Nubilab_AI Meal Management Platform

Reducing Food Waste with AI and Building an ESG Campus… Applying Incheon Innopolis Technologies On-site

Incheon National University has become the first university in Korea to introduce an AI-based meal management system. This pilot initiative, jointly carried out by the Incheon Innopolis R&D Promotion Agency and Incheon Innopolis company Nubilab Co., Ltd., is drawing attention as a university innovation model that simultaneously reduces food waste and promotes carbon neutrality through AI technology.

■ Automatically Measuring Leftover Food with AI… Earning Eco-Friendly Practice Points

AI food scanners were recently installed in the student cafeteria and Dormitory 1 cafeteria. When a student returns their tray, the system automatically recognizes and measures the type and amount of leftover food, then analyzes this data to quantitatively manage food waste. Notably, users who achieve “zero leftovers” earn carbon-neutrality points through the mobile application “Ssakssak Money.” This reward structure encourages voluntary participation in eco-friendly practices, forming a “participatory carbon neutrality” model. The university expects AI technology to serve not just as automation but as a catalyst for improving environmental awareness and encouraging behavioral change in everyday life.

■ Demonstrating Incheon Innopolis Technology… Expanding the Regional Innovation Ecosystem

This project is the first case in which Incheon Innopolis technologies have been demonstrated directly within the university environment. Incheon Innopolis, whose core area is “ICT-based convergent environmental pollution treatment and management,” actively supports demonstration projects that apply local companies’ innovative technologies to real-life settings. Nubilab, which developed AI-based technology that analyzes tray images to quantify nutritional information and leftovers in real time, ranked first among Korean companies in the global “FoodTech 500.” Connecting technology developed with Innopolis support to a university meal management system is a meaningful example of a virtuous regional innovation ecosystem.

■ “ESG Practices Beginning in Everyday Campus Life”

A university representative stated, “Through this AI system, members of the campus community will be able to reflect on their own food consumption habits and feel the real significance of environmental protection,” adding that the university is considering expanding the system to all cafeterias based on the pilot results.

Lee Hee-kwan, Director of the Incheon Innopolis Promotion Agency, said, “The application of AI technology within everyday university spaces aligns with the eco-friendly technology commercialization pursued by the Innopolis,” expressing hope that “changes beginning on campus will spread to the wider community.”

Nubilab CEO Kim Dae-hoon added, “This is a meaningful attempt to support healthy eating habits and contribute to carbon reduction through AI and data,” emphasizing, “We will continue driving sustainable innovation in food culture.”

■ ESG Management and Building a Data-Driven Smart Campus

Through this pilot project, Incheon National University plans not only to reduce food waste but also to establish an ESG reporting system that measures and manages environmental performance through data. The university will also collaborate with the Innopolis agency to expand AI environmental-management solutions to local public institutions and companies. Pilot operations will continue through December, and based on the analysis of results, full-campus implementation will be considered starting next year. Additionally, the university will introduce “NyamNyam Kids,” an AI-based eating-habit solution for young children, to the on-campus daycare center, aiming to build an integrated AI dietary-management system for the entire campus community.

A university official stated, “The AI meal management system will become a key foundation for realizing a ‘smart campus’ and a ‘carbon-neutral university,’” adding that the broader adoption of AI technologies across campus operations will lead to energy savings, resource circulation, and data-driven environmental management.