"Wear a Mask" 5G and AI-Equipped 'COVID-19 Prevention Robot'

The COVID-19 prevention robot, jointly developed by SK Telecom and Korea Omron Control Devices, is providing hand sanitizer to visitors.

[Asia Economy Reporter Seulgina Cho] Robots equipped with advanced ICT technologies such as 5G and AI are stepping up to prevent the spread of COVID-19. They patrol every corner of buildings, disinfecting with sprays and approaching people not wearing masks to encourage mask usage. In the lobby, they check visitors' temperatures and provide hand sanitizer.

SK Telecom announced on the 26th that it has developed such COVID-19 prevention robots in collaboration with Korea Omron Control Devices, a factory automation specialist company. By having robots perform tasks previously done by humans, such as temperature checks and disinfection using UV lamps, a more systematic and efficient response to COVID-19 is expected. From today, the COVID-19 prevention robots have started activities such as disinfection and visitor temperature checks at SK Telecom’s headquarters located in Euljiro, Jung-gu, Seoul.

The COVID-19 prevention robots developed jointly by SK Telecom and Omron incorporate advanced ICT technologies including 5G and AI, as well as factory automation control technologies such as autonomous robot navigation and Internet of Things (IoT) sensing. Accordingly, the robots use the 5G network to exchange data with servers in real time and perform various roles including autonomous driving, temperature checks, and disinfection. For example, temperature data measured by the robot is sent to the server via the 5G network, and if a high temperature is detected, access is restricted on site.

The robots are equipped with SK Telecom’s proprietary AI-based recognition technology to encourage social distancing and mask-wearing among visitors. SK Telecom’s 5G-based big data analysis solution, 'Metatron,' is also applied to enable efficient operation such as monitoring the robot’s status and maintenance.

The COVID-19 disinfection robot is performing disinfection at the SK Telecom headquarters located in Euljiro, Jung-gu, Seoul.

SK Telecom and Omron plan to first introduce and utilize the prevention robots at their own facilities, with an official launch scheduled for the second half of this year. Next year, they will also target overseas markets.

Choi Nak-hoon, head of SK Telecom’s Industrial Data Business Unit, stated, “As a leading ICT company from South Korea, a model country in COVID-19 prevention, we will contribute to overcoming national disasters through technology. We will continue to introduce various services suited to the untact era by leveraging advanced ICT technologies such as 5G and AI.”

Kim Young-ho, CEO of Korea Omron Control Devices, said, “The robots we are unveiling this time are an innovative example of collaboration and technology application between our two companies to overcome the crisis caused by COVID-19, demonstrating that companies can contribute to solving social challenges.”