Jeonbuk Province has won a national project to build a Physical AI-based software platform and demonstration complex, with the goal of showcasing and commercializing self-collaborating robots in industrial settings.

Key technologies to be developed include manufacturing foundation models trained on factory data, dark factory design and construction solutions, digital twin environments, and multi-layer security for collaborative systems, with digital twins simulating factory operations before live deployment.

Twelve tasks across six areas will drive the initiative, including core physical AI technologies and an open research infrastructure, with organizers and participants spanning Jeonbuk University, KAIST, Sungkyunkwan University, Raon Secure, and Camtec General Technology Institute.

A demonstration meta-factory will be built around Jeonbuk University Iseo Campus, featuring zones for heterogeneous logistics robots, adaptive processing, flexible manufacturing, precision assembly, and AI-powered inspection to validate robot and process cooperation in a near-real industrial environment.

The program includes a PoC phase and aims to attract AI and robotics companies, research institutes, and talent by enabling ongoing R&D, field demonstrations, and commercialization, including plans for a K-Robot Physical AI Empirical Sharing Center tied to Hyundai Motor’s Saemangeum investment.

Governor Lee Won-taek framed the project as foundational to industrialization, validating technologies at industrial sites to boost Korea’s competitiveness in manufacturing AI.

Jeonbuk leverages the region’s manufacturing base—concentrating 94% of domestic commercial vehicle production and about 20,000 workers across 775 auto-related firms—and aims to expand AI-driven automation to multi-variety, small-scale production sectors like agricultural and construction machinery.

Officially titled the 2026 Collaborative Intelligence Physical AI-based SW Platform R&D Ecosystem Creation Project, the initiative runs from 2026 to 2030 with a total budget of 736.8 billion won, financed by state, local, and private funds.

Pre-planning and governance will be led by an operation consultative body headed by Chonbuk National University, with planning commencing immediately.

The Jeonbuk project is distinct from Gyeongnam’s national physical AI initiative, focusing on robot collaboration, while Gyeongnam emphasizes ultra-precision AI-driven control in defense, shipbuilding, and machinery—together they aim to transform Korea’s manufacturing AI landscape.

Jeonbuk’s leadership argues that establishing the first physical AI demonstration complex will position the region as Korea’s leading base for physical AI, accelerating industrialization through on-site verification and application of new technologies.

At the core is the Collaborative Intelligence SW Platform, enabling heterogeneous robots and facilities to communicate, assign work, and autonomously collaborate on production lines to realize a long-running AI Dark Factory.