Barcelona-Pyeongtaek Logistics System Remote Control Unveiled
| The Dawn of the Era of Automation and Remote Work Environment Monitoring
| Increase accuracy and reduce time and fatigue with AI vision inspection

LG Uplus unveils a smart factory service connecting Spain and Korea over a distance of 10,000 km via 5G.
LG Uplus announced on the 25th that it will unveil a 5G network-based smart factory service in partnership with LG Electronics and LG CNS at MWC19 in Barcelona, Spain.

LG Uplus is showcasing a 5G smart factory service that connects the MWC site and a production plant in Pyeongtaek, Korea in real time, leveraging synergies among LG Group affiliates such as its own 5G mobile network, LG Electronics’ Materials & Production Technology Institute’s factory construction experience, and LG CNS’s platform technology. This marks the first demonstration of smart factory operation and management via a 5G network from the other side of the globe.

The ultra-low latency and ultra-connectivity attributes of 5G networks are essential for smart factory services, as they exchange large amounts of data with multiple robot systems in real time without delay. LG Uplus anticipates that smart factories will become the core of innovation in the manufacturing sector, particularly through unmanned and remote operations that replace simple tasks performed by humans with logistics robots, and plans to explore specific business models in the future.

This demonstration will be conducted by connecting the MWC venue in Barcelona, Spain, with the Mold Technology Center of LG Electronics’ Materials & Production Technology Institute in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi-do, in real time. It will showcase autonomous driving of the 'Mobile Manipulator Specification,' which flexibly connects logistics between equipment, and factory environmental monitoring—essential elements for precision machining, such as temperature and humidity. At the Pyeongtaek plant, 'AI Vision Inspection' technology, capable of quality assessment using AI, will also be prepared.

The most notable feature is the 'Mobile Manipulator Specification,' which controls the movement of autonomous logistics robots and provides route video. Through this technology, robots execute the task of loading processed parts onto lathes using the most efficient routes. They also automatically change their paths if obstacles are encountered. Users can monitor the logistics robots' battery status, location, and other parameters in real-time, both inside and outside the factory, via a production management system.

In environments where maintaining atmospheric conditions, such as temperature and humidity, is critical—like in precision machining plants—the role of factory environment monitoring is also useful. Through various sensors mounted on logistics robots, the robots detect the working environment of the entire factory as they move, and the status of gases, dust, and other elements within the factory can be remotely monitored via LG CNS's IoT integrated platform, 'INFIOT'. Unmanned automated factories can also be remotely monitored via CCTV, and areas requiring detailed inspection can be checked using 5G cameras mounted on logistics robots.

'AI Vision Inspection,' which checks quality based on images, is also considered a key feature. This technology aims to improve quality by training equipment with inspection images used for quality assessment using artificial intelligence, thereby enhancing intelligent inspection judgment capabilities. Detection power is improved as it offers higher accuracy than direct human inspection. LG Uplus anticipates that this technology will reduce unnecessary time and effort spent on re-inspections in the future.

Choi Joo-sik, Vice President and Head of the Enterprise Business Division at LG Uplus, stated, “Once 5G services are fully commercialized, solutions dedicated to smart factories will increase significantly,” adding, “We plan to focus on securing an early market lead by discovering various ‘killer services,’ particularly centering on the high-potential areas of remote and unmanned systems.”

"He added, 'Through this, we will seek quantitative and qualitative changes in services to bring a breath of fresh air to the entrenched existing telecommunications market in the 5G era.'"

Meanwhile, this demonstration will be conducted by applying it to the field of precision mold machining, where there is a high need for intelligence, automation, and unmanned operation. In the field of precision mold machining, all movement processes are handled directly by humans, and work efficiency is low as work time increases depending on the complexity of the drawings, so the utilization of 5G smart factory services is expected to be high.