A Platform for Car Life Innovation
SK Telecom has entered into collaboration with domestic and foreign companies, including Harman International Industries, to take the lead in 5G-based autonomous drive vehicle market.
SK Telecom signed business agreements and memorandums of understanding (MOUs) with domestic and overseas mobility companies at the world's largest electronics exhibition CES 2019 in Las Vegas on Jan. 9 (local time).
First of all, SK Telecom will cooperate with Harman, the world’s largest producer of electronic products for automobiles, and Sinclair Broadcasting Group, the largest U.S. terrestrial broadcaster, to jointly develop a vehicle platform that will lead car life innovation in the United States. The three companies will jointly develop a vehicle platform that allows drivers all over the United States to use high-quality terrestrial broadcasting, real-time HD map updates and V2X through broadcasting networks.
In addition, SK Telecom will cooperate with domestic and overseas mobility companies, including Zoox and DA Technology, to commercialize 5G autonomous driving services. The company plans to develop a variety of services such as autonomous driving services for people who are marginalized in terms of the use of transportation means, and security and anti-disaster services based on autonomous driving technology. In particular, Zoox develops software for self-driving cars and is considered one of the top-notch autonomous navigation technology companies along with Google Waymo and GM Cruise. DA Technology produces facilities that are used to manufacture secondary batteries for electric vehicles.
Global market researcher Navigant Research forecasts that autonomous vehicles will account for about 75 percent of all cars running on the road in 2035. If 50 percent of current vehicles are replaced by autonomous vehicles, the economic effects will amount to about 250 trillion won a year. The automobile industry aims to develop autonomous vehicles at level 4 where drivers control cars only during emergencies. Industry experts say that fully autonomous driver-free cars of level 5 will begin to be mass-produced in 2030.