Lotte Engineering & Construction announced Thursday that it has secured up to 620 million won ($420,000) in proof-of-concept (PoC) support grants through open innovation programs run by the Korea Institute of Startup & Entrepreneurship Development and the Seoul Business Agency (SBA).
The company applied for five collaborative projects across three open innovation programs announced by the Korea Institute of Startup & Entrepreneurship Development this year and was selected for all of them.
Under the public-private open innovation support program's mutual autonomous exploration track, Lotte Engineering & Construction will conduct on-site pilots with domestic construction automation startup Spanner through January next year. Through the Innowave program, it plans to continue pilots with Regenty&I through December on improving residential performance, including reducing floor impact noise in apartment buildings. Three additional projects adopted under the program's strategic task-solving track — an autonomous driving robot for material transport, autonomous and remote earthwork heavy-equipment control, and AI-based intelligent monitoring — will move into full-scale technology pilots in August, once partner startups are selected.
The Korea Institute of Startup & Entrepreneurship Development operates support programs each year to identify and nurture promising startups. Lotte Engineering & Construction has been an active participant in the institute's programs, taking on a leading role as a demand-side company in fostering the open innovation ecosystem.
Its collaboration with the SBA is also bearing fruit. Through a startup program run jointly with SBA's Seoul Startup Hub Seongsu, the company selected three startups with technologies ready for immediate deployment at construction sites: Double S&DT (AI-based supervision record management), Fricktech (defect detection using AI-based indoor positioning) and MobilityOne (integrated control of heterogeneous robots). The three startups will continue technology pilots at Lotte Engineering & Construction's active construction sites through November, covering AI-based supervision record management, defect detection and integrated robot control.
Since 2023, Lotte Engineering & Construction has maintained a dedicated open innovation unit within its technology research institute, working closely with all business divisions — including development, architecture, civil engineering, plant, and safety — to identify projects optimized for the field. Beyond applying pilot results at construction sites, the company is pursuing joint technology development and co-filing of intellectual property rights for standout innovations, establishing a sustainable partnership model that helps startups build long-term self-sufficiency.
"Construction automation, AI and robotics are emerging as core competitive capabilities for the future of the construction industry," a company official said. "Through close collaboration with public institutions, we will identify startups with outstanding technology and lead innovation in smart construction."
Meanwhile, Lotte Engineering & Construction recently published a report on its environmental, social and governance (ESG) performance and sustainability management activities.
hwshin@heraldcorp.com
