In the post-corona era, Korea is leading the way
Let's prepare for the future of digital engineering!

Professor Jeong-ho Kim of KAIST, a pioneer in AI fusion semiconductors, presents
Declaration of Technological Independence of the Republic of Korea!

Today we face a tremendous social, cultural, and technological inflection point.
The COVID-19 virus is already urging us to accelerate the Fourth Industrial Revolution, which has already revealed its majesty before us.
The technologies of the 4th Industrial Revolution, which will be brought about by digital, artificial intelligence, and Platform X, will restore the daily lives of humanity that have been upended by COVID-19.
This will ultimately lead to a civilizational change that goes beyond technological advancement.

The change of civilization has always brought about the emergence of new leaders.
For us, who have been on the periphery of the past industrial revolution, the current crisis will be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
Now, Korean engineering must take the lead and seize this opportunity.
We must take the lead in overcoming the crises facing humanity, from the devastation of daily life accelerated by COVID-19 to unemployment, poverty, the education gap, the digital divide, and the aging population.
This book provides a broad picture of the role Korean engineering can play in achieving true technological independence through the Fourth Industrial Revolution, the areas our society must address, and the fostering of digital talent that engineering and artificial intelligence will create together.

The most useful tools for evolving problems are computational thinking, including artificial intelligence and big data science.
Computers in particular are very fast, accurate and cool-headed.
There is no room for human psychological errors to creep into artificial intelligence.
It is fast and efficient, and has the ability to accurately describe and predict the processes of virus emergence, mutation, transmission, host cell penetration, replication, and release.
Accuracy and reliability are further enhanced by combining large-scale location information, call data, social media information, traffic information, medical information, credit card information, online purchase information, and more.
Then, real-time quarantine measures will be possible with greater precision.
If the accumulated genetic information and immune data are added here, the time required to develop vaccines and treatments will be shortened even when new viruses emerge.
In this process, statistics, data science, artificial intelligence technology, mechanical dynamics, microbiology, cytology, and immunology are all integrated.
Even in the fight against the second and third waves of the COVID-19 virus, the scientific and logical thinking system known as computational thinking will become even more essential.
--- p.6

Among RFID technologies, there is a technology that uses electromagnetic waves in the 900 MHz band, which is a high frequency.
This allows for the simultaneous recognition of more than 100 products at a distance of more than 1 meter.
This technology is a kind of simple radar technology.
If commercialized, it would mean that it could simultaneously recognize about 100 products in a supermarket cart.
Instead of placing each item on the checkout counter one by one, you can simply pass by with your cart and pay for everything at once.
This technology is useful even in these times of the COVID-19 pandemic.
This is because it allows for efficient identification checks in places with a lot of crowds, such as large performance halls and stadiums.
However, there are drawbacks that need to be addressed.
Because this technology is a type of radar technology that uses electromagnetic waves, the antenna size increases.
So, with current technology, it is difficult for people to carry RFID tags with antennas or attach them to products.
And since the tag price is relatively expensive, it will still take time to attach it to all products.
However, as technologies that reduce antenna size and cost are being actively developed, commercialization is expected to be not too far off.

--- pp.28~29

The research methodologies of traditional engineering and artificial intelligence engineering are thus quite different.
There are no set rules for artificial intelligence theory and methods, and they vary greatly depending on the model at the time.
It's a bit confusing because there's no unified theory.
This is especially true with the advent of machine learning, which learns from data.
This is why I feel like artificial intelligence machine learning lectures are 10 times more difficult than lectures on electromagnetic waves or semiconductors.
In the field of artificial intelligence, completely new methodologies may emerge, in addition to those previously known.
Then you have to start studying again from the beginning.
The days when you could live your whole life by breaking a formula are over.
That transformation could come from artificial intelligence models, or from innovations in computers or semiconductors.
So, if you want to pursue a career as an AI expert for more than 40 years, you need to keep these situations in mind.
You need to be comfortable with failure and have an optimistic attitude, and you need to develop the habit of not panicking when faced with unexpected challenges that aren't in the manual.
In a situation where nothing is certain, we must continue to challenge and accept it.
Artificial intelligence will also change the nature of engineering professionals to this day.
The virtue of waiting, researching, and relying on steadfast formulas is a thing of the past.

--- pp.77~78

The entire world population continuously produces data every moment, until they die.
Breathing, blinking, even your pulse are all data.
Big data produced in this way is stored forever in semiconductor memory in data centers.
So what I'm saying is that data is rice, it's crude oil, it's the source of power and strength.
From this perspective, comparing the number of data centers across countries can only serve as an accurate indicator of each country's future competitiveness.
There are currently 1,862 data centers in the United States that are Massive Size or larger, 79 in China, and 44 in Japan.
But unfortunately, there are only 17 in our country.
In such a situation, the installation of Naver's second data center was canceled due to opposition from residents.
Fortunately, we were able to build it in Sejong City, but it is a case that clearly demonstrates our perception of data centers.

--- p.109

Recently, there was a tragic incident where high school students lost their precious lives due to carbon monoxide poisoning.
A simple carbon monoxide sensor in the room could have prevented the sacrifice.
Carbon monoxide sensors can be purchased for as little as ten thousand won.
If that sensor had been inside a smartphone, wouldn't this tragic death have been prevented? In the era of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, sensors are expected to become a key component in big data producers, while also playing a significant role in maintaining human safety and health.
It is regrettable that our country's semiconductor industry is overly focused on the memory industry.
Of course, at present, our country's non-memory system semiconductor market share is not large, at less than 3%.
However, as the Fourth Industrial Revolution accelerates, the non-memory market will expand.
Moreover, even the memory industry is under threat from China's pursuit.
We need to more actively challenge the sensor market, including camera sensors, as soon as possible.

--- p.118

The joints of humanoid robots that mimic human shapes are equipped with various types of motors.
Motors are installed in knee joints, arm joints, finger joints, toe joints, neck joints, etc.
However, the robots installed in each part can only exert a certain amount of force.
As mentioned earlier, small joints can exert small forces, and large joints can exert large forces.
Space determines the power of the motor.
However, human muscles have a wide range of strength.
And it's soft.
Human muscles become stronger when trained, and weaker when not used.
The same muscles can thread a needle and lift a 100-kilogram barbell at the same time.
This is the essential difference between the motors in humanoid robots and human muscles.
If a person eats cheap food three times a day and exercises hard, he can walk and become a runner.
However, humanoid robots need a much more sophisticated combination of motors to walk.
The biggest difference between humans and motors is the limitation of the motor and its root is in the laws of the motor.
For a humanoid robot to suddenly fly, jump, flip, or turn like a gymnast, a large current must suddenly flow through its motors.
This makes the design of the current supply circuit very difficult and requires the use of large components.
However, it is difficult to fit it into a small robot joint.

--- pp.168~170

Metamaterials could become key components of future engineering.
New creation always comes from matter.
For example, metamaterials can be used to increase the electronic storage capacity of semiconductor DRAM memories or to reduce interference with surrounding cells.
It can also be used in semiconductor signal wiring structures with high transmission speeds.
Additionally, materials with negative capacitance values ​​can improve efficiency or reduce electromagnetic interference in high-power motors, generators, and wireless power transmission devices.
The Fourth Industrial Revolution is a future-oriented revolution based on imagination.
It's a path that no one has ever taken before.
In that sense, metamaterials, artificial materials based on imagination, are enough to promote new technological innovations.
A material revolution is also necessary for the Fourth Industrial Revolution.

--- pp.180~181

More than 30 years ago, in 1984, during my master's degree program, I developed silicon semiconductor processing equipment.
The equipment being developed at that time was for the etching process, which deeply cuts away materials on the surface of semiconductors using carbon tetrafluoride discharge gas plasma.
It is also used to clean photosensitive PR residue remaining on the silicon surface after the photo process.
What is regrettable is that even now, 30 years later, we are still completely dependent on foreign companies, including Japanese companies, for the process equipment we were developing back then and the hydrogen fluoride and photosensitive materials we used back then.
Indeed, Japan's recent trade retaliation was particularly heartbreaking because it targeted this very weakness of ours.
Fortunately, we are wisely overcoming it, but there are a few things to keep in mind to win this technology war.
First, the background of this technological dependence lies in the lack of awareness and negligence regarding the importance of ‘industrialization mass production technology.’
The level of technology required to develop a small quantity of material, such as about 1 kilogram, in a laboratory and the level of industrial mass production technology required to mass-produce over 1,000 kilograms are literally worlds apart in terms of perfection.
Likewise, the gap in technology between producing 99.99% pure materials and 99.99999999% pure materials is not even a comparison.
Additionally, there is no competition between storage technologies that can store for one day and storage technologies that can store for one month while maintaining the same purity.
In other words, it is the differences in industrialization and mass production technology, rather than the technology itself, that determine the competitiveness of the semiconductor materials industry between countries.

--- pp.223~224

In America, the really important work is done by corporations.
We don't entrust confidential projects to universities full of international students.
It is especially difficult for foreign students to participate in projects related to defense and space, which are particularly secretive.
Moreover, it is difficult to find employment in the U.S. after graduation in a defense or space-related field without citizenship or permanent residency.
Ultimately, it's like paying cheap labor to foreign students to do assignments that American students don't want to do.
And when the project is finished, they are sent back to their home countries.
This is an open secret in American graduate schools, which are filled with Asian students from China, India, Korea, and other countries.
It's time to let go of any vague illusions about an American PhD.
Even if someone has an excellent PhD in the United States, I wonder if we should only look at their academic methods, such as their integrity, academic rigor, and research methodology.
Now is the time for Korea to find what it really needs.
It's time to stop following the themes presented by American professors and instead embark on the differentiated, creative, and adventurous research necessary for the Fourth Industrial Revolution.
Now more than ever, we need the vision and insight to see into the next society, and the courage to break away from mainstream academia.

--- pp.290~291