NC AI’s technology powers autonomous welding robots for Hanwha Ocean’s shipbuilding sites. (NC AI) NC AI, the artificial intelligence subsidiary of gaming giant NCSoft, said Thursday it has won a project from Hanwha Ocean to develop AI-powered autonomous welding technology for shipbuilding sites.The project involves a vision-based welding model and a collaborative robot system designed to identify welding targets and carry out work with minimal human intervention.NC AI said the technology will be applied to Hanwha Ocean’s commercial and special-purpose vessel production sites, where welding is among the most demanding processes in ship construction.Shipyard welding presents tough conditions for vision AI, with arc light, sparks, fumes, outdoor work and lens contamination all disrupting stable image recognition. NC AI said it is working with Hanwha Ocean to reflect real worksite data and feedback from field engineers in the development process.The final model and robotic system are expected to be used in building Hanwha Ocean’s next-generation commercial ships and special-purpose vessels.NC AI said the project will be powered by Vaetki Vision, its industry-specific vision-language model to be unveiled this year.“Working with Hanwha Ocean, a leader in Korea’s shipbuilding industry, will be the best platform for demonstrating the scalability of Vaetki, NC AI’s sovereign, industry-specific AI foundation model,” NC AI CEO Lee Yeon-soo said.“We will develop robust vision recognition technology and an autonomous control model capable of overcoming dust and contamination at actual worksites,” she added.