Seoul to set up world's first 5G urban test site for autonomous driving on actual roads

By Lim Chang-won Posted : January 17, 2019, 13:06 Updated : January 17, 2019, 13:06

[Courtesy of Hyundai Mobis]


SEOUL -- For the first time in the world, an urban 5G test site for self-driving vehicles will be set up this year in a commercial and residential district in Seoul in a state project to test new technologies and services on actual roads in a complicated city area. The project reflects a government campaign to take the upper hand in commercializing 5G technologies.

The site will appear by June in the Digital Media City, a high-tech complex which houses networked offices, apartments, exhibitions, conference halls, TV stations and cultural centers. It would be equipped with infrastructure such as a 5G vehicle-to-everything (V2X) system on actual roads.

The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport said Thursday that South Korea's top mobile carrier, SK Telecom involved in the establishment of a 5G mobile network, as the main operator of the testing ground for self-driving solutions.

The ministry promised to open the site to all those seeking to test and develop self-driving technologies. A 5G autonomous bus would be piloted with various start-ups testing new technologies.

The project is aimed at accelerating the development of autonomous driving technologies such as an intelligent transportation system called C-ITS that allows drivers to receive information through vehicle-to-vehicle and vehicle-infrastructure communication.

A smart infrastructure equipped with roadside sensors, V2X communication facilities and a control system will be built to support autonomous driving together. All equipment and facilities required for autonomous demonstration will be open for 24 hours free of charge, and roads will be controlled on weekends to test technologies on actual roads.

 
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