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  S. Korea's first private satellite settles in orbit for integrated image analysis service SEOUL -- South Korea's first private satellite for earth observation has safely reached its target orbit for a one-month test operation at an altitude of 500 kilometers (310 miles) to provide integrated image analysis services in high demand for satellite data in Asia and the Middle East. A SpaceX rocket blasted off on May 25 at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida and placed the low-orbit satellite named Sejong 1, developed by Hancom Inspace, a subsidiary of South Korea' 2022-05-27
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  Seoul's AI chatbot service for public inquiries gains popularity SEOUL -- "Seoul Talk," an artificial intelligence-based administrative service that takes care of public inquiries such as COVID-19 vaccination, has gained popularity. The chatbot deals with inquiries for 24 hours so that human assistants can focus on complicated inquiries. Chatbots communicate with customers through text conversations. Customers can choose to speak directly with human assistants if chatbots cannot provide a solution. The number of Seoul Talk users rose f 2022-05-26
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  SK Telecom aims to expand application of advanced quantum security solution to defense and public sectors SEOUL -- SK Telecom, a leading mobile carrier in South Korea, will expand the application of its advanced quantum security solution to defense and public sectors that require very high levels of security by developing products such as network equipment with enhanced security in cooperation with three domestic tech firms. Quantum cryptography has emerged as an essential solution for safeguarding critical information because it is impossible to copy data encoded in a quantum state. SK 2022-05-25
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  S. Korea to build R&D center to develop biodegradable cellulose nanofiber material SEOUL -- South Korea's southern province was selected to carry out a 10 billion won ($7.9 million) state project to build a research and development center for cellulose nanofiber, a nanoscale fiber material made from plant materials. Cellulose nanofiber materials can replace plastic materials thanks to their high strength and biodegradable features. Cellulose nanofiber (CNF) is produced by micro-refining cellulose, an important structural component of the primary cell wall of 2022-05-24
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  Researchers develop additive to increase lifespan of large-capacity battery electrodes SEOUL -- A joint team of researchers has developed an additive that can be applied to the electrolyte of large-capacity batteries and increase the lifespan of electrodes -- cathodes and anodes -- by preventing degradation by heat. The additive can become useful in the development and commercialization of log-life batteries for electric vehicles. Large-capacity batteries normally use cathodes with high nickel content and anodes made of carbon materials for better conductivity and o 2022-05-23
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  Hanhwa Group installs smart solar panel beehive to help preserve honeybees SEOUL -- In an effort to raise awareness about a rapid decrease in the population of honeybees worldwide, South Korea's Hanwha Group unveiled a smart beehive that protects the living environment of honeybees using solar power. The beehive capable of monitoring the temperature and humidity of bees' habitat will be used by researchers to increase the population of honeybees. Data released by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) showed that more th 2022-05-19
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  Hancom to launch S. Korea's first private satellite for integrated image analysis service SEOUL -- South Korea's first private satellite for earth observation will be launched aboard a SpaceX rocket with the aim of providing video services in high demand for satellite data in Asia and the Middle East. The ultra-small satellite weighing 10.8 kilograms would collect image data after a one-month test operation at an altitude of 500 kilometers (310 miles). The low-orbit satellite named Sejong 1, developed by Hancom Inspace, a subsidiary of South Korea's Hancom Group 2022-05-18
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  Researchers succeed in dissociation of amyloid-beta proteins involved in development of Alzheimer's disease SEOUL -- South Korean researchers have discovered a technique to safely dissociate beta-amyloid peptides, which are toxic proteins that form amyloid plaques in the brain to cause Alzheimer's disease. The technique uses low-frequency magnetoelectric-reactive nanoparticles that do not generate heat during operation. Beta-amyloid peptides are misfolded proteins that accumulate and form plaques in the brain. The misfolding of proteins occurs throughout the lifetime of a cell caused 2022-05-16
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  Researchers develop technique to visualize floral scent in real-time SEOUL -- Using a laser-based gas detection system, South Korean researchers have developed a technique for the visualization of flower fragrance patterns in real-time. The technique can be upgraded to be applied to gas detectors to monitor how volatile chemical compounds that can be easily vaporized are spread across indoor and outdoor spaces. Flowers emit sweet and fruity, or sometimes putrid scents to attract insects for pollination or ward off herbivores for protection. Scents i 2022-05-11
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  Researchers develop ultra-thin, highly efficient piezoelectric device SEOUL -- Researchers developed an ultra-thin and highly-efficient piezoelectric power generator that can generate electricity from the slightest movements of body parts. Conventional devices were bulky and they were unable to generate energy from small movements. The flexible device can adhere to the skin or other curved surfaces. Piezoelectric generators convert mechanical energy such as friction, vibration, and physical pressure into electricity. Along with photovoltaic generato 2022-05-10
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  State research institute upgrades open-source R&D platform to accelerate research collaboration SEOUL -- A state research institute in South Korea has upgraded its open-source research and development platform to allow anyone to make changes to computer programming codes or participate in various R&D projects. Open-source applications and platforms are based on the participation of people and their collective intelligence. The free-to-use programming applications have become a new paradigm in the fields of R&D. Various R&D projects can be branched out from a sin 2022-05-10
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  Researchers develop spider-inspired frequency damper for biosignal sensors SEOUL -- South Korean researchers have developed a frequency damper that is capable of neutralizing vibration noise so that a bioelectric module can accurately read and monitor biosignals. The damper was inspired by cuticular pad spiders. A cuticular pad is an organ located at the final segment of a spider's leg. The special soft pad is used for filtering unwanted vibrations from a spider web or from the ground when a spider is stalking its prey. The cuticular pad absorbs low-f 2022-05-09
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  Kakao Brain develops new face-swapping technology with simplified architecture SEOUL -- Kakao Brain, the AI research unit of South Korea's web service company Kakao, has developed a new technology that would expand the capabilities of smooth and fast face-swapping through enhanced identity embedding and simplified architecture. The company predicts its new technology is expected to develop various kinds of digital humans. Face swapping refers to the task of swapping faces between images or in a video, while maintaining the rest of the body and environment 2022-05-09
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  Samsung Electronics proposes considering all available bands for 6G SEOUL -- In a white paper, Samsung Electronics has proposed considering all available bands for 6G, from the low band under one gigahertz (GHz) to the high band in the 24-300 GHz range, saying the era of 6G is set to connect as many as 500 billion devices, with vehicles, appliances and even buildings being connected to a super-fast communications network. GHz is a unit of frequency equal to one billion hertz. The mid-band within the 7-24 GHz range is a candidate that can support f 2022-05-09
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  SK Telecom's in-house alliance invests in game developer to strengthen AI-Verse competitiveness SEOUL -- SK Telecom, a top mobile carrier in South Korea, and its sister company, SK Square made strategic investments in Haegin, a domestic game developer, to strengthen the competitiveness of their artificial intelligence and metaverse businesses and build an infrastructure for their expansion abroad. SK Telecom (SKT) and SK Square will invest a total of 50 billion won ($39 million) together to become the biggest strategic investor in Haegin. The size of their holdings was not 2022-05-06
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  Kakao promotes B2C2C as new catchword for open chat-based mobile messaging app SEOUL -- B2C2C is a new catchword promoted by South Korea's web service company Kakao to turn its popular mobile messaging app, Kakao Talk, into an open chat room. The ultimate goal is to target global markets through a metaverse platform. B2C2C combines B2C (business to consumer) with C2C (consumer to consumer). It simply means that a company can sell one product to one consumer who can in turn either sell or share the very same product with other consumers without the compa 2022-05-04
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  SKY Technology ties up with Intel to optimize game environment and promote joint marketing SEOUL -- SKY Technology, the developer of an easy non-fungible token (NFT) business platform in South Korea, tied up with U.S. technology giant Intel to optimize a game environment and promote global joint marketing. Under a memorandum of understanding, SKY Technology and Intel would promote technology cooperation to implement an optimal gaming environment on personal computers equipped with Intel's central processing units and graphics engines and provide industry-leading adva 2022-05-04
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  Researchers develop quick and accurate infectious disease diagnosis kit technology SEOUL -- Researchers have developed a quick and accurate diagnosis sensor kit technology that can effectively detect infectious diseases in 50 minutes. The rapid diagnosis technology is almost as accurate as the polymerase chain reaction technique that can detect diseases including COVID-19 with an accuracy rate of about 95 percent in about six hours. Polymerase chain reaction test equipment that uses blood samples is very bulky and requires many hours to come up with results. Rapi 2022-05-03
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  Seoul to adopt smart water meters for unmanned tap water usage monitoring SEOUL -- An internet-of-things-based smart water meter will be adopted by Seoul City to conveniently monitor and record tap water consumption at homes. Currently, government workers visit each house regularly to check and record water consumption regardless of weather conditions. Smart water meters are automated remote metering devices that measure water usage to enable accurate billing. As of December 2021, about 350 water metermen are deployed in the capital city to inspect some 2022-05-03
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  Seoul to expand IoT-based monitoring device for prevention of lonely death SEOUL -- Seoul will distribute more internet of things-based "smart plugs" to vulnerable single households. The smart monitoring device will monitor the electricity consumption of home appliances and notify human caregivers if the energy usage is too low. According to data released by the national statistics office in 2021, the number of South Korea's single-person households reached 6.64 million in 2020, accounting for 31.7 percent of total households. Some 50 perce 2022-05-02