[IT Donga x Korea University] Korea University operates the 'Crimson Startup Support Group,' a startup incubation and support institution under the direct supervision of the Vice President for Research. Introducing promising startups affiliated with Korea University that are growing with the Crimson Startup Support Group and dreaming of change and innovation.

Content has long delighted the eyes and ears of people. As technology has advanced, the types of content have increased, and the ways to enjoy them have diversified. For example, photos have evolved into videos, videos into 3D videos, and 3D videos into games and virtual reality. Recently, artificial intelligence technology has caused a tectonic shift in the content industry. This is due to its excellent ability to transform the old into the new, turn imagination into reality, and create what did not exist before.

Consequently, companies attempting to integrate AI technology into content for development have emerged. Among them, Korea University's early startup package company, Muave Motion, focuses on 'interaction' using AI technology. This technology designates objects or backgrounds within content to respond to user movements.


Interactive content is superior to regular content in terms of fun and immersion. Regular content requires watching, listening, and enjoying only the predetermined content. Therefore, it becomes familiar and less enjoyable after a few times. In contrast, interactive content reacts in various forms according to user movements, offering a different kind of fun each time it is enjoyed.

The advertising and gaming markets have long focused on interactive content. Interactive advertisements conducted in no-smoking areas have indeed created a significant impact in the industry. For instance, when a smoker takes out a cigarette, the smoke is recognized, and the person on the screen appears to cough painfully. It was found that nine out of ten smokers who saw this advertisement immediately extinguished their cigarettes. Today, many games also use interaction technology where characters respond to user touch operations.


Oh Jae-woong, CEO of Muave Motion, has been researching and developing game interaction technology for over a decade, actively participating in open-source software communities. Some companies have applied his open-source interaction development engine to actual games. He later encountered AI technology and is convinced that it will further enhance the power of his open-source interaction development engine. He persuaded development experts he had worked with for a long time to establish Muave Motion in 2024.

All employees at Muave Motion are experts with experience in interaction research and development. They share the goal of making this technology accessible to everyone, not just developers, to help enjoy content from a new perspective. As a result, they developed the interaction content development engine 'Quark' in a short period after founding.

With Muave Motion's Quark, anyone can easily apply interaction technology to existing content. Take, for example, a 'photo of an apple and a candle on a table.' Users can input this photo into Quark and then input their desired interaction movements for the apple and candle. The apple in the photo can be set to split in half or change color when pressed, and the candle can be set to have its light grow stronger, extinguish, or change color. Similarly, users can input drawings or even videos to freely designate the interaction movements of objects or backgrounds within them.


Of course, there were technologies to add interaction movements to content before. However, it required numerous personnel, costs, and time. Consider the previously mentioned 'photo of an apple and a candle on a table.' To add interaction movements, an animator to calculate the movement of objects, a designer to conceptualize objects changing with movement, and a developer to assign these movements to objects were needed. It takes time to combine the results of these personnel's work into one. If there are any modifications, this process must be repeated from the beginning. Since each person has different concepts, the result may turn out unexpectedly.

In contrast, with Muave Motion's Quark, a single content planner can freely designate and easily implement interaction movements. The modification time is also short. Above all, it has the advantage of expressing the content planner's concept as it is into interactive content.

Oh Jae-woong highlights AI as a distinguishing feature and advantage of Muave Motion's Quark. It depicts the movements of objects or backgrounds within content using AI. In essence, AI takes on the roles of the aforementioned animator and designer. As a result, interaction elements can be designated in content more quickly, accurately, and efficiently.


Interaction technology can be applied to all visual content. In fact, Muave Motion is demonstrating digital storybooks using Quark in collaboration with a major educational corporation in Korea. The principle involves inputting 2D storybooks made in paper or PDF format into Quark and adding interaction movements to the illustrations on each page. This transforms the storybook's characters and backgrounds into a living, moving digital storybook. Of course, how the characters and backgrounds move is designated by the content planner.

Interactive content edited with Muave Motion's Quark can be shared via URL link. Since it is provided as a web service, anyone with a PC can access it and create interactive content. Furthermore, Muave Motion plans to launch an app service so that not only industry professionals but also general consumers can easily enjoy the charm of interaction.


With the Muave Motion Quark app, scheduled for release this December, anyone can create their own interactive content from photos, drawings, and videos. Parents can turn children's drawings into living digital content, video creators can make responsive content to communicate with subscribers, and companies can create customized advertisements that operate differently according to consumer reactions—all with the help of the Muave Motion Quark app.

Oh Jae-woong has received various awards with Muave Motion Quark at the forefront. These include the Grand Prize at the KISA InsurTech Hackathon, the Grand Prize at the Open SW Developer Contest, and recognition as one of the Top 3 Engines in Northeast Asia in Japan. Based on these achievements, Muave Motion has achieved outstanding results in various support programs such as the Pre-Startup Package (Best Company), Early Startup Package, TIPS, and Startup NEST. In particular, seed investment from the Yoon Min-chang Foundation and support from Korea University's Crimson Startup Support Group's Early Startup Package were effective. They also recorded sales through the Ministry of National Defense platform construction.


Thanks to this, Muave Motion is conducting various demonstrations, including digital storybooks with the aforementioned major educational corporation in Korea, interaction with character companies, and digital interaction signage. They plan to solve challenges one by one, such as spreading interaction technology to more areas and disseminating the Quark engine using the references they have accumulated.

Oh Jae-woong stated, "We will breathe life into the static digital world, creating moments where technology becomes art and emotions move."

IT Donga Reporter Cha Ju-kyung (racingcar@itdonga.com)

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