Editor’s Note
Incheon has been selected for a national AI manufacturing initiative, positioning the city at the forefront of integrating autonomous robotics into industrial production. This project underscores a significant shift toward intelligent, self-optimizing factories.
Incheon Metropolitan City (Mayor Yoo Jeong-bok) announced on the 28th that it has been selected for the ‘Artificial Intelligence (AI) Autonomous Manufacturing Pioneer Project’ publicly offered by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.
‘AI Autonomous Manufacturing’ refers to a manufacturing environment that realizes advanced and autonomous production by integrating AI-based robots and equipment into manufacturing processes. The project’s task is ‘Development of an AI Autonomous Manufacturing-based System for Semiconductor CMP DISK (Chemical Mechanical Polishing Disk)’, and it will receive 5.3 billion won in national funding over four years from 2024 to 2027.
*Total project cost: 10.09 billion won (National funding: 5.3 billion won, City funding: 1.59 billion won (30% of national funding), Private sector contribution: 3.2 billion won)
The CMP process in semiconductors refers to the process where a ‘semiconductor wafer’ is chemically and mechanically polished on a ‘pad’ placed on a table using a solution and pressure, during which the CMP DISK is used. The CMP DISK is a product with approximately 60,000 tiny diamonds, about the thickness of a human hair, attached to it. It plays a role in processing the ‘pad’ used in the CMP process to an optimal condition.
Currently in Korea, processes such as diamond size classification, arrangement, plating, and defect inspection for CMP DISKs have been primarily manual. However, with this transition to AI autonomous processes, a productivity improvement of over 50% and a reduction in defect rates are expected.
Shinhwa Diamond Industrial Co., Ltd. (located in Namdong-gu, Incheon), the lead R&D institution for this project, is a CMP DISK manufacturer. It plans to collect and analyze data necessary for AI model training and establish robotic equipment for autonomous manufacturing processes.
The joint research institute, the Intelligent Root Technology Research Institute of the Korea Institute of Industrial Technology (located in Yeonsu-gu, Incheon), will develop AI autonomous manufacturing algorithms. Mondrian N.A.I. Co., Ltd. (located in Yeonsu-gu, Incheon) plans to design an integrated AI autonomous manufacturing system. Additionally, the University of Wisconsin in the United States is expected to develop a system for real-time non-contact measurement and control of the diamond plating thickness on CMP DISKs.
Incheon City plans to be responsible for local budget matching (30% of national funding), monitoring R&D outcomes, and supporting the dissemination of results in this project.