Incheon Innovation Center, Korean Air Successfully Deploy Cobots On-Site through Aerospace Open Innovation

The Incheon Center for Creative Economy & Innovation and Korean Air have successfully concluded the 2025 journey of the 'Aerospace Open Innovation Program,' which has run for three years since 2023. This program discovered innovative technologies from startups and SMEs based on Korean Air's on-site technology demands and established a practical platform for applying them to actual aircraft manufacturing and maintenance sites. Moving beyond simple technology calls, it proved its value by establishing a systematic support model that encompasses technology proof-of-concept (PoC), subsequent R&D, and even actual industrial application. Over the past three years, both parties have carried out a total of seven cooperation projects. Notably, 'Automated Production Technology for Aircraft Parts (Collaborative Robots·AMR)' and 'AI-based Swarm Drone Operation Technology (AI Pilot)' were selected as 'Purchase-Conditional R&D Projects' by the Ministry of SMEs and Startups, accelerating their technological advancement. The most notable achievement is a drilling system combining collaborative robots and autonomous mobile robots (AMR). This system successfully passed the demonstration phase and is currently being deployed in Korean Air's rear fuselage frame hole processing operations for aircraft, shining as a prime example of win-win technological cooperation between large corporations and SMEs. The Incheon Center handled all-round accelerating, from identifying promising companies to supporting commercialization and linking to follow-up programs, driving the growth of participating companies. Jin Seong-hyun, Manager of Korean Air's Aerospace Business Division, emphasized that this cooperation contributed to creating a win-win ecosystem in the aerospace industry and promised continued cooperation in the future. Lee Jae-sun, Head of the Incheon Center, also defined this program as a 'field-based, demonstration-type open innovation model for the aerospace industry' and stated that the center would continue to provide full support as a win-win cooperation platform in related fields. As such, this program, which generates practical achievements and win-win value, will become an important stepping stone leading innovation in the future aerospace industry.