By Jung Joo-ri and Yoon Sojung

Korean companies are concentrating on high-tech information and communications technology (ICT), hoping that this will give them an edge as the fourth industrial revolution unrolls across the global economy. The key technologies mainly include robotics, artificial intelligence (AI) and the Internet of Things (IoT).

Large Korean conglomerates are working hard to be at a point where the development of ICT can become a new engine for economic growth in and of itself, by connecting technologies with innovation within those fields.

Korea’s leading telecommunications firm, KT, unveiled on June 22 "AIR i," an electric bicycle equipped with IoT, in collaboration with Reacon Hi-Tech, a smart mobility-specialized firm.

Riders can check the bike's location in real-time thanks to an inner module that works on KT’s LTE-M phone networks. When the bicycle is lost or stolen, the owner can still control its power, backed by KT’s smart mobility platform.

LG Electronics announced on June 22 that it invested USD 3 million into the U.S. firm BossaNova Robotics, which develops service robots for retail stores. This is the first time for LG Electronics to make such an investment in an overseas robotics company, the firm said.

LG Electronics has also been focusing on AI research, along with robotics. The firm launched a research body in Silicon Valley in January this year, and has been preparing the establishment of an AI lab in Toronto, Canada.

Samsung Electronics launched a “Q Fund” to invest in AI-related start-ups on June 14. The conglomerate said that the fund is designed to invest in start-ups that can develop new AI technologies. The firm also opened AI centers in the U.K., Russia, Canada and France in order to support research into AI technology and to recruit talented workers.

etoilejr@korea.kr