Company holds 'Open Innovation Day' event

Daewoo Engineering & Construction CEO Lee Kang-seok (second from left, front row) speaks with participants at the "Open Innovation" event.
Daewoo Engineering & Construction CEO Lee Kang-seok (second from left, front row) speaks with participants at the "Open Innovation" event.

Daewoo Engineering & Construction said Thursday that it held the "Daewoo E&C Open Innovation" event to seek collaboration with startups that have innovative technologies.

The Daewoo E&C Open Innovation program is run jointly with the Korea Institute of Civil Engineering and Building Technology. It discovers promising startups capable of driving change in the construction industry and supports technology and business cooperation with the company's operating divisions. The institute, as co-host, supports participating firms in verifying and commercializing their technologies by identifying promising startups in the smart construction field and providing proof-of-concept funding.

Daewoo Engineering & Construction began recruiting participating companies in late May and held its "Open Innovation Day" on Sept. 8 at the Prugio Art Hall in its Euljiro headquarters. At the event, the company conducted phased evaluations of a total of 164 technologies submitted across five categories, followed by final evaluations of nine innovative technologies that made the cut.

Companies that took part presented their proprietary technologies and business ideas, and set up dedicated promotional booths to introduce their technologies and services directly to Daewoo Engineering & Construction employees. The nine finalists were Hilocal and Construction Partner in the smart safety and quality category, and Edit Collective, Carillon, Twofeet and Starkium in the AI category. Gorae Robotics was selected in the robotics and automation category, Spanner in the ports and airports category, and Robotom in the innovative ideas category.

"This event went beyond simple technology presentations by the participating companies -- it was an occasion for our employees to actually experience the technologies, freely exchange opinions and explore possibilities for collaboration," a Daewoo Engineering & Construction official said.

The construction industry's paradigm is rapidly shifting from conventional construction toward smart construction that fuses cutting-edge technologies such as digital tools, AI and robotics. Daewoo Engineering & Construction has been diversifying its technology strategy, not only through in-house research and development but also by discovering and collaborating with outstanding external technologies and ideas.

The company plans to review, in stages, how the innovative technologies discovered through the program can be applied to its projects and construction sites going forward. The aim is to prevent serious accidents, upgrade on-site safety management, improve work efficiency through AI, and strengthen its competitiveness in smart construction technology.

"As the pace of advancement in construction technology accelerates, it is important to effectively connect our internal R&D capabilities with outstanding external technologies," a Daewoo Engineering & Construction official said. "We will not stop at simply introducing the outstanding technologies discovered through this Open Innovation program -- we will connect them to on-site verification and business application to boost productivity in safety and quality, while continuing to strengthen our smart construction capabilities using advanced technologies such as AI and robotics."

Meanwhile, Daewoo Engineering & Construction unveiled a next-generation community innovation plan for its apartment brand Prugio. The plan introduces AI and robot technology along with differentiated sensory marketing elements to improve residential convenience for move-in residents.


hss@heraldcorp.com