AI, robots to lead future medical industry

Medical supplies and equipment based on artificial intelligence (AI) and robotic technology will dominate the global health care sector in the future, industry watchers said Sunday.The remarks were made during the Korea International Medical Clinical Laboratories and Hospital Equipment Show (KIMES) at the Convention and Exhibition Center (COEX) in southern Seoul where nearly 1,300 medical instrument manufacturers from both home and abroad showcased their latest medical technologies and products.

March 19, 2017

[Herald Interview] Algorithm-based logistics service ready for export

Algorithm-based transport management system and data learning technologies are crucial for last-mile delivery services in the growing e-commerce market, the head of an information technology logistics firm said.“We call it the AlphaGo of logistics,” said Rhyu Jung-bum, CEO of IT logistics startup Mesh Korea, referring to Google DeepMind‘s artificial intelligence program developed to play Go. “High technology is really needed in order to address a vicious cycle in the current delivery service mar

March 17, 2017

LG’s G6 hits US shelves

LG Electronics has embarked on global sales of its strategic G6 smartphone as the company opened presales of the latest model in the world’s biggest mobile market Friday.According to the company, it has begun taking preorders for the flagship G6 smartphone via five American mobile carriers by rolling out various promotion events. The official launch is set for April 7. No. 1 US telecom service provider AT&T offers a G6 buyer another free G6 smartphone if the buyer subscribes to a new AT&T accoun

March 17, 2017

[Eye Plus] Agriculture will feed the future

While a UN report says agriculture has to produce 70 percent more food in 2050 than it did in 2006 to feed the world’s growing population, South Korea’s state-run agricultural think tank is busy experimenting how to turn agriculture into something like manufacturing to feed the future generations.Located in Wanju, North Jeolla Province, the National Institute of Agricultural Science operates a smart greenhouse to experiment vertical farming, researches on insect farming and preserves tens of tho

March 17, 2017

3rd Korean hospital to adopt AI-based oncology system

South Korea’s Konyang University Hospital will adopt an artificial intelligence system based on IBM’s Watson for Oncology, becoming the country’s third medical institution to embrace AI for the diagnosis and treatment of cancer.SK C&C said Thursday that it signed an agreement with the university to bring IBM’s Watson for Oncology to the hospital and to digitize the hospital’s administrative system using Aibril — the firm’s big data and cloud computing platform powered by IBM’s AI software.In Kor

March 17, 2017

Korea to strengthen monitoring of 2 drug-resistant bacteria

South Korean health authorities said Friday they will strengthen monitoring of two super bacteria -- the Vancomycin resistant Staphylococcus aureus and carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae -- that are resistant to certain antibiotics. The two will be designated as level-three infectious diseases starting in June, said the Ministry of Health and Welfare. The ministry divides infectious diseases into five levels in terms of how dangerous they are and how quickly they can spread.The Ministry of

March 17, 2017

LG Hausys recognized for technological innovation of roof rack

LG Hausys has won an award in recognition of the technological innovation of its roof rack material at the JEC World 2017 in Paris, it said Thursday. The roof rack is a tool consisting of two long sticks for the fixation of baggage on vehicle roofs. It is made of continuous fiber thermoplastic, known as CFT, proprietarily developed by LG Hausys. The latest roof rack is about 30 percent lighter than existing products made of aluminum. It was co-developed by the LG unit and South Korea’s largest a

March 16, 2017

Samsung to mass produce new 10-nm app processors

Samsung Electronics will start mass production of second-generation 10-nanometer mobile application processors by the end of this year and that of the third generation next year, it said Thursday. The world’s top memory chipmaker said it is ramping up production of the 10-nm FinFET process technology for steady high yield to meet customer needs on schedule. (Yonhap)“Following the 10-nm Low Power Early version, the 10-nm Low Power Performance and Low Power Ultimate will enter mass production by t

March 16, 2017

KakaoTalk to offer info on Korean presidential candidates

South Korean mobile messaging giant Kakao said Wednesday that it is offering information on the candidates competing in the country’s upcoming presidential election via its Plus Friends function on KakaoTalk.Plus Friends is a promotional platform operated by KakaoTalk. Users can befriend diverse Plus Friends accounts -- run by diverse brands and companies -- to receive notifications and content in the form of KakaoTalk messages.  (Kakao)As of Wednesday, a total of 10 Korean presidential hopefuls

March 15, 2017

[Newsmaker] Excitement rises over Samsung chip investment

The amount Samsung Electronics will invest in the booming semiconductor business this year is being widely discussed among related industries and the financial market, even though the world’s top chipmaker has yet to announce its final plan.According to the semiconductor industry on Wednesday, Samsung is currently looking at its annual investment plan, which includes building a new production line within the current 17 Line in the company’s Hwaseong Campus in Gyeonggi Province, and constructing

March 15, 2017

KT, LG Uplus join hands on home IoT, AI services

KT and LG Uplus, the second and third largest mobile carriers in South Korea, on Wednesday announced that the two mobile carriers will join hands for a music content platform as part of efforts to enhance their Internet of Things and artificial intelligence businesses. LG Uplus decided to purchase a 15 percent stake, or about 7.38 million shares, in KT Music, an operator of online music streaming service Genie, for 26.7 billion won  ($23 million) at a board meeting. With the acquisition, LG Uplu

March 15, 2017

S. Korea to inject W514b into nano technology

South Korea unveiled Tuesday a plan to invest 514.1 billion won ($447.4 million) to jumpstart nano technology development this year.The plan came as seven ministries including the Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning, three government-affiliated organizations and 11 state-backed research institutions mapped out budget plans to the National Science and Technology Commission. About 84 percent of the budget, 430 billion won, will be used to support research and development in nano technolog

March 15, 2017

Byda signs MOU with Kyrgyzstan to supply traffic enforcement system

Byda has signed a memorandum of understanding with a Kyrgyzstan government institution to supply its traffic enforcement system, the company announced Wednesday.Byda is a startup headed by Kim Byeong-seong, that produces intelligent traffic enforcement radar systems that are equipped with high-frequency sensors and real-time signal processing technology.  Byda’s traffic radar equipment (Byda)As opposed to existing traffic radar systems, which only provide data on speed and distance, the radar sy

March 15, 2017

Korean space institute details interstellar journey to 'Earth-like' planet

A South Korean space institute said Wednesday that one of its astrophysicists has suggested a way to protect a nano-sized spacecraft during an interstellar voyage project that was unveiled last year.In April 2016, tech investor Yuri Milner announced the so-called "Breakthrough Starshot" initiative to send nanocrafts to a small rocky "Earth-like" planet that might exist in the nearest star system to the sun, Alpha Centauri. The billionaire said he will inject $100 million to fund scientists and e

March 15, 2017

Four Grit conducts open beta of ‘Beusable’

Four Grit announced Wednesday that it has began conducting an open beta of Beusable, a service that conducts quantitative analyses on the UX (user experience) of internet users. Four Grit, a startup headed by Park Tae-joon, developed and operates a service that provides UX-related big data to internet and mobile device users in the form of visual quantitative data. With staff made up largely of former Naver user interface developers, Four Grit currently receives support for marketing and other a

March 15, 2017

Scientists develop new peptide to treat autoinflammatory diseases

A group of South Korean scientists have developed a new type of peptide to treat autoinflammatory diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis, the science ministry said Wednesday.Autoinflammatory diseases are defined as the loss of self-tolerance in which an inflammatory response occurs in reaction to inappropriate triggering of Toll-Like Receptor-4. (Photo courtesy of the Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning) (Yonhap)The team led by Choi Sang-don successfully designed small peptide inhibitors

March 15, 2017

Samsung launches new high-tech TVs with quantum dot technology

Samsung Electronics Co. on Wednesday launched a new line-up of its high-tech televisions using quantum dot technology, as it seeks to strengthen its market share in the global premium TV market. Quantum dot TVs offer better picture quality and cheaper manufacturing costs than organic light-emitting diode TVs.Samsung unveiled the 55-inch and 65-inch ultra-high-definition quantum dot TVs at the annual Consumer Electronics Show earlier this year. At a global launch event for the premium TVs in Pari

March 15, 2017

Samsung SDI unveils new lineup of ESS batteries

Samsung SDI said it showcased a new lineup of its ESS solutions at the Energy Storage Europe 2017 event held from Tuesday in Dusseldorf, Germany.During the exhibition, the Korean battery maker unveiled its new ESS products, high capacity E2 and high-power P3 models. The E2 model is a high-capacity ESS battery that substantially increases the number of cells integrated in a container. The company said it dramatically raised the intensity of space in the ESS container by upgrading its module desig

March 14, 2017

Govt. unveils R&D road map for 2018

The government unveiled its research and development plan for next year on Tuesday to secure a new growth strategy to cope with the fast-paced industrial transformation going forward.Under the road map crafted by the Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning, the government will increase R&D productivity by securing critical intelligence information technologies that characterize the so-called fourth industrial revolution.The plan was finalized after getting input from relevant government age

March 14, 2017

Govt. to spend W514.1b on developing nanotechnology in 2017

South Korea's science ministry said Tuesday that it will spend 514.1 billion won ($447.8 million) this year on developing core nanotechnology know-how to improve the competitiveness of the country's industrial sector.The 2017 spending plan is roughly on par with the 518.1 billion won earmarked in 2016 and aims to develop key technologies that can be applied in various industrial areas, the Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning said.Scientists experiment with nanotechnology in a lab in Nor

March 14, 2017