On the 28th, LG Uplus announced that it has signed a business agreement with Yesco to develop AI and big data-based urban gas pipe diagnostic technology, marking the beginning of efforts for digital transformation (DX) solutions in the industrial field.
The signing ceremony took place at the LG Uplus headquarters in Yongsan, Seoul, with notable executives including Park Sung-yul, head of the Corporate Business Group at LG Uplus, and Lee Jae-hwan, head of the Safety Technology sector at Yesco, in attendance.
Yesco is an energy solutions company that supplies urban gas through approximately 3,500 km of piping in Seoul and the Gyeonggi metropolitan area. Since 2018, Yesco has been a key partner of LG Uplus, collaborating on IoT (Internet of Things) remote monitoring technology.
Currently, urban gas safety management employs an ‘electrical method’ that involves passing a certain level of current through pipes to prevent corrosion. However, this method has faced challenges in managing corrosion for pipes installed near high-voltage areas such as subways and high-voltage cables due to external interference.
Through this business agreement, both companies will collaborate to develop new IoT devices specialized for pipe diagnostics in urban areas. They plan to utilize AI and big data technologies to jointly build a monitoring solution and data analysis system that can systematically manage urban gas pipes.
LG Uplus intends to focus on developing integrated monitoring and data analysis solutions powered by AI alongside Yesco. This strategy aims to enhance the safety and operational efficiency of urban gas by enabling AI to learn current influx patterns and prevent external currents from interfering with the pipes, allowing for accurate assessments of corrosion levels in each pipe.
Lee Jae-hwan, head of Safety Technology at Yesco, expressed his enthusiasm, stating, “I am pleased that this technology development collaboration provides an opportunity to advance to an AI and big data-based management system in the IoT field. We will do our utmost to ensure that installed pipes can be operated more reliably in the increasingly complex urban and underground environments.”
Park Sung-yul, head of the Corporate Business Group at LG Uplus, commented, “We expect the synergy created by Yesco’s expertise in urban gas pipe management technology and LG Uplus’s industrial safety sensor technology along with AI and big data capabilities to produce significant results. We will continue to lead the digital transformation of the B2B industry by collaborating with promising companies in various sectors.”
Lee Sang-jin daedusj@autodiary.kr