5G network construction completed at Hyundai Mobis driving test site
First achievement after establishing connected car MOU in August
Plans to jointly develop core connected car technologies

KT and Hyundai Mobis will collaborate on developing autonomous vehicles and connected car technologies using 5G communications.

KT announced on the 17th that it has established a 5G communication network at the Hyundai Mobis driving test site in Seosan, South Chungcheong Province, and has begun full-scale development of connected car technology utilizing this network. KT opened 5G communication at the Seosan Driving Test Site to enable Hyundai Mobis to preemptively secure 5G-based connected car technology.

This is the first time that a 5G commercial network has been applied to a private company and utilized for technology development, following the signing of an MOU for cooperation on 5G-based connected car technology between KT and Hyundai Mobis in August 2018, and the construction of a 5G network at the Seosan Driving Test Center.
The two companies plan to use the newly built 5G communication network to develop vehicle-to-everything communication technology (C-V2X: Cellular Vehicle to Everything) and real-time navigation update technology by the second half of this year.

C-V2X technology is a technology that uses mobile communication networks to share data in real time between vehicles, between vehicles and infrastructure, and between vehicles and pedestrians, thereby improving the stability of autonomous driving. For this reason, a 5G network with a response time up to 10 times faster than existing wireless networks is essential.

Hyundai Mobis is in charge of developing controllers to be installed in vehicles, and KT is developing technology to transmit information such as road construction information, traffic light information, and sharp curve warnings to vehicles using traffic information servers and 5G infrastructure devices.

Navigation update technology is a technology that reflects traffic information collected by preceding vehicles on the map in real time and transmits it to the following vehicles. By using the 5G network, which has a communication speed dozens of times faster than 4G, traffic information can be reflected in real time to update the optimal driving route, enabling safe and fast driving.

To this end, KT supports connections between 5G terminals installed in Hyundai Mobis’ autonomous vehicles and 5G communication base stations. Hyundai Mobis is developing technology to collect traffic information through various sensors in the autonomous vehicle M.Billy and extract key information that affects driving from this and transmit it to a server.

Starting with this, KT and Hyundai Mobis will expand their cooperation to the overall development of 5G connected car technology. As connected cars are emerging as a key technology for future vehicles, the two companies, which are leading 5G and vehicle element technologies, will create synergy through an alliance to develop innovative technologies.

“Because connected cars are completed through organic connections with the outside of the vehicle, there is active inter-industry cooperation to secure related technologies,” said Jang Jae-ho, executive director of Hyundai Mobis EE Research Center. “Now that we are working with KT, which has a high level of understanding of automobiles, we will be able to secure competitive connected car technologies that can lead the global market.”

KT’s Vice President Park Yoon-young, head of the corporate business division, said, “KT has experience in successfully operating self-driving buses in the Pangyo Zero City demonstration project based on 5G technology,” and added, “We will lead the coming era of autonomous driving by cooperating with Hyundai Mobis, which possesses autonomous driving element technologies and solutions.”