SK Telecom targets carmakers with maps for autonomous vehicles

By Park Sae-jin Posted : May 28, 2018, 11:39 Updated : May 28, 2018, 11:39

[Photograph by Park Sae-jin]


SEOUL -- South Korea's largest mobile carrier, SK Telecom, has unveiled an independent  high-definition map solution that would help autonomous vehicles navigate safely. Potential clients will be carmakers.

The company introduced HD Map, a map solution for autonomous vehicles and smart cars, at the World IT Show, an IT technology exhibition hosted by the Ministry of Science and ICT in Seoul last week.

"Maps created by the solution are not for humans but for autonomous vehicles. They will help cars navigate to their destinations safely," Kwon Dae-sung, a team manager at SK Telecom's HD Map department, told Aju News. "The maps will become a vital part of an autonomous vehicle infrastructure."

Three-dimensional maps of roads and surroundings will be created with cars fitted with many sensors including cameras, radars and lidars which use lasers to detect obstacles in close range. SK Telecom said its solution is designed for vehicles capable of level 4 and level 5 automation, which require intervention by a driver just in case of an emergent situation.

"HD Map is for business to business models. We are currently in talks with various global carmakers," Kwon said, adding his company aims to commercialize the map solution in about four years. SK Telecom will finish mapping all expressways in South Korea by the end of this year and all roads in urban and rural areas by the end of next year, he said.

For many years, the company has tried to develop an autonomous vehicle solution. Last week, SK Telecom joined the OneMap Alliance involving NavInfo of China, Pioneer of Japan and HERE Technologies, an Amsterdam-based mapping service provider, to produce HD maps by 2020.

With the alliance's super precision maps, autonomous mobile operators will save time and money on building individual HD maps. The alliance will include a real-time update solution needed to upload the change of surroundings recognized by vehicles through 5G networks.

In January, SK Telecom forged an alliance with HERE to develop 5G network-based mapping services and technology related to autonomous driving.
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