Kyuseong Hwang
B2B Business, Networks Business at Samsung Electronics
In June 2022, Samsung Networks announced collaboration with NAVER Cloud to launch the 5G cloud-based autonomous mobile robot service using a live commercial private 5G network. This was the significant case in that it is that world's first autonomous mobile robot on private 5G network as well as the first private 5G commercial case in Korea.
This blog will explore details of innovative 5G autonomous robot use case and provide readers of full picture of how it became possible.
Why enterprises like Naver implement advanced use cases on private 5G network, not public network or Wi-Fi? As one of the most innovative enterprise in Korea, Naver is focusing on 'Tech Convergence' to test and verify various future technologies. For this, they needed more than Telco's commercial network to ensure data privacy and high performance, and dedicated network was the answer to this.
NAVER Cloud is an IT subsidiary of NAVER Corporation (NAVER). The Naver is a global ICT conglomerate headquartered in Pangyo Techno Valley – the Silicon Valley of Korea – that operates the Korea’s largest search portal. Naver also manages global mobile services such as the mobile/video messenger, and group communication service, digital comics and metaverse service. Through continuous R&D, the company is pursuing innovations of future technologies such as AI, robotics, mobility and cloud computing, and is trying to cooperate with various partners.
Samsung's private 5G network solution is supporting Naver's exciting tech convergence journey.
Robot Services in the Tech Convergence Building, “1784”
NAVER recently opened its new headquarters in Korea, known as "1784," and named after its address and the first year of the Industrial Revolution. As its name implies, 1784 is more than just a workspace; the entire building serves as a test bed for converging future technologies. NAVER is conducting many experiments that connect people, technology and space together and integrate the real world with the digital one, allowing everyone in the building to experience futuristic technologies in their daily lives.
And one of the most innovative experiments is the 5G autonomous robot service powered by Samsung's private 5G network solution. To enable daily robot service, all the steps are removed from the floor and 'ROBOPORT' which is elevator specially designed for robot transport was adopted at 1784.
With the deployment of the private 5G network, autonomous mobile robots named “Rookie” have begun offering delivery service at 1784 – delivering packages, coffees and lunch boxes to NAVER’s employees.
Serving as assistants for employees, the robots help them save time and effort on daily tasks, enabling people to focus on meaningful work. This robot delivery service is currently available on three floors of 1784, and by the end of this year, it is expected to expand to all 36 floors in the building.
Cloud-Based Autonomous Mobile Robots powered by Private 5G Network
What makes Rookie so special is that it uses the cloud platform as its brain, which is connected to Samsung’s private 5G network solution. Rookie shares the vast amounts of data it collects while roaming the building with the central cloud, which utilizes the accumulated data to make hundreds of Rookies smarter simultaneously and control them more effectively. With the cloud platform, it’s possible to quickly improve service quality without having to upgrade individual robots one by one. In addition, the robot's power consumption is reduced, and they can be designed and developed in compact sizes as high-performance processing is conducted in the cloud.
A private 5G network is crucial for the robot service due to its need for low-latency and multi-device connections, which an existing Wi-Fi solution can't offer. The robots must be able to make quick decisions when moving around the building while avoiding obstacles and delivering things to the right destinations, so fast speed and low-latency are essential. Also, since hundreds of robots need to be connected to the central cloud, a reliable and stable network is required. Samsung's private 5G network solution meets the requirements needed and is playing a pivotal role in realizing many services that have previously been impossible or limited.
Rookie itself represents true "Tech Convergence." New technologies such as digital twinning, 3D/HD mapping and AI were also adopted to make Rookie come to life. For this project, the robots leverage a digital twin that represents a virtual replica of the real world and a 3D high-precision mapping device. With the help of this digital twin, the robots can move around and complete tasks easily, no matter how complicated the building’s layout is. Combined with the cloud system, digital twinning technology enables humans to monitor hundreds of robots and detect errors in real-time.
For this innovative robot service, Samsung and NAVER Cloud deployed Korea's first private 5G network in 1784 using Samsung’s latest private 5G network solutions.
In May, Samsung launched radios and Compact Macro designed for private 5G networks that supports 4.7GHz and 28GHz spectrums, private 5G networks dedicated spectrum in Korea. The equipment is the first in Korea to adopt NR-DC (New Radio Dual Connectivity) technology, which simultaneously supports both 4.7GHz and 28GHz, increasing the spectrum efficiency.
Samsung’s private 5G network solution features wider uplink allocation, which is doubled from 20% to about 40% to support high upload volumes. While download quality and speeds are often emphasized, the function of uploading is also important for an enterprise's private network. In Rookie’s case, upload capacity and speeds are crucial, since the robots have to send data accumulated through their interactions with the building and people to the central cloud. Samsung accommodated this special need when developing its private 5G equipment, which will enable enterprises, schools and SOC facilities to quickly upload vast amounts of data.
With the increased demands on digital transformation and dedicated network from enterprises, private network is one of the hot trends in the telecommunications industry. In line with this trends, growing number of countries have assigned or dedicated spectrum for private network, and globally 7941 companies are deploying private networks or granted a license as of May 2022. Private network is expected to expand throughout the globe with its key benefits of supporting high performance while ensuring security and data privacy.
Samsung Networks led the early introduction and commercialization of 5G in global including the US, Korea and Japan, and is now actively deploying private networks in these markets, tailored to the needs of various sectors, such as enterprise businesses, transportation, education and factories. Samsung will continue to expand its footprints and bring private 5G networks to global market.
1Source : GSA (May, 2022)
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