LG Uplus is joining forces with Korea District Heating Corp. to upgrade the safety management framework for district energy facilities using AIoT technology that combines artificial intelligence (AI) and the Internet of Things (IoT). At the core is a predictive maintenance system capable of detecting subtle ground shifts in underground heat transmission pipelines to identify potential sinkhole formation early, while also analyzing stray currents that cause pipeline corrosion.<\/p>\n
The two companies signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) on the 31st at LG Uplus’s Yongsan headquarters in Seoul for “AIoT-based safety management enhancement in the district energy sector.” The signing ceremony was attended by Kwon Yong-hyun, head of LG Uplus’s Enterprise Division (senior vice president), and Chung Nam-sung, head of Korea District Heating Corp.’s Construction Division.<\/p>\n
District energy is a system that supplies heat and electricity generated at large-scale production facilities such as combined heat and power plants to apartment complexes, office buildings, and commercial facilities. Heat source facilities and transmission pipelines operate in high-temperature environments exceeding 100 degrees Celsius, and since most pipelines are buried underground, ground subsidence or pipeline corrosion can lead to safety incidents.<\/p>\n
Remote sensing terminals to be installed along underground pipeline routes<\/p>\n
The first phase of the system the two companies will build involves installing underground remote sensing terminals along heat pipeline routes. These terminals collect tilt and vibration data, which AI then analyzes to detect subtle ground movements that are difficult to identify visually, enabling early identification of potential sinkhole formation.<\/p>\n
Stray current (leakage current) monitoring technology that causes pipeline corrosion will also be piloted. The approach involves analyzing electrical signals such as current density and frequency by pipeline segment to identify sections with high corrosion risk. Automation of current diversion operations\u2014redirecting leaked current to safe locations\u2014is also under consideration.<\/p>\n
AI-based security and surveillance technology will be applied to water supply rooms and electrical distribution rooms where risks of electric shock or crushing injuries exist. The plan calls for 24-hour management of access and work histories for entry doors, server racks, and other key equipment.<\/p>\n
An extension of collaboration dating back to 2020<\/p>\n
This is not the first technical collaboration between the two companies. In 2020, they jointly developed IoT temperature sensors, and last year they completed field testing of compact monitoring devices. The goal of this agreement is to expand on those achievements and transition the overall safety management framework for district energy facilities to an AI-based predictive maintenance approach.<\/p>\n
The structure involves applying LG Uplus’s AI monitoring platform and IoT communications technology to Korea District Heating Corp.’s district energy facilities, enabling real-time analysis of field-collected data and early detection of anomalies. This represents a shift from post-incident response to a system that predicts risk factors and takes preemptive action.<\/p>\n
” We will continue to enhance our AIoT solutions to improve the safety of energy infrastructure,” said Senior Vice President Kwon Yong-hyun.<\/p>\n
District energy facilities are extensively distributed beneath urban areas, meaning accidents can result in significant casualties and social costs. Sinkholes caused by ground subsidence can threaten the safety of city roads and adjacent buildings, while heat pipeline ruptures from corrosion can lead to large-scale disruptions in heating and hot water supply. An AIoT-based continuous monitoring system is expected to mitigate these risks early while also reducing maintenance costs.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"LG Uplus is joining forces with Korea District Heating Corp. to upgrade the safety management framework for district…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":137848,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[25],"tags":[70048,70052,70049,62890,49353,315,314,2095,28903,70050,70051],"class_list":["post-137847","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-lg","tag-aiot","tag-chung-nam-sung","tag-heat-transmission-pipelines","tag-korea-district-heating-corp","tag-kwon-yong-hyun","tag-lg","tag-lg-group","tag-lg-uplus","tag-predictive-maintenance","tag-sinkholes","tag-stray-current"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/korea\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/137847","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/korea\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/korea\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/korea\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/korea\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=137847"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/korea\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/137847\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/korea\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/137848"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/korea\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=137847"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/korea\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=137847"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/korea\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=137847"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}