LG Uplus joins project to upgrade 5G-based user location tracking system

SEOUL -- LG Uplus, a mobile carrier in South Korea, will participate in a joint project to upgrade a tracking system that can precisely track user locations even indoors. Combined with a 5G network, it can respond to various situations such as the location tracking of emergency patients and quarantined people for infectious disease.

LG Uplus (LGU+) said it has tied up with the Busan IT Industry Promotion Agency (BIPA) to cooperate in 5G-based ICT virtual convergence content business and upgrade a 5G-based continuous user location tracking system developed by Realmaker, a startup based in the southern city of Busan.

LGU+ aims to apply an upgraded service to smart cities at home and abroad. The service allows users to measure their position within a margin of error of 1~2m with Wi-Fi signals and information on radio wave reception intensity even indoors. The system enables an augmented reality convergence service with spatial information recognition technology.

Combined with a 5G network, the system can respond to various situations such as the location tracking of emergency patients and quarantined people for infectious disease. "We will be able to provide various convergence content and solutions by utilizing LGU+'s 5G network and ICT technologies," said LGU+'s new business division head Chol Won-seok.

Indoor tracking technology using matchbox-sized beacons is widely used in South Korea. Beacons that transmit Bluetooth low energy (BLE) radio waves are places inside a building to communicate with smart devices. Samsung Electronics released this month a smart tracker device that can be used for locating pets, key rings, or people such as dementia patients. The smart tag communicates with nearby Samsung Galaxy smartphones for tracking.