The world is at war with AI. Since the 2016 Go match between AlphaGo and Sedol Lee, AI technology has advanced even faster, and the Chat GPT, launched in 2023, ushered in a new era of global AI wars. IT global big tech companies such as MS, Metaverse, and Google are betting the company’s life on the development of artificial intelligence based on natural language processing. A variety of services powered by AI are being launched in every industry. AI-based services are also showing promise in the field of climate prediction, and experts predict that advances in AI technology will enable more accurate weather forecasts in the future. A small South Korean company is garnering a lot of attention in the weather, climate, ocean, and environmental fields with its numerical modeling and artificial intelligence-based forecasting systems. It is Wizai.

Development of various global environmental prediction technologies and systems to respond to rapid climate change

Launching Korea’s first AI weather prediction service

Wizai, a portmanteau of “wizard” or “wisdom” and “AI,” develops forecasting technology, system development, and weather and climate big data to respond to weather disasters and maritime accidents. The company is making great efforts to improve the accuracy of weather forecasts and utilize them in industry. The company has excellent technology in ∼ weather and climate prediction based on numerical models and artificial intelligence ∼ weather and climate big data convergence ∼ and weather and climate information system construction. The main business models are ﹦ weather prediction (detection and prediction), climate prediction (long-term prediction), solar energy prediction and management model, healthcare weather information calculation model, large-capacity data collection, storage, analysis, and provision system, customized system construction, and data visualization. 

Atmospheric, oceanic, and wave numerical modeling technology-based Earth system forecasts and customized weather prediction models

Accurately predicting maritime weather to provide shipping companies with the most economical routes

Wizai’s main business is weather prediction. It predicts the earth system based on atmospheric, oceanic, and wave numerical modeling technology, and builds a more complete weather prediction system through artificial intelligence-based numerical model post-processing technology to improve prediction performance. The company develops customized weather prediction models by adding artificial intelligence technology to weather data, and also provides artificial intelligence-based fog detection and prediction using satellite and ground observation data. The company also provides ultra-short-term precipitation prediction models using satellite, radar, and ground-based weather observation data. Wizai / CEO Jayong Koo said “Through our weather and climate forecasting services, we are developing a variety of customized weather prediction models, including hazardous weather, hydrological weather, road weather, aviation weather, and military operations weather.” The company currently provides a variety of weather and climate prediction services to various domestic organizations and companies, including providing optimal economic routes for shipping companies.

Renewable energy forecasting technology and smart energy management support models

Introducing various smart weather-climate convergence technologies for smart cities

Wizai corrects errors in numerical models based on AI using weather observation data and numerical model data, and has also developed a management model for solar energy by fusing weather, climate, and energy big data. It secures weather observation data, IoT data, numerical model data, and building-scale surface topography information, fuses them with detailed weather information through dynamic and statistical elaboration, and derives solar power production data. The company is also developing a service related to healthcare, a smart city weather and climate convergence service model. The model can produce detailed city-scale weather information that reflects various weather information and big data characteristics by field, and can produce AI-based healthcare weather information by fusing big data on weather and healthcare. CEO Koo said “We are developing a smart city weather-climate convergence service as a platform that fuses the trends of carbon neutrality, smart city, and healthcare.” The company introduced various smart weather-climate convergence technologies for smart cities at the World Smart City Expo 2023, which was held last month and attracted tremendous attention. The ‘Active Smart City Complex Management Model’ received the most attention, as it is a backpressure prediction service that predicts the city’s electricity consumption and solar energy production, as well as weather and climate prediction. This model aims to ﹦ support sustainable growth of cities through smart energy management and energy reduction effects through smart city energy meteorological support ﹦ spread smart city meteorological service models to improve the quality of life of citizens through services in the field of life health meteorology ﹦ meet customized needs by supporting detailed smart city meteorological information according to city characteristics ﹦ secure artificial intelligence model development technology that can be applied to existing weather information (weather observation data, high-resolution IoT sensor observation data, numerical forecast model data, etc.) ﹦ improve the safety and living convenience of urban residents through the spread of smart city weather-climate convergence technology.

▲ WIZAI / CEO Jayong Koo

Establishment of public and private information systems, utilization as a hydrometeorological drought information system

Customized system and data visualization, actively used as Air Force climate information system

The core of Wizai’s weather and climate information system construction technology is to build a system for collecting, storing, analyzing, and providing large amounts of data, and to build customized systems and visualize data. The company has big data public and private information system construction technology and has developed it into a business model to improve the hydrometeorological drought information system and drought forecast system integration and monitoring system. The company built a hydrometeorological drought information system by actively utilizing data provided by the Korea Meteorological Administration such as COMIS API, National Climate Data Center, Weather Radar Center, and Numerical Modeling Center, as well as data from the Flood Control Office, Korea Forest Service, K-Water, Rural Development Administration, and US National Oceanic And Atmospheric Administration. ‘Customized system construction and data visualization’ is a system that supports weather, climate, and environmental data and customized information construction and visualization services, and is actively used for air force climate information. It was built as a statistical model for calculating military-specific climate change scenarios and defense-applied climate data, and visualized global reanalysis data for enhancing operational decision support and improving predictability. It was used as a technology to visualize aircraft data production information for safe aircraft operation and to visualize marine weather risk and frost occurrence prediction information. In the future, Wizai plans to provide all industries that require weather and climate prediction services as well as public services, and will first provide customized services in the leisure industry that requires weather prediction.