Dr. Hui Yong Kim Awarded 'Inventor of the Year'
Dr. Hui Yong Kim at ETRI was awarded 'Inventor of the Year' at the ceremony of the 51st Anniversary of Invention. Dr. Kim developed the HEVC (high efficiency video coding) technology to double the data compression rate and applied the technology to UHD television. As a result, UHD television, to be released in the years to follow around the world, is expected to adopt the HEVC technology developed by Korean researchers.
In regard to this technology, Dr. Kim has applied for and registered over 500 intellectual property cases. By dominating the technology in related fields, he has contributed to strengthening national competitiveness in the broadcasting and telecommunication sector.
Although HEVC device market is a very initial stages, Dr. Kim listed a total of 74 registered patents in the standard patent pool, earning over KRW 580 million as royalties and KRW 1 billion as licensing fees.
In order to commercialize the developed technology, Dr. Kim also developed a UHD TV encoder and an HD-to-UHD converter, the core equipment of UHD television service. He also helped foster small and medium-sized enterprises through technology transfer and commercialization support. In addition, he contributed to preparing a successful realization of the world’s first terrestrial UHD television broadcasting scheduled for February 2017.
Dr. Kim is dedicated to video processing research to bring a near-reality experience to television viewers. He is also planning to develop ultra-high efficiency video coding technology to allow fivefold data compression better than HEVC.
ETRI Selects Candidate Startup teams
ETRI’s Technology Commercialization Division has recently selected candidate startup teams for the 2016 startup support program. Launched in 2011, the program is aimed at contributing to national economic growth and job creation and strengthening commercialization of ETRI’s research outcomes.
In 2016, a total of eight teams were selected: three within ETRI; three from the 3rd Avatar Startup: Wheel of Startups, ETRI’s startup contest program; and two through recommendations and a contest by the Innopolis Campus Startup Groups in Daejeon. The details of the startup business items are described in the following table.
| Name | Startup Business Item |
|---|---|
| Yang-soo Kim & Hyeon Lee | Context-aware intelligent glass-free 3D signage system |
| Hu-man Lee | Robot teaching system readily available for users |
| Hyeon-guk Kim | Pedestrian signal provision system to assist safe crossing at intersections |
| Gyo-geun Kim | Location-based mobile store platform for pets |
| Ju-yeong Lee | Intelligent facility and environment monitoring and control system |
| Tae-wu Kim | Low-cost customized robot manufacture service |
| Seon-gyeong Hwang | Wireless audio streaming service for common media devices (television, monitor) |
| Jong-geon Lee | Open electronic-module stores for mobile apps |
Over the preliminary startup period, ETRI will provide intensive support to eight candidate teams. For smooth progress of the program, the teams have begun to move into the incubation center in ETRI and will spend the next six months in that space for their startup preparation. Through the market survey program (Customer Compass), the teams will first interview 100 end users and customers regarding various business models and modify their own models based on the results. They will also verify the market suitability of their business models based on counseling service from the expert mentor group of the Federation of Korean Industries as well as from external consultants. Afterwards, ETRI’s Technology Commercialization Division will help the teams perfect their business models through adequate modification and supplementation. In addition, the Division will pursue close cooperation with other research departments in an effort to provide technological advice and allow the candidate startup teams to practically utilize relevant technologies developed by ETRI. To help the eight candidates’ stable market positioning and constant growth following the actual startup launching, the Division will continue to support the teams through a range of commercialization programs operated by ETRI.
