SK Innovation's state-of-art tech makes factories more profitable and safe

SK Innovation showcased advanced AI and data transformation technologies at its Ulsan Complex, which includes robot dogs and flying drones.

A robot dog regularly patrols the Ulsan Complex. It alerts workers if it detects abnormal conditions, such as strangely high or low temperatures and gas leaks. [SK INNOVATION]

ULSAN — A robot dog patrols six times a day while a flying drone photographs equipment to detect cracks or safety risks.

Few humans are visible at SK Innovation's Ulsan Complex, called the “smart plant,” which imbues the simpler parts of its operations with AI and data transformation (DT).

Pictured are a robot dog and its house. The dog patrols the factory six times a day, each time taking up to 50 minutes. After each patrol, it goes back to the house to charge. [SK INNOVATION]

“The smart plant is an upgraded version of a smart factory, which is a common form these days as many manufacturing facilities use robots and big data for connected machines,” said Chung Chang-hoon, head of the smart plant team at SK Innovation, during a media tour of the complex on Thursday.

“The Ulsan Complex is a smart plant where we apply more advanced AI and DT technologies to reduce cost as well as ramp up safety,” Chung said.

SK Innovation’s Ulsan Complex, measuring 2.5 million pyeong (2,042 acres), began operation in 1964 as Korea's first oil refinery. The Ulsan Complex also houses several production plants run by SK Innovation’s other petroleum-related subsidiaries, such as SK geo centric, a petrochemical manufacturer, and SK Enmove, a lubricant supplier.

The robot dog, the work of Hyundai Motor’s Boston Dynamics, patrols the factory six times per day, each round taking up to 50 minutes. It sounds an alarm when it detects abnormal conditions such as strangely high or low temperatures or gas leaks.

Humans just input assignments to the robotic canine, which it dutifully carries out. It can avoid obstacles by itself and do nearly everything that humans could, SK said.

An SK Innovation worker uses an augmented reality device to see a simulation of erecting scaffolding at the Ulsan Complex on Thursday. [SK INNOVATION]

When it comes to building scaffolding around the factory, a flying drone is brought in to tell workers where structures are needed and where they should not be built. Those building can see simulated platforms before their eyes thanks to the drones' cameras and sensors.

“We estimate around 10 billion won [$7.3 million] of cost cut every year through preventing accidents in advance and money waste from mistakenly installed machines,” Chung said.

Other installed technologies, including the so-called Soft Sensor, were independently developed by SK Innovation.

The Soft Sensor is used to test chemicals under the valve that workers lack the capacity to test one by one. The sensor evaluates samples of each substance and predicts which, if any, variables will emerge, and at what points.

SK Innovation workers inspect the inside of a heat exchange virtually at the Ulsan Complex on Thursday. [SK INNOVATION]

Technology also comes in handy in the inspection of a heat exchanger with around 3,000 holes on its surface. A worker must open those holes, one by one, to check for visible cracks, a process that takes some three months to finish. SK's machinery is able to simplify that process by identifying which particular holes workers must observe.

Around 40 new technologies, in total, are in use at the plant, Chung said, adding that “we have sold some of them to SK affiliates.”

To make it a profitable business, SK Innovation is “in talks with an Indian company to export such smart plant technologies.”

The firm is currently developing an extended reality program that can offer workers virtual safety training, as well as generative AI for engineers. Those products are slated to be introduced in the second half of this year.

SK Innovation currently employs 90 data scientists and 10 experts in AI and DT at the Ulsan Complex and plans to hire more as the business expands.

BY SARAH CHEA [chea.sarah@joongang.co.kr]