5G MEC Opens Era of Unmanned Factories with Autonomous Driving Robots

[Asia Economy Reporter Seulgina Jo] SK Telecom and robotics specialist company Robotis are jointly developing 5G MEC autonomous driving robots.

On the 4th, SK Telecom announced that it signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) for a ‘5G/MEC-based Autonomous Driving Robot Business Cooperation’ with Robotis. Robotis is a leading company in the domestic robotics industry and was recognized for its technology by receiving the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy’s first regulatory sandbox approval for ‘outdoor autonomous driving robots’ in the robotics sector at the end of last year.

Through this MOU, both companies will apply 5G to robots to effectively transmit large volumes of video and sensor information, improving the autonomous driving performance of robots. In the future, they plan to develop technology to install robot control systems on MEC to stably manage a large number of robots.

SK Telecom plans to provide an ultra-low latency communication environment using 5G, enabling robots to respond immediately to various obstacles and unexpected situations, and to facilitate smooth communication between robots and control centers.

By installing Robotis’s robot control system on SK Telecom’s 5G MEC, the core components that serve as the brain of the robot can be lightened, reducing the robot’s price and power consumption. Additionally, it will greatly help reduce infrastructure costs when the number of operating robots rapidly increases or decreases, making it possible to provide stable autonomous driving robot-linked services anywhere nationwide.

Both companies plan to accelerate the development of various robot-based services such as product loading, remote maintenance, patrol, and disinfection to minimize on-site factory personnel in the post-COVID-19 era. They also intend to expand the application fields of autonomous driving robots beyond industries such as factories and logistics to various real-life areas including safety and environment.

Choi Pan-cheol, Head of SK Telecom’s Enterprise Business Division, said, “Autonomous driving robots are a core technology to prepare for the post-COVID-19 era, and performance improvement and manufacturing cost reduction are possible through the combination of 5G MEC.” He added, “Through this cooperation, we will continuously discover various services combining new technologies such as 5G MEC, robots, and AI.”