From Navigation to Museums and Cities Manufacturing Sites Limited by Costs, Regulation SMEs Ministry Targets 12,000 AI Factories

Technology|

Published 2026.05.31. 10:48:47

|

By Kim Ji-won

Lee Tae-jin, CDO of HD Hyundai, speaks during Session 3, "Redesigning Reality: The Birth of a Virtual World More Sophisticated Than Reality," at Seoul Forum 2026 held at the Shilla Seoul in Jung-gu, Seoul, on May 28. Photo by Sung Hyung-joo. 2026.05.28

"Digital twins are not far away. They are inside our cars. Navigation systems reflect actual road conditions on virtual maps in real time, and when accidents occur, they simulate detours to suggest the optimal route. The navigation system we see every day is a representative digital twin that connects the real and virtual spaces in real time."

Lee Tae-jin, Chief Digital Officer (CDO) of HD Hyundai, made these remarks on the 28th at Session 3 of "Seoul Forum 2026," titled "Redesigning Reality: The Birth of a Virtual World More Precise Than Reality," held at the Shilla Hotel in Jung-gu, Seoul. He viewed bringing this principle to manufacturing sites as the key challenge.

"An intelligent autonomous manufacturing site is one where artificial intelligence (AI) makes judgments when equipment breaks down, allowing humans to work on it," CDO Lee said. "The goal is to replicate the work environment with a digital twin and have AI simulate solutions in that space." HD Hyundai is systematically building an "intelligent autonomous shipyard" that will render every single bolt of a ship in three dimensions by 2030.

However, there are many hurdles to overcome in applying digital twins to manufacturing sites. Installing cameras and sensors and enabling communication across all equipment and sites incurs enormous costs. Real-time integration that delivers sensor data to virtual spaces without delay is also a technical challenge. "The issue of sensor and camera communication is something the government, manufacturers, and suppliers must solve together, one by one," CDO Lee said.

Cha Jae-won, project manager at Naver Labs, speaks during Session 3, "Redesigning Reality: The Birth of a Virtual World More Sophisticated Than Reality," at Seoul Forum 2026 held at the Shilla Seoul in Jung-gu, Seoul, on May 28. Photo by Sung Hyung-joo. 2026.05.28

Cha Jae-won, project manager at Naver Labs, divided digital twins into two categories. One is a digital twin that humans see and use, and the other is a digital twin that allows machines such as robots and autonomous vehicles to recognize space and operate. "It's about creating space in three dimensions and building digital twins not only for people but also for machines and devices, then connecting them to services and products," Cha said. "Ultimately, it's about turning space into a platform."

Cha also introduced cases of digital twins being implemented in everyday life. Naver Labs won a contract from the Saudi Arabian government to build a national digital twin platform, based on technology validated through Seoul's digital twin "S-Map." "We are solving urban flood damage problems through disaster simulations using digital twins," he said. Naver Labs is applying digital twins to traffic management in major Saudi Arabian cities.

Cha cited "realism" and "currency" as key elements of digital twins. The greater the gap with reality, the more errors occur in simulations and the more trust is lost. He also pointed out that since the gap between real cities and virtual spaces widens over time, maintaining the latest state in a cost-efficient manner is important. "A digital twin is the infrastructure of infrastructure," he said. "For a future where robots provide services and autonomous driving becomes universal, digital twins in which they operate are necessary."

Kim Hyun-bae, CEO of Deepfine, speaks during Session 3, "Redesigning Reality: The Birth of a Virtual World More Sophisticated Than Reality," at Seoul Forum 2026 held at the Shilla Seoul in Jung-gu, Seoul, on May 28. Photo by Sung Hyung-joo. 2026.05.28

Kim Hyun-bae, CEO of Deepfine, predicted that digital twins will fully integrate into daily life with the widespread adoption of "AI glasses." Like navigation systems, AI glasses are the contact point where users directly experience spatial data built through digital twins in reality. "It's not AR glasses but AI glasses," CEO Kim emphasized. He meant that beyond augmented reality that simply displays screens, the technology will evolve into an AI assistant that recognizes the wearer's real space and provides context-appropriate information. He added that AI glasses "will become a reality within two to three years."

The technology is already being introduced in some industrial sites. At shipyards, blueprints appear when workers wear smart glasses. When performing complex wiring tasks, workers can use both hands freely without having to unfold paper blueprints. "If we quickly turn sites into digital twins and show real-time information through glasses, productivity rises significantly," Kim said.

However, he also pointed to on-site difficulties. "There are many support programs, but the amounts are small, and there are major difficulties in securing data and developers," Kim said, suggesting that support for software development capabilities should be strengthened.

Hwang Young-ho, director general for technology innovation policy at the Ministry of SMEs and Startups, speaks during Session 3, "Redesigning Reality: The Birth of a Virtual World More Sophisticated Than Reality," at Seoul Forum 2026 held at the Shilla Seoul in Jung-gu, Seoul, on May 28. Photo by Sung Hyung-joo. 2026.05.28

Hwang Young-ho, Director General for Technology Innovation Policy at the Ministry of SMEs and Startups, outlined the government's support status and plans for digital twins in manufacturing sites. Among small and medium-sized manufacturers that own factories, there are about 60,000 workplaces with five or more employees. According to Director General Hwang, the ministry has been pushing the project with the goal of digitizing half of them, or 30,000. "Through last year, we supported smart factories for about 39,000 SMEs, and now we are moving to the stage of integrating AI," he said.

Hwang also presented the next plan. "We aim to support the deployment of 12,000 AI smart factories by 2030 and will jointly develop and distribute industry-specific AI for sectors such as beauty and fashion," he said. He added, "Through legislative work to advance the manufacturing innovation ecosystem, we will establish a legal basis to support companies adopting digital twins and startups solving manufacturing site problems."