Lee Keon-jae, senior researcher at Korea Evaluation Institute of Industrial Technology (KEIT), spoke about the development of the Fourth Industrial Revolution and how to respond to future changes.

Question: What are core wearable technologies that will lead up to the Fourth Industrial Revolution, i.e. what impact will wearable technologies have on the Fourth Industrial Revolution?

Answer: Wearables will serve as industrial core devices that control innovation and changes, prompted by converging and harmonizing such technologies as semiconductors, materials, sensors, the Internet of Things (IoT) and artificial intelligence. 

Industrial core systems that control AI-enabled devices are a key of the 4th Industrial Revolution. Such IoT and AI-enabled industrial core devices as smart cars, energy, robots, smart homes, and smart factory instruments will be made available. 

Final terminals will be in place to offer curation services for the purpose of intelligent use of AI, IoT, Big Data, FinTech, humans, objects, and spatial circumstances and data. Intelligent software, intelligent semiconductor, integrated sensors, power generation/charging, displays, and wearable material technologies, which are proprietary technologies designed to provide high-quality services and promote convenience, will be utilized as core device component technologies of the 4th Industrial Revolution. 

The wearable industry will provide innovative technologies and industries to ensure the creative transformation of the industrial ecosystem down the road, and it will create creative, market-opening industries in such diverse areas as materials/parts and platform software in which mid- and large-sized companies will coexist. 

Mixed reality-based services, a combination of virtual reality and augmented reality, will be realized through the 4th Industrial Revolution. 

Q: Will you elaborate on government policies on the aforementioned topic?

A: The government will provide R&D technology support to help small- and mid-sized companies create a foothold in the conventional and future new industries in the wearable industry sector. 

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) and the Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning (MSIP) have designated the development of wearable smart device technologies and the reinvigorating of its ecosystem as one of the core strategies to respond to the 4th Industrial Revolution. In this regard, they have established and implemented policies to translate them into action.

On top of the support of the conventional industries, including materials/parts, platforms and software, the ministries have R&D technology support policies in place to nurture such advanced materials and parts industries as self-generation/charging, material technology, user-based recognition technology, and wearable spatial display technology.

Dividing input/output technology, process and power technology, and platform technology as wearable technologies for the 4th Industrial Revolution, the government is aggressively striving to go for the intensive development of core materials and parts, exploration of markets and the establishment of open-type ecosystems to rise to a global top three leader. 

SMEs will have core technology competitiveness by making sensors, parts and materials modules that can be directly used for information processing, sensing, communicating and materials of the 4th Industrial Revolution.

Q: What plans are under way in accordance with the direction of policies?

A: Korea wants to secure four proprietary core component technologies on four wearable smart devices —input, output, processing and power—and achieve market leadership so that new industries and small- and mid-sized companies can be nurtured. 

A focus will be on securing four proprietary core component technologies on four wearable smart devices and connectivity technologies of new industries. This move is designed to secure convergence technologies in such a wide range of areas as health care, e-Learning, smart cars, entertainment, transportation and augmented reality. 

We focus on securing next-generation material/parts technologies that can minimize users’ recognition, a wearable component technology, and continue to draw energies from a surrounding environment on top of users’ interacting in the course of input, output and processing by using core component technologies of the 4th Industrial Revolution and providing information tailored to meet users’ needs through diverse data curation services. 

Korea intends to lead in the creation of certification standards on the top-four core technologies and international standards. By securing standard and international patents ahead of other nations, Korean SMES and mid-size superstar companies will secure a competitive edge in exploring new industries.