LGU+ Builds 'Autonomous Driving Big Data Control Center' in Sejong City... Accelerating Autonomous Driving Commercialization

Expected view of the control room and situation board inside the 'Sejong City Autonomous Driving Big Data Control Center' being established by the LG Uplus consortium.

[Asia Economy Reporter Eunmo Koo] LG Uplus is accelerating preparations for the commercialization of autonomous vehicles based on 5G mobile communication by moving forward with the establishment of an autonomous driving control center following demonstrations and validations of autonomous driving technology.

LG Uplus announced on the 31st that the 'LG Uplus Consortium' has been selected as the project operator for the 'Autonomous Driving Big Data Control Center and Platform Construction' project in Sejong Special Self-Governing City (hereafter Sejong City), and will be responsible for the construction and operation of the control center.

The 'Sejong City Autonomous Driving Big Data Control Center Construction and Operation Project' is a project aimed at commercializing autonomous driving by collecting and analyzing data from autonomous driving demonstration vehicles in Sejong City, which has been designated as a 'Regulatory Free Zone for Autonomous Driving Demonstration,' and establishing a control tower. LG Uplus signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Sejong City in March last year for autonomous driving services and is currently conducting a confidential demonstration project.

To this end, LG Uplus will build a big data-based control center. The 'Autonomous Driving Big Data Control Center' is based on a big data platform that collects and analyzes operational, infrastructure, and traffic information data from autonomous driving demonstration vehicles and shares it for utilization, with 5G also being applied on a pilot basis.

Overall system concept diagram of the 'Sejong City Autonomous Driving Big Data Control Center Construction and Operation' project.

At the control center, integrated control is possible for vehicles deployed in Sejong City's autonomous driving demonstration, including ▲real-time monitoring and status management ▲demonstration test management ▲V2X (vehicle-to-everything) infrastructure management ▲high-definition map construction and management. In particular, LG Uplus plans to expand the application of high-definition maps to extend the existing demonstration section to a 60km range to diversify the autonomous driving demonstration environment in Sejong City, and will also pilot high-precision positioning technology (RTK, Real Time Kinematic).

An 'Open Lab' will also be established within the big data control center. The Open Lab will open various autonomous driving-related big data collected and analyzed through the big data platform and provide open APIs (application programming interfaces) to support the development and commercialization of autonomous driving solutions by small and medium-sized enterprises. Security will also be significantly enhanced. A security certification system for V2X communication infrastructure and quantum-resistant encryption will be applied to the Open Lab to ensure thorough online and offline security.

Kang Jong-oh, Executive Director of LG Uplus Smart City Business Division, said, "Based on LG Uplus's strengths in autonomous driving service (V2X) network technology and the consortium members' experience in C-ITS (Cooperative Intelligent Transport Systems), we will successfully carry out the construction of this 'Big Data Autonomous Driving Control Center.' We expect this to accelerate not only simple demonstrations but also future commercialization of autonomous driving and expansion into smart cities."

The 'Sejong City Autonomous Driving Big Data Control Center' is scheduled to be completed by July within the Sejong City Industry-Academia-Research Cluster Support Center, followed by a stabilization period before full-scale operation begins. The project involves a consortium centered on LG Uplus, including 'ESTraffic,' 'Penta System Technology,' 'Sign Telecom,' and 'Vibe Company.'