What kind of technology will ETRI lead future technology?

The Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute (ETRI) participated in the K-ICT Technology Commercialization Festival held at the World IT Show (WIS) and showcased promising technologies for commercialization. The event was conducted across three fields: Intelligent Information/Bio, IoT Communication Devices, and AR 3D Content/Smart Media. Consultation booths for technology transfer were set up, and a briefing session introducing 15 technologies was also held.

Although some technologies were developed several years ago, their completeness has been enhanced through continuous improvements. We will briefly examine technologies in recently trending fields, ranging from real-time automatic translation and deep learning-based facial recognition systems to proximity communication technology that is up to 8,000 times faster than NFC, and human body communication that communicates via handshakes instead of wires.

Multilingual speech recognition and conversational automatic translation 'GenieTalk'

GenieTalk, a multilingual automatic interpretation technology developed in 2012, is an app optimized for Korean translation. In a mobile translation app evaluation conducted by a media outlet in 2016, GenieTalk ranked first in recognition rate, following Google Translate (87%), Samsung Electronics' S Translator (90.7%), and Naver's Papago (86.9%).

The GenieTalk app, which supports simultaneous interpretation, supports 8 languages including Korean-English, Chinese, Japanese, Spanish, French, and Arabic. Currently, it requires an internet connection to use, but a device for offline use is also under development.

The research team stated, “When walking down the street wearing a device (shaped like a Bluetooth headset), if another person wearing the same device approaches, the device recognizes them and enables real-time conversation using their respective languages. It will be used as a pilot service at the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics.”

Development of core security technologies for IoT device operating systems
The scope of IoT is steadily expanding, ranging from home IoT to industrial IoT. With further expansion expected, the importance of security is being emphasized in this era of connectivity. ETRI has developed a security OS equivalent in level (Cortex-M3) to existing ARM-based IoT platforms ranging from Cortex-M0 to M4.
The core technology enables secure IoT service operation through customized security configurations based on device specifications, key management and cryptographic algorithm verification to counter device hacking, and remote device security management based on security policies.

This can be implemented in Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) solutions using commercial IoT communication networks based on LoRa (or NB-IoT). According to the research team, Europe has completed testing for AMI commercialization and is in the verification phase, and the technology is also planned to be introduced in Korea as part of a smart grid security demonstration project.

Deep learning-based face recognition system robust to environmental changes

A facial recognition system was unveiled that detects human faces in video and verifies identity by analyzing gender and age.


Feature detection in the face recognition process utilizes the GPU, while other parts are processed by the CPU. Without a GPU, processing speed is slower compared to existing technologies, and the total recognition time depends on CPU performance. It takes 0.07 seconds for 1,000 registered users. (See video below)

Researcher Yoon Ho-seop stated, “Technology transfer was carried out in the direction of providing security and personalized advertising.” "There are already three places where technology transfer has been completed, and several companies are in the process," he said.

Ultra-high-speed proximity communication technology ZING
It unveiled 'Zing' technology, an ultra-high-speed proximity communication technology that allows users to download large-capacity content by simply placing it against a device. While the speed of existing proximity communication technology, NFC, was less than 1 Mbps, Zing's speed is 3.5 Gbps, making it up to 8,000 times faster.

With the introduction of this technology, smartphones (or wireless storage devices) will not be limited to wireless charging. Video can be instantly transmitted to a beam projector or TV for playback while charging, and data can be easily exchanged between devices such as dashcams and laptops without any boundaries.

Japan announced that it plans to showcase high-speed proximity communication technology at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, which allows users to download movies, music, books, etc., from subway ticket gates.
It can be developed in a way that allows users to simply download videos, much like picking up a drink from a vending machine. The research team stated, "We can also expect a system where touching a movie poster on the street plays a trailer or allows users to watch it."

Human body communication technology

Wires are eliminated, and the person becomes the medium. This is human body communication technology, which drew an exceptionally constant stream of visitors to ETRI's booth. Existing wireless communication systems required intermediate frequencies (IF) and radio frequencies (RF) to connect devices, but human body communication has eliminated this. It uses the desired frequency band via Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) and transmits only digital signals.

The pairing time required to find and set up the device during Bluetooth connection can be replaced by a 'touch'. Additionally, by replicating radio frequencies traveling through the air, it can prevent the vulnerabilities of car smart keys, which were frequently subject to theft, through double security. The smart key can be embedded in another wearable device rather than in the form of a physical key, and the door opens when a person wearing it approaches and 'touches' it.

According to the researchers, if this technology is applied to the medical field, wireless endoscopes will become possible. The method involves using an 'endoscope capsule' to film the inside for 10 hours, after which it is naturally expelled. (See video below)