Jeonbuk Special Self-Governing Province announced on the 16th that it has been finally selected for the public contest for the "2026 Collaborative Intelligence Physical AI-based SW Platform R&D Ecosystem Creation Project," promoted by the Ministry of Science and ICT and the National IT Industry Promotion Agency (NIPA).

On this day, an initiation briefing session for the public contest project was held at the Novotel Ambassador Seoul, attended by about 200 people, including Jeonbuk Economic Vice Governor Ko Jeong-sam, National Assembly Member Chung Dong-young, Ministry of Science and ICT Information and Communications Policy Officer Lee Do-gyu, Gyeongnam Economic Vice Governor Choi Man-rim, and officials from R&D institutions. At the briefing, after screening a video depicting how Jeonbuk and Gyeongnam physical AI R&D will transform manufacturing sites, Seoul National University Professor Cha Suk-won and KAIST Professor Chang Young-jae announced regional physical AI R&D project implementation plans, signaling the start of the project.

With the selection for the public contest, Jeonbuk has entered the stage of promoting full-scale physical AI research and development, becoming the first region in the country to establish a physical AI demonstration complex where everything from R&D and industrial site demonstration to commercialization is linked in one region.

This project is a large-scale national project with a total of 736.8 billion won (51.5 billion won in national funds, 86.2 billion won in local funds, and 135.6 billion won in private capital) to be invested over 5 years from this year until 2030. It consists of a total of 12 tasks across 6 fields, ranging from the development of core physical AI technologies to the creation of open research infrastructure for technology demonstration, with Jeonbuk National University, KAIST, Sungkyunkwan University, Raonsecure, and the Camtek General Technology Research Institute taking charge as lead institutions for each task. Starting this month, the province plans to form an operational consultative body with related organizations such as Jeonbuk National University and launch a preliminary planning service to build the demonstration complex.

Jeonbuk formed a consortium centered around Jeonbuk National University and the Camtek General Technology Research Institute to participate in the public contest. Jeonbuk National University will oversee the "Physical AI Manufacturing and Logistics Specialized Factory Operating System-based/Integrated Research and Demonstration" task and the "Open Research Cluster Creation" task, while the Camtek General Technology Research Institute will oversee the "Core Research Infrastructure Construction and Physical AI Core Technology Diffusion" task as the general lead institution. Through this, Jeonbuk will develop an SW platform where heterogeneous robots judge and collaborate together, and build core infrastructure such as a joint R&D center, an NPU technology demonstration station, and a demonstration metafactory in the Iseo-myeon area of Wanju-gun.

Meanwhile, Gyeongnam was selected on the same day for the "Human-AI Collaborative LAM Development and Global Demonstration Project," establishing Jeonbuk and Gyeongnam as dual hubs leading the AX (AI transformation) of national manufacturing, each taking charge of different technical axes: collaborative intelligence and ultra-precision control.

Ko Jeong-sam, Economic Vice Governor of Jeonbuk Special Self-Governing Province, said, "This selection for the public contest is an important turning point that will leap Jeonbuk into a national hub for the physical AI industry. We will concentrate our capabilities on closely combining regional key industries with physical AI technology to lead innovation in manufacturing sites and secure technical competitiveness to lead the global market."

Jeonbuk's "Collaborative Intelligence Physical AI-based SW Platform R&D Ecosystem Creation Project" aims not only to support R&D, but also to structurally transform regional manufacturing.

"Physical AI" is a technology that supports artificial intelligence, which has learned data from the real world, to be embedded in physical devices such as robots and machines to recognize surrounding situations and judge and act on its own. The core of Jeonbuk's project is to localize and intellectualize a "collaborative intelligence SW platform" where different types of robots and facilities move and judge together as a single intelligence, and apply this to actual production lines to realize an "AI dark factory" (unmanned factory) that operates without people.

The focus differs from Gyeongnam, which was selected on the same day. Gyeongnam placed weight on the development and demonstration of "ultra-precision control" technology that can replace and upgrade the precision work of skilled workers based on its existing defense, shipbuilding, and machinery industries. Accordingly, Jeonbuk focuses on "robot-to-robot collaboration," while Gyeongnam focuses on "human-robot collaboration," and the two projects are promoted as complementary relationships supporting the AI transformation of national manufacturing.

In Jeonbuk, work will be carried out to localize and intellectualize the core technology of collaborative intelligence for heterogeneous robots and apply and demonstrate it in industrial sites. This includes sub-tasks such as manufacturing foundation model design/construction solutions, digital twin virtual environment technology, and multi-layered security technology for collaborative intelligence systems.

Core facilities such as a joint R&D center, an NPU technology demonstration station, and a demonstration metafactory will be established on the site of Jeonbuk National University's Iseo Campus. In particular, the demonstration metafactory is designed to verify technology in an environment similar to an actual factory by building functional demonstration zones such as heterogeneous logistics robots, adaptive processing, flexible manufacturing (FMS), precision assembly, and AI precision inspection. Based on the developed technology and built infrastructure, the province plans to create a virtuous cycle leading to technology development, field demonstration, and global joint research, developing it into a sustainable research and collaboration ecosystem.

Jeonbuk was recognized as an optimal location for physical AI demonstration, holding an automobile industry cluster consisting of about 775 large enterprises and primary and secondary suppliers (about 20,000 people), as well as being a production base that produces 94% of domestic commercial vehicles. In particular, since key industries with a high-mix low-volume production structure such as agricultural machinery and construction machinery are well-developed, there is great room to apply physical AI technology that recognizes and judges situations rather than existing automation methods that only repeat fixed actions. In fact, the province preemptively promoted the "Industry-specific Physical AI Leading Model Establishment and PoC Project" last year to pre-verify the applicability of manufacturing sites.

Changes are also expected in Jeonbuk's industrial structure triggered by this project. The plan is to apply physical AI to regional key industries such as automobiles, machinery, and agricultural life to enhance productivity and quality, while responding to issues of workforce shortages and declining competitiveness in manufacturing sites. If a foundation where R&D, demonstration, and commercialization are linked in one region is established, it is expected that related AI and robot companies, research institutes, and expert talents will gather in Jeonbuk. Through this, it is forecasted that Jeonbuk's overall industrial structure will be upgraded and serve as an opportunity to reorganize the regional industrial map around future high-tech industries.

Ko Jeong-sam, Economic Vice Governor of Jeonbuk Special Self-Governing Province, said, "We have laid the foundation for carrying out this national project by pre-verifying the applicability of physical AI technology to actual manufacturing sites. Jeonbuk will take the lead in creating a K-physical AI technology development, demonstration, and diffusion ecosystem."

Jeonbuk Special Self-Governing Province Governor Lee Won-taek expressed expectations for the selection of this public contest project, which is set to establish the nation's first physical AI demonstration complex, as a turning point for Jeonbuk's industry as a whole.

Governor Lee said, "The greatest significance of this project is that Jeonbuk has established the nation's first physical AI demonstration complex and preempted a leading hub for the South Korean physical AI industry. It is significant in that we have prepared a foundation where developed technology is not just developed, but verified and applied in industrial sites to lead to industrialization."

In addition, he stated, "Taking Hyundai Motor Company's investment in Saemangeum as an opportunity, we are separately promoting the 'K-Robot Physical AI Demonstration Sharing Center Construction Project' linked with the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy to support everything from real-environment verification to commercialization of domestic robots and core parts. Coupled with this national public contest project, Jeonbuk's physical AI foundation will be further thickened."

Regarding future cooperation plans, he said, "Regarding the public contest project, we plan to let companies in the province participate in other tasks to perform them together. Based on the administrative and financial support of the province, Jeonju City, and Wanju-gun, we will promptly establish an ecosystem for securing core physical AI technology, field demonstration, and diffusion."

He also emphasized, "We will connect physical AI to actual regional growth such as productivity improvement, creation of new industries, and expansion of jobs for companies in the province, helping Jeonbuk's economic ecosystem. We will enhance the competitiveness of the regional economy through a virtuous cycle leading to corporate growth and investment expansion."

As for future visions, he explained, "It is to connect Jeonbuk's manufacturing industry, agricultural life industry, universities, and research institutions into a single physical AI industrial ecosystem centered on core infrastructure such as AI and robots in Saemangeum. We will graft physical AI onto the industrial foundations of each region and create a structure where verified technologies and achievements in the region spread throughout the province."

He added, "We will foster Jeonbuk not just as a region for physical AI technology development, but as a representative hub that demonstrates and industrializes first in South Korea."

Finally, Governor Lee said, "This achievement is the result of industry, academia, and research institutes in the province joining forces, including Jeonbuk National University and the Camtek General Technology Research Institute. We will continue to strengthen the cooperation system with the government and related institutions so that Jeonbuk can become a region leading the national manufacturing transition."

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