As part of April’s Special Safety Week, SK hynix held an online social media event featuring Gaon, the quadruped safety robots. Renamed as Gaon by SK hynix after being adopted, the robot is equipped with the latest AI software, it is an expert safety inspector which can maneuver freely and “see” without direct human supervision.

Photo 1. Winners of the online social media event at SK hynix

To take part in the event, participants were encouraged to upload a picture with Gaon to their social media channels with the hashtags #SKhynix and #Safety. Winners were randomly selected and received a prize.

Safety First

Accidents can happen in an instant anytime, anywhere. Safety is a core value at any industrial worksite. The same is true at SK hynix, where building a safe working environment is a top priority. It requires all members to voluntarily play an active role. And when people understand the organization cares for their safety and well-being, this typically leads to better overall performance. The best way to prevent accidents from occurring in the workplace is identifying potential hazards in advance.

Photo 2. Members playing active roles to build a safe working environment at SK hynix

One example at SK hynix is the use of Safety Compliance Cards, or SCCs, whereby workers take part in isolating potentially dangerous and high-risk situations. Monthly inspections occur based on the SCC and feedback is given to improve safety management. In addition, safety teams conduct weekly and monthly inspections. Ultimately, accident prevention begins on-site by building a culture conducive to identifying and handling possible risk factors.

When Safety and Technology Converge

As a high-tech company, it’s only natural that SK hynix is applying cutting-edge technology to safety management. In particular, the company has established a new task force, known as the Smart Safety IoT TF, dedicated to using Internet of Things (IoT) technology in developing on-site safety protocols. The company has also laid out a Smart Safety Roadmap that uses artificial intelligence, Digital Twin, and robot technology to identify and prevent accidents.

The Smart Safety IoT TF demonstrated its latest technological advances as part of the S.DRAM, or Safety, Digital Twin, Robot, AI, and Metaverse, project earlier in February. The task force introduced seven new concepts at the event aimed at improving safety: four-legged robots, AR equipment inspections, VR workplace training, intelligent CCTVs, fall-protection airbags, leak detection sensors, and smart Safety Ball which monitors enclosed space.

Figure 1. Concepts of how SK hynix converges safety and technologies

An example of this played out is how augmented reality (AR) solutions ensure equipment’s safe and stable status. By storing safety features of different equipment models in a connected database, the system supports our members establish safe production environment and provides precise feedbacks per each malfunction, and as a result prevents safety accidents.

Photo 3. Performing an AR inspection

Industrial safety management involves creating and maintaining a safe and efficient workplace. Safety measures provide the basis for a better working environment, and all members of an organization can help identify potential hazards, even if it requires the help of a four-legged companion.

Photo 4. Chang-in Kim, Technical Leader at Smart Safety IoT TF

Technical Leader Chang-in Kim of the task force says the purpose of the event was to give a glimpse into how technology is being applied to improve internal safety measures.

“We planned the February demonstration as a preview of how the workplace will change moving forward, and are currently eager to reflect various feedbacks from the event to our safety projects.” Kim said. “We will continuously work to communicate with team members to create a safe worksite.”

The post Using Technology to Create a Safer Workplace first appeared on SK hynix Newsroom.

The post [Invisible Memory : Part.3] Semiconductor Memory in Our Smart Cities first appeared on SK hynix Newsroom.

We’ve talked about how semiconductor memory connects our homes – running through our appliances, supporting our gaming systems and enabling our smart fitness equipment. But how does it connect our homes to other homes, and cities to other cities?

Whether we realize it or not, the beating heart of modern life is powered by semiconductor memory. In cities around the world, memory-enabled technology like 5G connectivity, IoT capabilities, augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR), artificial intelligence (AI) and automotive tech keep our lives running at lightning speeds.

The world is positioned to expand how AI products think and learn, to build networks of smart cities and hospitals through IoT’s enhanced data depth, to help autonomous vehicles process information and make split-second decisions as they learn new roads and situations, to discover new worlds through augmented reality, and to lift communities out of the dark by bringing Big Data to light.

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Beating Heart of Modern Life

Today, the world runs on 5G. The 5th generation mobile network, 5G was designed to connect anyone – anywhere, any time – at ultra-fast speeds. Our smartphones, computing devices, smartwatches, and smart medicine machines all rely on 5G to receive and transmit information around the world at record speeds. Industries from transportation to healthcare to information processing benefit from the high performance and efficiency of the 5G network, and all of the technologies it enables.

And behind all of these smart devices and machines is the need for memory. Generally speaking, more information transmitted means more information stored – and the more information stored, the greater the need for sophisticated memory systems.

Source : Pixinoo/Shutterstock.com

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For Heightened Security

One of these memory-enabled technologies is facial recognition CCTV – which relies on memory to process and store the data from billions of unique faces. In China, two AI companies called Megvii and Sensetime¹ are providing face recognition AI technology to governments and police forces.

Just recently, their technology was instrumental in catching a criminal in Nanchang, Jiangxi Province, China. The suspect was identified by concert security footage that was a match with a face in the country’s surveillance database. In Malaysia, the police force has even begun to use this type of facial recognition technology in body cams to capture images of suspected criminals and quickly check them against the police database. According to E2 Technologies², these tools have helped reduce the crime rate in regions where they are used.

Source : Bear Robotics

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Autonomous Goods and Services

AI technologies have more light-hearted uses as well – especially in the worlds of hospitality and dining, where robots are now helping with everyday functions in hotels, restaurants and bars. At Amichi’s³, a pizza restaurant in Mountain View, California, a self-driving robot named “Penny” is serving orders.

And they’re not alone – more and more American restaurants are using memory-embedded robots from simple food preparation to serving and washing dishes. Robots not only streamline the work of restaurant employees, but also reduce overall operating costs. According to The Spoon, 2020 will be the year for ‘food robots’ to enter the market in earnest.

Similary, as autonomous vehicles for the delivery are quickly approaching on the horizon, they require functions such as multi-camera vision processing and self-driving in order to monitor surroundings around the vehicle. Thus, ultra-huge computing processing has become necessary, so has semiconductor memories.

In fact, over the last few years, and across many states in the US, autonomous vehicles for the delivery of food and goods have been approved for real-world testing from some of the top automakers and technology companies including General Motors, Ford, Toyota, Google’s Waymo, and Uber, among many others. These companies have been partnering with grocery stores, restuarants and small businesses to help ease the problems of first/last mile delivery.

Source : Nuro’s blog site. Nuro R2 self-driving delivery vehicle in Houston, Texas

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Technology startup Nuro⁴ partnered with grocery giant, Kroger, to launch pilot cities in Scottsdale, AZ and Houston, TX, where they have been testing autonomous vehicle delivery for residents with its small toaster-shaped vehicles, called R2’s. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the company has seen increased use as the company can safely deliver groceries to citizens and limit person-to-person contact.

Creating Memory for the Future

As the world grows increasingly reliant on high-speed connection, demand for DRAM and NAND Flash memory solutions is higher than ever. And memory providers like SK hynix are innovating nonstop to keep up.

These technologies – and the memory systems that support them – are leading the way towards the smart cities of tomorrow, and SK hynix is at the forefront of the movement towards the future of information technology.

¹Blake Schmidt, “Hong Kong Police Already Have AI Tech That Can Recognize Faces”, Bloomberg. (2019)
²Amanda Lentino, “This Chinese facial recognition start-up can identify a person in seconds”, CNBC. (2019)
³Ahn Jung-rak, “Cooking is basic, serving and washing dishes… Robot wind blowing in an American restaurant”, Hankyung. (2019)
⁴Dave Ferguson, “Introducing R2, Nuro’s Next Generation Self-Driving Vehicle”, Medium. (2020)

Puzzle:

The post [Invisible Memory: Part.3] Semiconductor Memory in Our Smart Cities first appeared on SK hynix Newsroom.