A speaker lectures at the 4th Embedded Software & Industry Convergence Tech Conference at Ramada Seoul in Samseong-dong, southeastern Seoul, on Dec. 1. (Photos: KEIT)

The 4th Embedded Software & Industry Convergence Tech Conference took place at Ramada Seoul in Samseong-dong, southeastern Seoul, on Dec. 1, serving as an opportunity to examine embedded software and IT convergence industry trends within a hyper-connected society. With the advent of the hyper-connected society, opportunities to create new value through the opening and sharing of information like IoT, big data and artificial intelligence is on the rise.

About 300 people from the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, Korea Evaluation Institute of Industrial Technology (KEIT) and the Embedded Software and System Industry Association, participated in the conference. 

This event was designed to look into the significance of embedded software and IT convergence technologies and convergence technology trends in diverse industries to brace for the advent of a hyper-connected society, as well as explore the direction of future technology development and new business models. 

The conference was divided into six sessions under three themes — Intelligence, Mesh-Network and Convergence. 

Lee Yong-duk, head of NVIDIA Korea, a key-note speaker, touched on industry field trends of embedded software and IT convergence technologies like VR, AI and self-driving cars under the theme “IT and software convergence trends related to the 4th Industrial Revolution.”

The Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy Award was presented to Lim Seung-ok, a center chief of Korea Electronics Technology Institute, and President Lee Jae-hong of UNIVELOX. Lim has been credited with the development of the IT convergence sector by securing and commercializing wireless charging and extreme situation communications proprietary technology and invigorating the ecosystem of the IT convergence industry by proposing and setting international standards and exploring new markets. 

Embedded software and IT-based convergence technologies are emerging as core factors to expedite the advent of the 4th Industrial Revolution by bridging each industry as well as AI, IoT, big data and cloud. Recognizing the combination of the nation’s mainstay industries automobile, shipbuilding and IT/software technologies as a pivot to beef up the competiveness of the Korean manufacturing industry, the MOTIE has splurged on more than a combined 200 billion won on technology development in the sector since 2009.

The ministry plans to invest 2 billion won annually for five years from 2016 to nurture expertise manpower in the embedded software segment. It has decided to continue making investments through diverse channels to expedite the combination of the embedded software and IT/software convergence technologies down the road. 

In a session on intelligence, Yoo Si-bok, a center chief of Korea Automotive Technology Institute (KATECH) spoke about the direction of self-driving car technology development, technology strategies and vision, while Koh Jae-jin, a center had of KEIT, lectured on successful technology cases using AI. 

In a session on mesh-network, Kang Seong-ok, a manager at SK Telecom, touched upon the development and application of connected-based self-driving cars, while Hyun Jae-young, managing director of MDS Technology, spoke about smart factory component technology and commercialization cases. In a session on convergence, President Oh Jae-chul of I-On Communications, touched upon the exploration of new markets through the commercialization of wearable devices, while Park Kang-soon, general manager of LG U+, spoke about technology success stories on the utilization of mixed reality.