Incheon Free Economic Zone Authority (IFEZ) announced that products and technologies from nine domestic startups supported by Incheon Startup Park secured a total of 11 CES Innovation Awards at CES 2024, the world’s largest IT and consumer electronics expo, scheduled to take place in Las Vegas, USA, in January next year.
Established in 2003, marking its 20th anniversary, IFEZ has actively supported overseas expansion for local companies and facilitated foreign investment, engaging in various initiatives.
As part of these efforts, in February 2021, IFEZ collaborated with Incheon Techno Park to establish and currently operate Incheon Startup Park. Branded as Korea’s first ‘Korean Silicon Valley,’ it supports early-stage startups in their validation, investment, and entry into the global market. Significantly expanding extensive support for international expos and exhibitions has yielded remarkable results.
IFEZ, positioning Incheon Startup Park as a prime startup support space domestically, allocated additional funding this year to support the participation of 30 companies at CES 2024. Among these, 16 companies received approval for participation from the Consumer Technology Association (CTA), the organizing entity. These companies are set to showcase their exhibits at Eureka Park, the national startup pavilion.
Simultaneously, IFEZ plans to operate a 1423.33-square-feet ‘Incheon/IFEZ Promotion Hall’ at the main exhibition hall, Las Vegas Convention Center (LVCC), in the AI & Robotics Zone. Through this exclusive promotional space, they aim to advertise products and technologies from 34 startups nationwide, conduct global media stage online briefings, and widely publicize the achievements of each company.
Regarding the motivation behind supporting a significant presence of Korean startups at CES, Shim Sunok, Director of Smart City at IFEZ, stated, “Presenting Incheon’s smart city technological prowess at the world’s largest expo is not only crucial but also crucial to establishing our city’s international competitive recognition.” Further, she explained, “We aim to promote the innovative technologies fostered in Incheon, paving the way for global expansion.”
Among the startups participating through the Incheon Startup Park support program at CES this year, nine impressive companies were honored with 11 awards, including one Best of Innovation Award and ten Innovation Award Honorees. The CES Innovation Awards, conferred annually by CTA across various consumer technology product categories, recognized companies showcasing the most innovative technological capabilities. This year, 36 Best of Innovation Awards and 522 Innovation Awards were presented across 29 categories.
Lordsystem (CEO Jang Yang-ho) won the Best of Innovation Award in Financial Technologies and the Honoree in Cybersecurity & Personal Privacy with its ‘Trip Pass Mobile Passport Platform’ technology. This digital identity verification-based mobile passport provides services targeting domestic and international tourists, offering convenience in payments, transportation cards, duty-free shopping, facial recognition-based access authentication, and fast hotel check-ins.
Microsystems (CEO Jung Sang-guk) secured the Honoree in Cybersecurity & Personal Privacy with its ‘DFS-aided Cyber Security Camera.’ It safeguards users’ privacy by opening the camera lens only when necessary and swiftly removing contamination caused by rain, moisture, or dust, enabling error-free video surveillance in diverse indoor and outdoor environments.
BANF (CEO Yoo Sung-han) received recognition as the Honoree in the Vehicle Tech and Advanced Mobility category for its next-generation smart tire technology ‘BANF iSensor.’ This technology provides real-time analysis of tire and road conditions, preventing accidents and improving fuel efficiency by assessing and adjusting wheel alignment scores in real time.
Gole Robotics (CEO Lee Dong-min) was honored as the Honoree in the Robotics category with its autonomous driving robot ‘AIR-AMR,’ designed for efficient material transportation and automation of labor-intensive tasks at construction sites. The product minimizes the need for workforce and management difficulties in construction sites while demonstrating exceptional stability in adverse environments.
K-Rangers (CEO Kim Gyeong-ha) was recognized as the Honoree in the Mobile Devices, Accessories & Apps category for its no-code-based mobile application development and operational service, ‘OhMyApp.’ OhMyApp enables even non-professionals to build and operate apps within just two weeks, significantly reducing the time and effort typically required in the average 3 to 6-month mobile app development process from planning to launch.
Safeware (CEO Shin Hwan-chul) secured an Innovation Award Honoree in the Human Security for All category with its ‘Personal Mobility Airbag Vest.’ Equipped with motion sensors, this wearable airbag instantly inflates within 0.2 seconds upon detecting an operator’s accident, protecting vulnerable areas from serious injury.
Sheco (CEO Kwon Ki-seong) was acknowledged as the Honoree in the Drones & Unmanned Systems category and Human Security for All category for its ‘Sheco ARC-M’ platform, integrating underwater drones and crewless movement systems. This platform’s purification solution incorporates real-time contamination separation technology, ensuring immediate and efficient water quality purification.
TheLittleCat (CEO Kim Dae-yong) secured an Innovation Award Honoree in the Digital Health category with its ‘InPet (INPET)’ platform, centered around monitoring the composition of companion animal bodies. Collecting and acquiring eight different physiological data points using patented sensors and systems and providing users with intuitive smartphone app-based analytical results aids in preventing increasing obesity and other complications among companion animals.
Verses (CEO Lee Seong-wook) received recognition as the Honoree in the AI category for its ‘Beat-based AI Music Video Generator.’ Using generative AI, its software links multiple music and video sources to an interaction engine, presenting users with different music and video outputs based on their actions, enabling the creation of natural short-form music videos without needing separate tools.
Kim Jin-yong, IFEZ Commissioner, emphasized, “The accolades at CES signify that numerous domestic startups have proven their global standard innovation.” He further determined, stating, “We will continue actively supporting Incheon companies in their leap to becoming global enterprises through CES participation and related support initiatives.”
The Consumer Technology Association (CTA) organizes CES, the world’s largest IT exhibition, in Las Vegas every January. AVING News, reporting on CES for 18 consecutive years since 2006, has conducted ‘BEST OF CES’ and ‘BEST OF MADE IN KOREA,’ selecting the finest innovative products, companies, and technologies. Additionally, they’ve conveyed live CES updates through ‘AVING LIVE.’
Special Reporting Team: Joseph Choe, Kidai Kim, Dongkwan Kim, Mokkyung Lee, Sangun Choi, Seung Hyun Nam, Sunghwan Kim, Taeuck Lim, Min Choi