SK Telecom has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Seoul Metropolitan Government to develop and verify HD Map technologies for autonomous driving as part of the South Korean capital’s move towards a 5G-connected public transport network.
Under the MOU, SK Telecom and Seoul Metropolitan Government will cooperate on the development of real-time update technology for an HD Map covering a total of 75 miles (121km) of public roads, which were designated by Seoul’s cooperative-intelligent transportation system (C-ITS) project, by installing 5G cellular-connected advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) to 1,600 buses and 100 taxis. The two parties also agreed to jointly develop an automated road infrastructure management system, as well as advanced transportation safety services based on big data analytics.
Led by the Seoul Metropolitan Government, the C-ITS project aims to build an intelligent transportation system infrastructure, such as a 5G cellular network and vehicle-to-everything (V2X) system on major roads in the capital. In January 2019, SK Telecom was awarded the contract to deploy 5G infrastructure and communication technologies in the area. With the application of SK Telecom’s 5G technologies, Seoul will become the first city in the world to use 5G to drive innovations in the field of public transport. A total of 1,700 5G ADAS units will be installed in the city’s buses and taxis that will collect 124 different types of road/traffic information and transmit the data via a 5G network to support the real-time updating of the cloud-based HD map. The 5G network will support the ultra-fast transmission of massive amounts of road and traffic data at near zero latency.
The 5G ADAS equipment that will be installed in public transportation vehicles will support vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communication to increase efficiency in vehicle and traffic operation and enhance road safety. While the city’s existing buses only provide location information using GPS, buses equipped with 5G ADAS technology will be able to communicate with multiple diverse objects on and around the road network, including other vehicles (V2V) and infrastructure (V2I). SK Telecom and Seoul Metropolitan Government will also join forces to create an autonomous driving ecosystem by opening up related infrastructure such as HD map and data collected by 5G ADAS units.
“The super-fast, hyper-connectivity 5G network is essential, as a tremendous amount data is constantly generated by connected vehicles,” said Choi Il-gyu, executive vice president and head of the B2B business division at SK Telecom. “We will work closely with the Seoul Metropolitan Government to turn Seoul into a ‘5G Smart Mobility Hub’ by applying the most innovative 5G technologies.”
