K-City, built for early commercialization of level 3 autonomous vehicles
360,000㎡ 5G autonomous driving technology verification test bed
Expected to be established as a future autonomous driving technology demonstration hub

On the 10th, KT jointly built 'K-City', the first autonomous driving experimental city in Korea based on a 5G network hosted by the Korea Transportation Safety Authority, and unveiled the autonomous driving remote control system '5G Remote Cockpit' for the first time.

K-City is a 5G autonomous driving technology verification testbed established on a 360,000㎡ site within the Korea Transportation Safety Institute in Hwaseong-si, Gyeonggi-do, with support from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport and the Korea Transport Institute for Infrastructure Technology Promotion, for the early commercialization of autonomous vehicles at Level 3 (conditional autonomous driving). It was created to be identical to an actual road environment so that companies including KT can experiment and verify autonomous driving technologies.
K-City is the first achievement since KT and the Korea Transportation Safety Authority signed a business agreement on November 15 for joint autonomous driving research and technology exchange. To this end, KT and the Korea Transportation Safety Authority established five evaluation environments within K-City, consisting of highways, downtown, communities, suburban roads, and autonomous parking facilities, and also created 35 types of transportation facilities, including tollgates and crosswalks. In addition, KT has perfectly implemented the 5G autonomous driving wired and wireless communication environment and autonomous driving remote control system within K-City based on the 5G network commercialized on December 1.

KT and the Korea Transportation Safety Authority held a completion ceremony to officially launch K-City and installed an exhibition hall where six companies, including KT and Hyundai Motors, can experience autonomous driving technology, sharing the current R&D achievements related to autonomous driving in South Korea. Prime Minister Lee Nak-yeon, Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport Kim Hyun-mee, and others who attended the event visited the autonomous driving technology exhibition hall and experienced various technologies firsthand, expressing their expectations for the early commercialization of autonomous vehicles in 2020.

At the K-City completion ceremony held on this day, KT successfully demonstrated the 5G remote cockpit for the first time and responded to driver emergencies using autonomous driving and 5G technology. The 5G remote cockpit is a system that remotely controls vehicles and road infrastructure through 5G V2X (Vehicle to Everything) communication, enabling real-time identification of the cause of accidents that occur on the road. Its significance lies in the fact that in the event of an emergency inside a moving vehicle, the problem can be resolved through immediate intervention by the control center via remote control.

Through the demonstration, KT successfully implemented KT’s autonomous driving technology 5G V2X and the next-generation intelligent transport system (Cooperative-Intelligent Transport System, C-ITS) that utilize the strengths of the ultra-high speed and ultra-low latency characteristics of the 5G network. In addition, KT succeeded in transmitting vehicle information more accurately and stably through vehicle-specific QoS (Quality of Service) guarantee technology, precise positioning, and security technology (GiGAstealth).

In particular, the V2I (Vehicle to Infrastructure) service, which controls road conditions in real time by linking high-definition camera services with low-latency 5G, attracted attention. To help understand the demonstration situation, the panoramic view video provided on the screen at the event venue also attracted attention as it was a high-definition video shot through a 270-degree camera installed on a KT autonomous vehicle and relayed in real time through a 5G network.

KT and the Korea Transportation Safety Authority plan to continue to cooperate in the future to lead the advancement of autonomous driving technology in Korea through repeated, reproducible experiments and verification of autonomous driving technology. In addition, they plan to support the technological development of domestic and international automobile industries, universities, and startups, so that K-City can establish itself as a verification hub for autonomous driving technology.

KT Future Platform Business Division Head Lee Dong-myeon said, “K-City is a core infrastructure that will drive the development of the autonomous driving industry in Korea and will play an important role in the advancement of autonomous driving technology.” He added, “Based on the 5G network commercialized on December 1, KT will strive to present various innovative services not only in autonomous driving but also in the field of traffic safety that the public can experience in their daily lives.”