SK Telecom has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Seoul Metropolitan Government to develop and verify high-definition (HD) Map technologies for autonomous driving.

Under the MoU, the parties have agreed to collaborate with each other to develop real-time update technology for HD map covering a total 121km of public roads.

The roads were designated by Seoul’s Cooperative-Intelligent Transport System (C-ITS) project, with the installation of 5G Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) in 1,600 buses and 100 taxis.

C-ITS is led by the Seoul Metropolitan Government to build an intelligent transportation system infrastructure including 5G network and vehicle-to-everything (V2X) system on major roads of Seoul.

In January, SK Telecom secured the project to deploy 5G infrastructure and technologies in the area.

SK Telecom B2B business division executive vice-president and head Choi Il-gyu said: “The super-fast, hyper-connectivity 5G network is essential as a tremendous amount data is constantly generated by connected vehicles.

“SK Telecom will work closely with the Seoul Metropolitan Government to turn Seoul into ‘5G Smart Mobility Hub’ by applying the most innovative 5G technologies.”

In addition, the two parties have agreed to jointly develop an automated road infrastructure management system and advanced transportation safety services based on big data analytics.

They will also create an autonomous driving network by opening up related infrastructure such as HD map and data collected by 5G ADAS.

Upon completion of the project, Seoul is set to become the first city in the world to use 5G to drive innovations in public transport.