CJ CheilJedang Develops Standard Model for F&B-Specific "Manufacturing AI"

Participating in the Ministry’s "AI Factory" Support Program

Key stakeholders pose for a commemorative photo at the kickoff event for the AI Factory support program, held on the 27th of last month at the CJ CheilJedang Center in Jung-gu, Seoul. Photo courtesy of CJ CheilJedang.

CJ CheilJedang is stepping up its transition to an AI Factory by developing AI technologies tailored to the food and beverage (F&B) industry.

CJ CheilJedang announced on Wednesday that it will participate as a leading food industry company in the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy's "AI Factory Support Program." The company plans to develop Physical AI-based autonomous manufacturing technologies, apply them at production sites, and accelerate efforts to strengthen the manufacturing competitiveness of K-food.

CJ CheilJedang is pursuing a project titled "Development of PINN Models and Physical AI Technologies for Autonomous F&B Manufacturing and Integrated Predictive Maintenance" in partnership with OnePredict, IBEX, and the Korea Institute of Industrial Technology. Building on the digital transformation (DX) foundation it has established through smart factories and production automation systems, the company aims to create an intelligent manufacturing system in which AI predicts and controls equipment and processes.

The project centers on establishing an AI-Ready data foundation by connecting and analyzing data from different types of equipment at manufacturing sites in real time for use in AI training. It will apply PINN (Physics-Informed Neural Network)-based AI autonomous manufacturing technology, which analyzes process characteristics and sensor data together, to predict optimal operating conditions and autonomously control production processes.

The company will also develop Physical AI-based quality control technology that combines machine vision, robotics, and edge AI to detect quality issues such as foreign objects, damage, and packaging defects in real time and link the findings to equipment controls. In addition, it plans to establish an intelligent equipment management system by applying AI-based equipment anomaly detection and diagnosis technologies to identify early signs of failure and reduce unexpected equipment shutdowns.

Enhancing worker safety is another key area of application. The company will apply AI CCTV technology at manufacturing sites to detect safety incidents, such as workers collapsing or entering hazardous areas, in real time. It will also develop safety control technology that automatically slows down or stops production equipment when a risk arises. Through these efforts, it plans to strengthen its ability to prevent serious accidents at food manufacturing sites.

CJ CheilJedang plans to go beyond simply applying individual AI technologies and build Physical AI that enables "perception-prediction-decision-control" to work together seamlessly on the factory floor. The key is for AI to perceive production equipment and process data in real time, predict process, quality, and equipment conditions, determine optimal production conditions, and then control the actual equipment.

"In food manufacturing, the characteristics of raw materials and changes in production conditions directly affect product quality, so AI technologies that understand both on-site data and process characteristics are important," said Kang Minsu, vice president overseeing production at CJ CheilJedang. "We will secure Physical AI technologies optimized for F&B manufacturing sites to improve our competitiveness in productivity, quality, and safety, and contribute to strengthening K-food's global competitiveness."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.