NC AI, an industry-specialized artificial intelligence (AI) company, is launching a defense physical AI development project in partnership with Hyundai Rotem.
NC AI announced Tuesday that it has been selected as a final contractor, alongside Hyundai Rotem, for the "Physical AI-Based Integrated Simulator and Modular Robot System" research and development (R&D) project commissioned by the Agency for Defense Development (ADD).
The project is a government initiative aimed at enhancing the efficiency of manned-unmanned combined weapon systems in future battlefield environments. The core objective is to build a "digital twin-based simulator" and "modular robot hardware" that can simultaneously and organically control various types of unmanned robots while narrowing the gap between real and virtual environments.
In this project, NC AI will lead the development of the "World Model," a key technology that constitutes the next-generation Robot Foundation Model (RFM). The World Model enables robots to autonomously perceive and predict real-world physical laws and environmental changes, simulating them in a virtual world. It serves as the brain that allows robots to enhance their judgment capabilities through repeated learning under conditions similar to actual battlefields.
"Based on NC AI's lightweight World Model, whose technical capability has been proven, we will develop the best physical AI simulator that perfectly connects the virtual and the real," NC AI CEO Lee Yeon-soo said. "Through this, we will take the lead in accelerating South Korea's defense AX."
