SMART reactors in Saudi Arabia, push ahead with the additional construction, and cooperate on the commercialization and promotion of the SMART reactor to third parties. Once the construction is completed, as agreed, SMART reactors, which have been developed with a large budget from 1997, will be exported for the first time in 20 years. Park Jae-moon, head of the Office of R&D Policy at the MSIP, said, “Starting from Dec. this year, the two countries will carry out the PPE project for 39 months, and make the preliminary safety analysis report. If Saudi Arabia finally decides to build SMART reactors after three years, we will submit the report and get the approval for construction.”

 

  As the agreement stated, Korea and Saudi Arabia will make the joint investment of a total US$100 million (118.4 billion won) – US$30 million (35.52 billion won) each year for three years.

 

  Park said, “Saudi Arabia will supply 20 percent of the nation’s electric power from nuclear power plants, and 15 to 20 percent of them from small nuclear power reactors by 2040. Since we have recently decided on the possible site and focused on training researchers in the related sectors, the final export is more likely to happen.”

 

  Considering the fact that the possible SMART reactors construction site is inland, the MSIP and KAERI will introduce an air cooling system, which is different from the existing water cooling system that is authorized as the standard design.



Source : http://www.businesskorea.co.kr/article/11917/news-south-korean-designed-smart-reactors-be-built-saudi-arabia-first-time#sthash.kvDpNmSM.dpuf

SIMTOS Newletter July - Amazing Korea

1. Machine Tool Market Trend in June

 

☐ (Orders) ‘15. June Machine Tool Order ￦2,635B(MoM +6.0%, YoY -6.0%)

o (Domestic Orders) ￦1,721B(MoM +33.5%, YoY +19.2%),

   (Export Orders) ￦914B(MoM -23.6%, YoY -32.8%)

o (By product)

NC Metal Cutting(￦2,148B, MOM -3.2%)

Metal Cutting (￦80B, MOM +8.4%),

Metal Forming(￦ 407B, MOM +112.8%)

o (By industry)

Automobile(￦818B, MoM +95.3%),

Steel‧Nonferrous Metal(￦115B, MoM +39.5%),

Machinery(￦279B, -14.2%), Electric‧Electronics‧IT(￦157B, MoM -10.8%)

*Metal products(￦75B, +1.4%), Shipbuilding‧Aviation(￦87B, +33.1%),

Precision Machinery(￦31B, +10.1%)

o Machine Tool Orders(January ~ June) ￦19,573B(YoY +1.8%)

(Domestic Orders) ￦9,006B, -5.6%,

(Export Orders) ￦1,567B, +9.0%

 

□ (Production)

‘15, June Machine Tool Production ￦3,015B(MoM -4.3%, YoY -2.4%),

Shipment ￦2,935B(MoM +6.0%, YoY -3.0%)

o Machine Tool Production(January~June, 2015) ￦18,254B(YoY +8.1%)

 

☐ (Exports, May, '15) $176M(MoM -39.2%, YoY -6.8%)

o Sub total of Exports (Jan.~May, '15) $954M(YoY +11.2%)

- By Region

Asia($417M, +9.3%), North America($158M, -9.2%), Europe($200M, -14.2%)

Central and South America($152M, +269.0%)

*ratio of Exports(‘15.Jan.~May) by region : Asia(43.7%), Europe(21.0%),

North America(16.6%), Central and South America(15.9%)

 

☐ (Imports, May, '15)$126M(MoM +3.5%, YoY -34.8%)

o Sub total of Imports (Jan.~May, '15) $592M(YoY -3.9%)

- Asia($417M, +9.3%), North America($158M, -9.2%), Europe($200M, -14.2%)

Central and South America($152M, +269.0%)

 

 

 

2. Korea-EU to Cooperate on 90 Billion Won Projects in Nano, Bio, Energy, ICT

 

 South Korea and the E.U. will conduct a joint research project worth 90 billion won

(US$80 million). Korea is aiming to expand cooperation for the “creative economy” using the E.U.'s capabilities in science technology and research infrastructure. The Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning (MSIP) announced that it held a fifth meeting of the EU-Korea joint committee on science technology at the Plaza Hotel in Seoul on June 15, together with the E.U.'s Directorate General of Research and Innovation (DG R&I). The DG R&I is in charge of the European Commission's research and innovation policies and the E.U.’s new research and innovation program called “Horizon 2020.” Lee Suk-joon, the first vice minister at the MSIP, and Robert-Jan Smits, Director-General of DG R&I, attended the event as the head of each delegation. The details of the joint research program, including the budget, was fully fleshed out at the meeting, and is expected to start this or next year. By area, 65.5 billion won (US$58.6 million) will be invested in nanotech, 5 billion won (US$4.5 million) in biotech, 4 billion won (US$3.6 million) in energy, and 15 billion won (US$13.4 million) in the ICT sectors.

 

 

source : http://www.businesskorea.co.kr/article/11049/joint-research-korea-eu-cooperate-90-billion-won-projects-nano-bio-energy-ict#sthash.GvN3mGFw.dpuf

 

 3. Korean Gov't to Invest 100 Billion Won in IoT Testbed Projects

 

SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA
25 June 2015 - 1:15pm
Jung Suk-yee

 

 

 

 

 The Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning (MSIP) has decided to pursue testbed projects in the category of the Internet of Things (IoT) with a more than 100 billion won (US$90 million) investment. The MSIP announced that it held a meeting to report the initiation of IoT testbed projects at its global R&D center near Seoul on June 24. The projects are aimed to create results in the “creative economy,” as part of the three year plan for K-ICT strategy and economic innovation. IoT testbed projects are large-scale projects designed to lead the growth of the convergence market by fusing IoT infrastructure and technology in such core areas as autos, health care, energy, urban life, and factories, and to facilitate the development and earlier commercialization of new products and services. The government agency is going to start seven IoT testbed projects – two projects to build 2 testbed research complexes and five convergence testbed projects – with an investment of 108.5 billion won (US$97 million) over the next three years, including 33.7 billion won (US$30.4 million) in 2015. 

SOURCE : http://www.businesskorea.co.kr/article/11176/internet-govt-things-korean-govt-invest-100-billion-won-iot-testbed-projects#sthash.PvOqoy0U.dpuf



 

 4. Korean Tech Firms Bet Big on Smart Heath Care

 

 

 

Wednesday, June 10th, 2015

By Monica Youn-soo Chung (monica@koreaittimes.com)

 Korean tech firms including Samsung Electronics are ramping up efforts to take the lead in digital health care market by joining hands with medical centers.

However, the growth is still slow due to burdensome regulations and lack of infrastructure.
The Korea Health Industry Development Institute estimated that around 12 million people in their 20s to 60s used smart health care service last year in Korea, and the local market reached 3 trillion won. The global digital healthcare-related market is expected to surge to $26 billion by 2017, up from $2.5 billion in 2013, according to the latest report by the state-run Korea Institute for Industrial Economics & Trade.

Among Korean tech firms, Samsung Electronics is the most passionate in the digital health care market. Since the smartphone giant announced its “Vision 2020” in 2009, it has continued to concentrate on developing U-health care and medical devices. Last May, it announced “Samsung Digital Health Initiative” in San Francisco and unveiled SAMI (Samsung Architecture for Multimodal Interactions), an open data platform gathering and analyzing bio information and also launched Simband, a health tracking gadget.

Samsung said it would ramp up efforts on the research and development on analyzing health care data linked to SAMI and Simband in partnership with medical centers.
Samsung’s rival LG Electronics also unveiled its wearable heath care device LG Lifeband Touch, which is currently selling in the U.S. market. The new fitness band is a battery-powered smartwatch-type device that users wear around their wrist to monitor the number of calories they’re burning each day. It also rolled-out earphones measuring users’ heart rate while working out.

Korea’s telecom operators SKT, KT and LG Uplus are also boosting efforts to create revenue from the medical market by capitalizing on their ICT technical know-how. The nation’s two largest carriers SKT and KT already teamed up with Korea’s top hospitals, and created joint ventures Health Connect and Hooh Health Care respectively.
Health Connect is targeting business-to-consumer market based on its Health-On, a mobile-based health management service while Hooh Health is focusing on business-to-business such as integrated medical information system solution and e-MarketPlace.
Two companies haven’t shown any tangible performance last year but they plan to continue the research and development this year.

Korea’s third largest mobile carrier LG Uplus teamed up with Jaseng Hospital of Korean Medicine, the first time for the hospital of Korean medicine to partner with a telecom company. Two organizations are expected to unveil smart health care IoT solution for spine health this year.

Apart from tech firms, Korea’s large hospitals also joined the digital health care services. Some hospitals already unveiled mobile apps which let users make reservation and check results. Konkuk University Medical Center has run its smart U-health care system since 2010 and Seoul Paik Hospital made Health Avatar Beans, an app to manage blood dialysis, allowing patients to more efficiently manage their medical information.

However, some analysts say more relaxed regulations are necessary for the development of smart health care development. For the technologies and services centering on smart health care, there are too many rules and regulations, according to the Korea Health Industry Development Institute.

In South Korea, telemedicine is still illegal. The revision bill allowing telemedicine was sent to the National Assembly but never passed due to the strong opposition from doctors. One tech company developed telemedicine service for chronic diabetes patients for a decade, but it was disappeared on the market due to the lack of relevant laws and infrastructure.
The prohibition to make investment in hospitals is another factor, which drags the industry behind. “Though smart healthcare services such as telemedicine require a long-term investment and clinical demonstration, the development is not active due to the prohibition of investment,” a market observer said.

 SOURCE : http://www.koreaittimes.com/story/50476/korean-tech-firms-bet-big-smart-heath-care