South Korean electronics components maker LG Innotek said Tuesday it has launched an artificial intelligence-based patent search and analysis system that can handle a task 900 times faster than human.

According to the affiliate of LG Group, the system can process 50,000 pieces of patent data in four hours, which would otherwise require five workers to work eight hours a day for 100 days.

“This is possible thanks to the AI-powered automatic sentence recognition model co-developed with LG AI Research. This model can conduct a real-time analysis of context and texts and identify in which fields or research and development projects the patents can be used,” an LG Innotek official said. LG AI Research is an AI technology research hub for LG Group.

Typical patent systems offer limited, passive solutions where clients can conduct simplistic tasks such as checking whether their new products or technologies infringe on existing patents.

“Patent information is an index that shows future industries and market trends. In the future, the one who utilizes patent big data well will take initiative in technology,” LG Innotek Chief Technology Officer Kang Min-seok said.

More than 3 million patents are registered worldwide annually, according to the company.

By Kim Byung-wook (kbw@heraldcorp.com)