ETRI Leads Launch of ITU-T Forum on Physical AI International Standardization

As the Physical AI industry accelerates its growth, the Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute (ETRI) moved ahead proactively to secure leadership in international standardization at the Telecommunication Standardization Sector of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU-T). On the 20th, ETRI said it had led the establishment of the Focus Group on Embodied AI for Multimedia Technologies (FG-EAI) under ITU-T.

In response to the spread of global Physical AI technologies, ETRI has been pushing ahead with international standardization activities since the second half of last year. Then in December last year, ETRI and Hankuk University of Foreign Studies proposed to ITU-T the scope of activities and operating methods for a standardization forum dedicated to Physical AI.

Based on that proposal, the Focus Group on Embodied AI for Multimedia Technologies under ITU-T SG21 was launched in February this year. ETRI then led the establishment of the ITU-T Focus Group on Embodied AI (FG-EAI) and said it had advanced into key leadership positions, including vice chair and chairs of core working groups.

FG-EAI is tasked with analyzing use cases for technologies and industry related to Physical AI and identifying standardization tasks for future international standards development. China is the chairing country of FG-EAI.

A FG-EAI meeting was held in Geneva, Switzerland, in July, and a total of 22 new standardization tasks were approved at the meeting. In addition, the chairs of the Working Groups (WG) and Task Groups (TG), which are responsible for application areas by major Physical AI technology and industry sector, were also appointed.

In this process, Dr. Kang Shin-gak of ETRI was jointly appointed vice chair of FG-EAI with an expert from India, and was also appointed chair of WG1, "Foundation structure and terminology," and vice chair of TG0.3, "Roadmap and cooperation." Chae Hong-ki, head of a division, was appointed chair of WG6, "Vertical industry applications," and Senior Researcher Hyeon Uk was appointed chair of TG6.1, "Manufacturing applications," respectively. Professor Jung Seong-ho of Hankuk University of Foreign Studies serves as chair of TG1.2, "Full-stack AI framework."

WG1, the working group that lays the foundation for Physical AI international standards, is tasked with discussing the common basic concepts, terminology, and framework in the Physical AI field. As a prerequisite for industrial growth, the use of the same terminology and technical concepts among companies and research institutes was cited.

WG6 is responsible for discussing Physical AI applications across industries such as manufacturing, mobility, logistics, home, and healthcare. Topics under WG6 include requirements and use cases for spreading research-stage technologies into industry.

ETRI is serving simultaneously as chair of WG1 and WG6. Accordingly, ETRI has expanded its role so that it can lead international standardization discussions from the basic standard system through industrial diffusion.

At this meeting, ETRI proposed two new standardization tasks and secured approval. The new tasks are the "Embodied AI glossary" and the "Embodied AI use cases and requirements based on multimodal media in manufacturing environments," and ETRI also secured editorship for both tasks.

ETRI is pursuing the Embodied AI glossary task to systematically define the major concepts and terminology of Physical AI. This is because if countries and companies use different terminology in a new technology field, difficulties can arise in technology development and interoperability. The Embodied AI glossary can later be used as basic material for international standardization.

In addition, a task related to manufacturing environments will also be carried out. This task covers AI's integrated understanding and use of diverse information such as camera footage, workers' voices, robot positions, temperature, and pressure. It also includes use cases and technical requirements for Physical AI in manufacturing sites.

ETRI plans to develop use cases and technical requirements from real industrial environments into international standardization discussions. Lee Kang-chan, head of ETRI's Standards Research Division, said Physical AI is being recognized as a core technology driving paradigm shifts in the manufacturing, mobility, healthcare, and service industries after generative AI. He also said that countries that secure an early lead in international standards will go on to lead future industrial ecosystems.

The division head said ETRI plans to promote global standard alignment for Korean technologies through domestic industry-academia-research cooperation and to strengthen its international standardization activities. He added that ETRI aims to boost the global competitiveness of domestic companies and create new markets by strengthening international standardization.

The next FG-EAI meeting is scheduled to be held in Hangzhou, China, from October 13 to 16. ETRI plans to use WG and TG activities as a means to reflect the technologies of Korea's industry sector, the technologies of Korea's research sector, and the requirements of Korea's industry and research sectors in international standardization discussions, and based on this, to pursue leadership of global standards in the Physical AI field.

Source: TECHWORLD · Kim Hye-jin
Original: https://www.epnc.co.kr/news/articleView.html?idxno=407166

References

• https://www.epnc.co.kr/news/articleView.html?idxno=407166