SK Telecom announced on the 15th that it won the “Most Innovative 5G Communication Service” category at the Network X Awards held in Vienna, Austria, on the 14th (local time).
Network X is an international event in the wired and wireless communication network field hosted by global ICT media and research firm Informa, with participation from over 1,000 global telecom operators, large enterprises, and startups.
SKT won the “Most Innovative 5G Communication Service” category with its “AI-RAN (Radio Access Network)-based Autonomous Vehicle Marshalling (AVM) for finished vehicles” technology. SKT was recognized for its achievement in implementing a new type of communication service where AI-RAN directly perceives and controls vehicles on-site.
AI-RAN is next-generation network infrastructure capable of providing both communication services and AI services simultaneously. SKT developed and demonstrated an AI-RAN base station, confirming that communication quality remains stable even when processing AI services concurrently.
AVM is a service that performs vehicle transport and alignment tasks based on an intelligent network. When LiDAR sensors installed on-site send point cloud data (data representing the shape and location of objects as coordinates of points), the AI-RAN base station constructs a digital twin in real time, calculates collision-free paths, and issues driving commands to finished vehicles. Regular vehicles can also become capable of autonomous driving by installing modules and programs, and finished vehicle transport previously done by human drivers can be automated through an unmanned system.
The service demonstration was conducted as an autonomous valet parking showcase in an actual parking facility. The entire process, from sensor data collection to AI decision-making and transmission of driving commands, was completed within the required time for unmanned vehicle control. The demonstration vehicle successfully completed autonomous parking without human intervention.
Through this demonstration, SKT also confirmed the possibility of expanding the scope of automation, which had been limited to the latest autonomous vehicles, to regular vehicles and robots. Because the network monitors the entire site and coordinates paths, it can prevent traffic jams caused by vehicles getting stuck in narrow passages in advance.
If this technology is commercialized, telecom operators will be able to provide control services for multiple vehicles based on their existing 5G infrastructure, potentially offering new subscription-based revenue models depending on scale.
SKT plans to apply the technology to domestic finished vehicle factories by 2027 and demonstrate it in actual industrial environments through the national project “Establishment of Hyper-AI Network-based Infrastructure.” The company aims to expand the application scope to large-scale logistics sites such as ports and airports, and to develop AI-RAN-based physical AI services within the trend leading from 5G SA evolution to 6G.
Ryu Tak-gi, Head of Network Technology at SKT, stated, “Lee Beon (수상) is an achievement that once again recognized SKT’s technological competitiveness in applying AI to 5G services on the global stage,” adding, “We will enhance AI-RAN-based physical AI services and further accelerate evolution toward autonomous networks to provide new value to customers and industrial sites.”
in TECH
