From dough to finished-product packaging, it handles it all on its own
Minister Kim Jeong-gwan of the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy visits the AI robot demonstration site
“M.AX will be boldly applied across the broader economy with our support”
An artificial intelligence robot at Sungsimdang’s Lotte Department Store Daejeon branch is making deep-fried soboro on the 27th. Provided by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy
On the afternoon of the 27th at Lotte Department Store in Seo-gu, Daejeon. Minister Kim Jeong-gwan of the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy visited ‘Sungsimdang’, the famed Daejeon bakery that has a shop in the department store. He was there to watch Daejeon’s specialty, deep-fried soboro, being made. Also called ‘Twi-so’, this bread is soboro buns filled with red bean paste or sweet potato mousse that are fried in oil, and it is Sungsimdang’s signature item. The minister visited this location because an artificial intelligence (AI) robot makes the deep-fried soboro.
As part of a demonstration project for the manufacturing AI transition, known as ‘M.AX’, the Sungsimdang AI robot is the result of collaboration among Sungsimdang, AI company ‘Roilabs’, and robotics company ‘Intertech’. The AI and robot check the surrounding temperature and humidity to manage optimal frying conditions. They then place the dough in the oil, flip and remove it once it puffs to the right size, and even handle packaging the finished products.
Sungsimdang expects the AI robot to boost productivity by about 20%. Lim Young-jin, CEO of Sungsimdang, said, “We hope it can ease the hardship of employees who had to endure intense heat to make the deep-fried soboro,” and added, “We will positively consider advancing this robot and expanding it to other locations.”
Lee Han, CEO of ‘Roilabs’, who oversaw the introduction of the AI solution, said, “With this project, we were able to secure cases in new domains,” and added, “We expect business expansion into new areas such as food and beverage beyond manufacturing sites.”
The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy plans to expand the AI robot demonstration budget to spread AI factory models that citizens can feel in everyday economic activity, not only in key industries but across all sectors. In addition to Sungsimdang, ‘Jangchung-dong Wang Jokbal Bossam’ is applying AI robots to defective-meat sorting and fixed-quantity packaging systems. ‘Hoegok Brewery’ in Andong is using AI robots for the long-hours task of stirring fermentation tanks.