Samsung powers private 5G, robots in South Korea

Samsung Electronics and Naver Cloud joined forces to switch on South Korea’s first private 5G network at Naver’s new second headquarters, dubbed 1784.  

Samsung’s network solutions are supporting Naver’s private 5G commercial service to power cloud-based autonomous mobile robots, which will be used to provide services – including coffee delivery – to employees throughout the building.  

Naver Cloud operates the global IT infrastructure and enterprise solution services for Naver and its subsidiaries while providing its public cloud services, Naver Cloud Platform, to various companies and organizations in a range of industries.

Just a couple months ago, Samsung Electronics and Naver Cloud signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) for a private 5G network collaboration. The companies will continue working together to develop new business models and use cases to expand private 5G networks globally, helping support the buildout of networks for enterprises using Samsung’s private 5G network solutions and Naver’s cloud technology.

“Naver’s new headquarters serves as a test bed to explore technologies of the future, where 5G networks and cloud play a central role,” said Sangyoung Han, executive director of Cloud Strategy and Planning at Naver Cloud, in a statement. “Together with Samsung, we will continue to develop new private 5G network business models and cooperate to help more companies achieve digital transformation with cloud technology.”

Robots serving lunch  

Naver’s autonomous mobile robot services leverage both Naver and Samsung technologies to introduce a private 5G use case. Serving as assistants for employees, the robots provide services such as delivering packages, coffee and lunch boxes to employees throughout the building. There are 40 robots moving around three floors within the 1784 headquarters, with plans to expand to hundreds of robots traveling around the entire 36-floor building this year.

The cloud acts as a shared brain for the robot, named “Rookie,” instead of a built-in chipset, according to Samsung. The private 5G network plays the role of a neural network that connects the robots and the cloud, enabling the cloud to control and support tens of thousands of robots in real time and allowing them to “be smarter together,” the network vendor said.

In addition, advanced technologies such as digital twins, 3D/HD mapping and AI are applied to help robots learn to find their way inside the building by creating a virtual space that replicates the real world.

Private 5G solutions

The commercial private 5G solutions powering Naver’s application include Samsung’s Compact Core and 5G radios supporting 4.7 GHz and 28 GHz spectrum, which are dedicated for private 5G networks in Korea. The technology they’re using includes New Radio-Dual Connectivity (NR-DC), allowing devices or end users to connect to mid-band and millimeter wave technology simultaneously.

“Our collaboration with Naver highlights how we creatively drive business innovation through future technology convergence. We are thrilled to work with Naver to successfully realize our vision with private 5G network solutions,” said Yong Chang, vice president of Global Sales and Marketing, Networks Business at Samsung Electronics, in a statement. “Samsung will continue to work with public institutions and enterprises to deliver diverse use cases for transportation systems, hospitals, schools, SOC facilities and more.”

Samsung says it has pioneered the successful delivery of 5G end-to-end solutions including chipsets, radios and core.