NIA and Universities Launch K-AI Network Competition Enhancement Project

The National Institute of AI announced on October 2 that it will begin the K-AI Network Competition Enhancement Project together with several universities. The project aims to strengthen AI network competitiveness through the integration of AI and network technologies. The launch ceremony took place on October 1 at Seoul National University and was opened by a video greeting from Representative Park Min-gyu. Participants included the Ministry of Science and ICT, NIA, Seoul National University, KAIST, Yonsei University, NewgenS, HFR, and Samsung Electronics. NIA and the Seoul National University Robotics National Research Lab declared a vision for AI-RAN and Physical AI cooperation and explored the possibility of linking robotics research capabilities within AI-RAN test environments. The core task of the project, Campus AI Network Demonstration, will receive a government grant of 22 billion won in 2026 and will run until December 2027 under a single consortium.

NewgenS will lead the consortium while Seoul National University, KAIST, Yonsei University, and HFR will participate. The consortium will build AI-RAN test environments based on domestic equipment and solutions at three university campuses. The three universities will connect to the national research test network KOREN and use each campus as a testbed for improving and advancing domestic AI-RAN equipment and solutions. Through shared results, the performance and interoperability of RAN will be verified and improved, and physical AI and robotics services will be demonstrated. The project seeks to optimize AI-RAN performance (AI-for-RAN) and discover physical AI models (AI-on-RAN) such as robotics, thereby creating a foundation for the diffusion of domestic AI network technology and overseas expansion. The initiative goes beyond AI service demonstration by using universities as continuous AI-RAN testbeds for AIOps, verifying network performance and operational efficiency improvements.

Each university will conduct specific demonstrations: Seoul National University will link AI hologram technology to a campus-wide guidance service, KAIST will test autonomous driving robot delivery and movement services, and Yonsei University will test multi-modal quadrupedal robot indoor patrol and companionship guidance services. NIA Director Kim Hyung-cheol said that networks in the AI era will evolve into intelligent infrastructure that supports diverse AI services and that the project will strengthen domestic AI-RAN competitiveness by linking university research capabilities with industrial technology and by spreading the demonstrated results from campuses to industry and overseas markets.