SKT to install 1,735 sensors across a 151-kilometer stretch of Seoul.
1,700 public transportation vehicles to be equipped with 5G ADAS and HD maps to be created.
A private transportation information platform will be established by 2022.


SK Telecom announced on the 8th that it plans to complete the demonstration project for the next-generation intelligent transportation system, 'C-ITS (Cooperative-Intelligent Transport Systems),' which connects all vehicles, pedestrians, and transportation infrastructure in Seoul via 5G, by the end of this month and begin commercialization.

Since early 2019, SK Telecom has been working with the Seoul Metropolitan Government on a C-ITS demonstration project. These efforts include: installing 5G sensors and IoT on major city roads; equipping city buses and taxis with 5G Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS); and establishing an autonomous driving testbed. The Seoul Metropolitan Government will showcase the results of the C-ITS demonstration project at the Sangam S-Plex Center in Seoul until the 12th. The newly constructed autonomous driving testbed will host hands-on experiences with connected buses and autonomous vehicles.

1,735 5G sensors provide an average of 67 million traffic safety information items per day.

Through the completion of this Seoul City C-ITS demonstration project, SKT has introduced the world's first 5G-based V2X technology. SKT installed 1,735 5G sensors on 151 kilometers of major roads and traffic lights, centered around central bus lanes in Seoul, to monitor traffic conditions in real time. SKT announced that the information acquired through IoT sensors is being sent as an average of 43 million notifications per day regarding pedestrian signals and pedestrian access, 5.8 million notifications regarding potholes, and 520,000 notifications regarding bus stop congestion, helping drivers drive safely.

Additionally, a variety of traffic-related information, including location-based traffic information, dangerous sections, jaywalking pedestrians, tunnel accident information, and passing lane detection, was provided to participating public transportation drivers, averaging an average of 67 million items per day. Notably, services were also implemented, including information on the color of traffic lights at intersections ahead and the remaining seconds of a green light.

In addition to roads and traffic lights, the Seoul Metropolitan Government and SK Telecom are currently installing 5G ADAS and dedicated terminals in 1,600 city buses and 100 taxis for a V2X demonstration project between vehicles and transportation infrastructure. The 5G ADAS uses vision technology to monitor 124 types of road traffic information in real time, including signs, road markings, construction information, and potholes. It then performs real-time AI analysis in the cloud, reflecting the information on an HD map with a margin of error of within 10 cm.

SKT is also accelerating the creation of a related ecosystem by establishing autonomous cooperative driving test beds in Seoul and Sangam DMC and opening them free of charge to industry, academia, and research institutes. In particular, autonomous driving and connected buses will be available for the general public to experience not only at the performance report meeting but also at the '2021 Seoul Smart Mobility Expo' event held from the 10th to the 12th.

The Seoul Metropolitan Government and SKT are building a platform to provide information acquired through C-ITS to private navigation providers via 5G, enabling these providers to provide this information in real time to their service users. The platform is scheduled for completion by 2022.