This technology is a self-restoring damper featuring a shaft that slides within an open-ended cylinder based on external forces. It includes a first damping unit compressed at both ends of the cylinder, a second damping unit that stretches around the cylinder circumference in response to that compression, and a third damping unit that undergoes shear deformation due to relative movement between the shaft and the cylinder. When the external force is removed, all three damping units return to their original shapes.
As the number of high-rise buildings and long-span bridges increases, research into vibration dampers to withstand earthquakes and typhoons has become active. However, existing self-restoring dampers that combine friction plates and shape-memory alloy rods have been difficult to adjust after manufacturing. Furthermore, because some use methods that dissipate vibration energy as frictional heat, the friction surfaces often remain displaced, making it fundamentally difficult for the damper to return completely to its original state.
In this technology, the first action plate moves with the shaft during tension, and the second action plate moves during compression, pressing the urethane blocks placed between them and the caps. Superelastic shape-memory wires connected between the two plates are configured to stretch in the same direction. Lead blocks inserted into the shaft mounting grooves through the cylinder mounting holes absorb additional energy through shear deformation. Since the number of wires and lead blocks can be selected and detached, damping capacity can be adjusted even after installation. It can be applied to vibration control devices for high-rise building frames, vibration control for long-span bridge expansion joints, and brace dampers for seismic retrofitting of existing structures. By having three different materials handle compression, tension, and shear to absorb shocks in stages, it returns to its original shape without friction, reducing the burden of repairing residual deformation after an earthquake.
This invention was developed with support from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport for the commercialization of multi-functional vibration reduction devices for pilotis structures capable of withstanding a magnitude 7.0 earthquake.
This technology is an emergency housing structure where four frame modules—each consisting of a vertical frame and two horizontal frames joined by a first corner connector to fold or unfold at right angles—are connected by a second corner connector to form a cubic frame. Door, window, or wall panels are then inserted around the perimeter to create a self-contained living space.
Disaster victims who lost their homes to typhoons, heavy rain, wildfires, or earthquakes have typically been provided with container houses, which are designed for transport convenience rather than comfortable living. Other modular or foldable temporary housing systems often required separate utility installations, while paper houses lacked the structural integrity to withstand external forces and rain. Most existing solutions are complex, involve too many parts, take a long time to assemble and disassemble, and require significant storage space.
In this technology, horizontal connectors are rotatably fitted into the horizontal coupling ends protruding at right angles from the cubic body of the first corner connector, allowing the frames to fold and unfold. The frames are connected simply by inserting the polygonal coupling ends into the frame coupling grooves. Panels are secured by placing their edge seating ends into the stepped seating grooves on the outer surface of the frames and tightening them with reinforcement members, integrating the frame and panels. Multiple structures can be clustered by aligning their entrances, with communal facility structures placed in between. Suitable for disaster relief housing, construction site lodging, and refugee or camping sites, these units can be rapidly assembled by the victims themselves without professional help and, once finished, can be folded and stacked as flat panels for compact storage.
This invention was developed with support from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport for the development of eco-friendly indoor and outdoor temporary housing facilities for disaster relief.
This technology is a telescopic brace featuring a core with a T, I, H, or + cross-section inserted into a polygonal hollow tube, with the space between them filled with a phase-change material (PCM) to form a unified PCM layer. End plates at both ends of the core connect to the steel structure, while a rod at the end inserts into the core's hollow space, allowing for longitudinal expansion and contraction.
Conventional buckling-restrained braces used for seismic loads are typically filled with mortar, which increases weight, requires long production times for curing, and suffers from reduced durability against lateral forces in cold temperatures due to freeze-thaw damage. Other alternatives, such as composite panels filled with phase-change materials, have struggled to sufficiently improve the brace's compressive load and lateral force resistance.
This technology incorporates elastic elements like springs, rubber blocks, or dampers, or a hydraulic cylinder within the hollow space to allow telescopic movement of the rod only when buckling stress exceeds a set threshold. In the hydraulic version, a buckling sensor in the center of the hollow space triggers a flow control valve when pressed by a deformed core, allowing the end plate to move, while a core support with springs and cushioning members braces the inner wall. It can be used for seismic bracing in steel buildings, retrofitting existing structures, and industrial frames in cold regions, offering a lightweight design that eliminates mortar curing and freeze-thaw concerns while allowing for length adjustments to accommodate on-site dimensional errors.
This technology features a heating roller designed for manual use, consisting of a hollow cylindrical molding roller rotatably attached to a handle. The roller is heated to melt and smooth the inner surfaces of irregular formwork members made from stacked expanded polystyrene (EPS) panels. The top of the roller is enclosed by a cover, and an exhaust pump extracts air from beneath it. A proximity sensor automatically activates and deactivates the heater and pump as the roller approaches the workpiece.
Formwork for irregular buildings is typically created by stacking multiple 2cm-thick EPS panels to form a rough shape, which must then be precisely smoothed to match the building's exterior. Previously, this required manual sanding or grinding, which was extremely time-consuming.
This technology leverages the property of EPS to soften at temperatures above 100°C and melt at higher temperatures. It uses a rod heater fixed at both ends of a yoke, with a molding roller mounted via bearings to shape large areas in a single pass. Heating and exhaust only activate when the roller nears the surface, reducing unnecessary heat and immediately extracting fumes. Ideal for irregular formwork, large EPS molds, and precast curved panels, this tool enables rapid finishing of large curved surfaces without dust, significantly reducing production time.
This invention was developed with support from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport for the development of 3D printing equipment for buildings.
This technology is a water-based fire extinguishing system consisting of multiple hooks that attach to the rim of a toilet bowl, a tubular water container that fits along the inside of the bowl and trap to hold the standing water, and a door that opens and closes the opening at the trap end of the container. In the event of a fire, the container can be removed to use the stored water for immediate fire suppression.
A standard flush toilet uses about 10L of water per flush, with about 4L remaining in the bowl and trap to prevent odors and pests. While research into reducing toilet water usage has been active due to global water shortages, existing waterless portable toilets are impractical for standard use, and there have been few attempts to repurpose the standing water already present in toilets.
This technology divides the water container into a flexible ring-shaped primary receptor that adheres to the bowl, a flexible tubular secondary receptor that fits from the bottom of the bowl to the trap, and a rigid tertiary receptor that narrows toward the trap. The cover opens under flush pressure and closes via an elastic mechanism. Inserting the container releases the hook lock, while removing it seals the container to prevent spills. A cross-shaped wire cutter in the tertiary receptor prevents trap clogs. It is suitable for residential bathrooms, hotel rooms, and older buildings or small offices lacking fire extinguishers, allowing the standing water in the toilet to be used for initial fire suppression without needing separate water storage.
This technology is a brace damper device configured with first and second moving units coupled to a guide unit extending along the load-bearing line, connected by a deformation unit, and an operating unit that pulls the second moving unit while pushing the first. Regardless of whether the brace is under tension or compression, the two moving units move apart, ensuring the deformation unit always works in an extension-only mode.
Friction dampers, commonly used in building vibration control systems, have fixed friction and displacement settings during manufacturing. This creates issues where they cannot be adjusted to meet the varying compression, tension, and displacement requirements of different braces based on installation location and connection type. Furthermore, once they absorb external force, the friction surfaces remain displaced, leading to high costs for replacement or repair.
In this technology, fixing pins on each moving wall slide along guide holes in the guide wall, creating friction by clamping the guide wall between the pin head and the moving wall, with the clamping force allowing for friction adjustment. The deformation unit consists of a three-stage plate with a narrowed center, and lubrication plates are placed against the guide wall to prevent unnecessary heat. When made with shape-memory alloys or self-healing polymers, it returns to its original shape after deformation. Applicable to seismic bracing for low-to-mid-rise steel buildings, seismic retrofitting for public facilities like schools and hospitals, and vibration control remodeling for aging structures, this design simplifies behavior prediction and design by ensuring the deformation unit only works in tension, while reducing replacement costs by returning to its original position after an earthquake.
This invention was developed with support from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport for experimental research on the development and performance verification of original systems for seismic retrofitting bracing damper devices using new materials.
This technology features an EPS irregular concrete formwork system. It consists of a formwork body created by stacking LOM (Laminated Object Manufacturing) 3D-printed EPS boards to form internal irregular casting spaces and vertical through-holes. The boards are secured by combining a fixing pipe that passes through the holes with bottom and pressure plates. Multiple formwork units can be placed side-by-side and connected using tie modules to create a single, larger formwork assembly.
While demand for irregular concrete structures with complex curves is rising, traditional methods have limitations. Wooden formwork is inexpensive and fast but struggles with complex shapes, while CNC-machined steel formwork is precise but costly and time-consuming. Previous attempts to stack EPS boards using thin-film layering required wet adhesives between layers, which slowed production due to curing times and made disassembly and reuse difficult.
This technology uses a dry-assembly method, securing board layers with fixing pipes and plates instead of adhesives. The pressure plate is tightened onto the pipe's male thread, and a heating tool is used to melt plate-shaped grooves into the boards for a secure fit. Units are stacked vertically using threaded rods and nuts, while side-by-side units are secured with longitudinal/transverse frames featuring corner wings, tie bands, and lockers. Suitable for landmark buildings with curved facades, irregular sculptures, pavilions, curved bridge railings, and precast components, this system allows for immediate assembly and casting without waiting for adhesive to cure, and can be disassembled for reuse.
This invention was developed with support from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport for the development of 3D printing equipment and production technology for irregular components.
This technology is a low-noise pile driver that combines an active noise control system—consisting of a soundproof cover, noise detection sensors, control sound emitters, and a control unit—with a pile driver where a ram lifted by a cylinder strikes a pile via a drive cap. When the sensors detect impact noise, the emitters, placed at a set distance, release a control sound that cancels it out.
Pile driving methods face strict regulations due to noise and vibration complaints. Alternatives like the SIP method cause significant noise, vibration, and pile damage during final light tapping for bearing capacity, while pulse discharge methods are over 15 times more expensive and highly sensitive to soil conditions. Passive methods, such as placing sound-absorbing or insulating materials on pile heads, struggle to reduce low-frequency noise below 500Hz, requiring thicker materials that increase space constraints and costs, effectively making pile driving unusable in urban areas.
This technology features noise detection sensors and control sound emitters installed through the walls of a hollow, open-ended soundproof cover. The control unit generates a sound with a 180-degree phase difference from the noise, eliminating it through destructive interference. The soundproof cover uses sound-absorbing and insulating materials to absorb noise while directing sound to improve cancellation efficiency. It can be used for urban foundation work, bridge and retaining wall construction near residential areas, and pile driving near schools or hospitals, enabling the use of pile driving in cities by reducing low-frequency impact noise that passive materials cannot handle, without significantly increasing construction costs.
This technology is an active blade control leveling device where a position sensor is attached to the blade in front of the caterpillar-driven main body, and a drive speed sensor—using two sensing units protruding toward the outer shoe plates to measure the rotational speed of the drive member—is added, allowing a controller to adjust the blade height based on this information.
Ground leveling with bulldozers or wheel loaders has traditionally relied on skilled operators, as the results depend heavily on blade handling. If the blade bites too deep, the load increases and the equipment stalls; if it is too shallow, productivity drops. Previously, there were no effective means for equipment to autonomously detect these load changes and correct the blade height.
This technology calculates the load on the blade by comparing the actual travel speed obtained from the position sensor with the caterpillar rotational speed. It uses a closed-loop system to continuously raise the blade when the load exceeds a threshold and lower it when it is insufficient. The two sensing units are proximity sensors spaced at intervals along the shoe plate's path. Position and drive speed sensors are placed on both the left and right sides to adjust blade height independently, and the drive speed sensors are detachable for retrofitting. Applicable to large-scale earthworks, landfill and aggregate yard leveling, and site preparation, it prevents track slippage by detecting excessive soil resistance and lifting the blade, thereby reducing equipment strain and maintaining consistent excavation volume.
This invention was developed with support from the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy through a joint Korea-US research project on next-generation core robot technologies for disaster rescue and humanitarian aid.
This technology is a road marking removal system equipped with a detection module that senses the position and thickness of road markings, an impact module that strikes the detected markings to shave them down to a specific thickness, and a blasting module that follows to remove the remaining markings by spraying dry ice. The impact module features needle scalers with multiple needles positioned on both sides of a guide, moving along the width of the marking via a drive unit.
Road and parking lot lane markings must be removed during maintenance or expansion. Traditional methods like torches, grinders, or soda blasting often fail to remove markings cleanly, altering the road texture and color in a way that makes the old lines visible, which can confuse drivers and cause accidents. These methods also cause road damage and dust. Eco-friendly dry ice cleaning alone is inefficient, requiring long lane closures and exposing equipment and workers to accident risks, especially at night.
In this technology, the impact module moves vertically along the road surface contours to shave markings to a consistent thickness, and moves laterally to cover the entire width of the marking in a single pass. The needle scalers on both sides of the guide operate independently and can overlap for narrower markings. A moving frame maintains the gap between the needle tips and the road, while a piston driven by cylinder pressure strikes a pushrod, causing the square-array needles on the bottom flange to impact the marking. Applicable to highway lane changes, urban intersection repainting, and parking lot reconfiguration, this system reduces dry ice pellet consumption, lowers operating costs, and minimizes lane closure times, thereby reducing traffic congestion and worker accident risks.
This technology is a leveling device where a blade is attached to the front of a mobile main body, and a controller adjusts the blade height by operating a drive unit based on height information provided by position sensors on the blade. The blade is also equipped with an attitude sensor to detect its tilt.
On construction sites, equipment like bulldozers and wheel loaders are used to level ground before or during construction. However, results vary significantly based on operator skill, creating a reliance on experienced workers. Additionally, when a blade tilts along its width axis, its height changes in an arc, making it difficult to determine the actual height of the blade's bottom using only sensor data.
This technology calculates the vertical distance between the position sensor and the bottom of the blade by accounting for the pitch angle, controlling the drive unit so that the sensor height minus this distance equals the target work surface height. It independently adjusts left and right heights using position sensors, incorporates chassis tilt via an attitude sensor, and uses pitch, yaw, and roll actuators to move the blade across three axes, with GPS for site entry. It can be used for site grading, roadbed leveling, and factory floor foundation work, allowing even inexperienced operators to achieve precise grading regardless of blade angle changes.
This invention was developed with support from the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy for the development of a rough-terrain driving system capable of independent driving and attitude control.
This technology is a self-healing concrete and cement composition that combines a culture of Bacillus missungi AK13 grown in a sesame meal-based medium with calcium-containing inorganic salts extracted from oyster shells using an acidic solution. When cracks form in the concrete, the bacteria metabolize to precipitate calcium carbonate, automatically sealing the gaps.
Concrete is weak in tensile strength compared to compressive strength, making micro-cracks inevitable. These cracks allow chloride ions, carbonates, and sulfates to penetrate, leading to neutralization and rebar corrosion. Previous bio-concrete using bacteria required separate nutrients and calcium sources to support bacterial growth; however, synthetic or commercial media and calcium compounds like calcium lactate or calcium acetate were expensive, driving up production costs. Meanwhile, hundreds of thousands of tons of oyster shells generated annually are mostly discarded, causing social issues like odors, with only a small portion used as fine aggregate.
This technology uses a medium made by autoclaving sesame or soybean meal in distilled water and adjusting the pH to 10 with sodium carbonate, allowing for the low-cost, mass production of bacterial vegetative cells and spores. The culture can be added in raw, concentrated, or dried forms. For crack repair, the composition is applied to the crack, followed by the supernatant from centrifuged sterilized sesame meal extract to boost bacterial activity. It can be used in self-healing mixes for new concrete structures, crack fillers for aging bridges and tunnels, and injection materials for reinforcing soft ground. This recycles agricultural byproducts like sesame meal and fishery waste like oyster shells, while reducing bio-concrete production costs by replacing expensive media and calcium compounds.
This invention was developed with support from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport for the development of practical self-healing concrete technology using bacteria.
This technology is a construction site restroom system where a construction lift car carries a water supply tank and a septic tank. When the lift car arrives at a floor, it connects to the site restroom via extendable primary and secondary pipes to supply water and extract waste. A control unit operates the lift car's motor based on ascent and descent signals.
Placing portable toilets at high-rise construction sites previously required transporting them via temporary elevators; however, their height often necessitated disassembly and reassembly. Furthermore, high service costs were incurred to pump out waste, and collection was difficult in areas inaccessible to vehicles. Moving toilets while still containing waste also presented significant sanitary issues.
With this technology, when the lift car descends to the ground, a primary vacuum suction system refills the lift's water tank from a ground-based supply. Upon reaching a floor, the primary pipe opens to supply water to the restroom, and the secondary pipe opens to allow a secondary vacuum suction system to draw waste into the lift's septic tank for later transfer to a ground-based tank. This system is ideal for high-rise residential and office construction, large-scale plant sites with workers spread across multiple levels, and sites requiring dedicated women's restrooms. It allows for fixed restroom installations on every floor, enabling water supply and waste removal through lift operations alone, without the need for specialized waste collection vehicles.
This invention was developed with support from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport's digital-based construction and safety supervision technology development program.
This technology is an automated lifting device for frame construction, installed on a single vertical mast supported by the building frame. It features separate drive and control units to independently operate a material lifting cage and a personnel lifting cage. An ultrasonic transmitter on one cage and a receiver on the other measure the distance between them and relay the data to both control units.
In high-rise construction, frame work accounts for about 40% of the total schedule. Since most material lifting—such as formwork and rebar—relies on tower cranes, the lifting of MEP and finishing materials is often delayed, pushing back the overall project timeline. Existing overseas independent automated lifting systems, which operate without tower cranes, are heavy and expensive to rent because the mast and hydraulic units are integrated. Furthermore, they require additional labor to install anchors and use hydraulics to lift the system at every floor, making them impractical for most job sites.
This technology uses two optical sensors on the cage to measure the intensity of light reflected from the frame. It rotates the motor based on the target floor, and if the upper signal is below the threshold and the lower signal is above it—indicating the cage is not perfectly aligned—it triggers an alert. If the distance between cages falls below a safety threshold, the motor performs an emergency stop. Over-travel and falls are prevented by checking signals from overrun stoppers and limit bars at the top and bottom of the mast, while the personnel cage door is equipped with a spring-loaded debris shield. This system is ideal for high-rise residential and office frame construction, steel plant projects, and cramped urban sites where tower crane operation is difficult. It allows for the simultaneous, independent lifting of materials and workers without waiting for cranes, while automatically preventing cage collisions and floor-alignment errors.
This technology is an odor removal device that prevents sewage odors from rising to the surface by inserting a nozzle unit into the holes of a manhole cover and spraying fine water particles downward into the manhole from a storage tank. The nozzle unit consists of a spray nozzle, a pair of locking rods inserted into the top opening, and an elastic element connecting the two rods.
Manhole odors are common, accounting for 85% of all odor-related complaints. Odorous particles like hydrogen sulfide from sewers have been escaping through manhole cover holes near traffic lights, bus stops, and residential areas. However, these holes also serve as drainage for rainwater and cannot be sealed, and the varying sizes and numbers of holes per cover have made it difficult to create standardized odor removal products.
This technology allows a worker to narrow the gap between the locking rods to fit the hole size; once released, the restoring force of the elastic element secures the rods against the hole walls, with the top locking parts resting on the cover. The internal space can be adjusted by rotating a screw-type spray block, or a spiral-grooved rotating spray block can be used. When connecting multiple nozzles in series, the internal space is reduced further from the storage tank to ensure uniform spray pressure. It can be applied to sewage manholes near urban sidewalks and bus stops, residential sewer lines, and inspection ports at sewage treatment plants, effectively reducing odor complaints by retrofitting existing manholes without obstructing rainwater drainage.
