SKT Supports COVID-19 Response with AI, Assists Self-Quarantine Monitoring System

[Asia Economy Reporter Seulgina Cho] SK Telecom announced on the 20th that it has developed an artificial intelligence (AI) system called ‘NUGU Care Call’ to monitor the symptoms of individuals under self-quarantine and active surveillance related to the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19), and will support quarantine sites with this system.

‘NUGU Care Call’ is a system where SK Telecom’s AI ‘NUGU’ checks for the presence of COVID-19 related symptoms such as fever, body temperature, cough, and sore throat of self-quarantine and active surveillance subjects through phone calls.

Since the COVID-19 outbreak, local public health centers have been confirming the presence of symptoms twice daily via phone calls (non-face-to-face) to self-quarantine and active surveillance subjects suspected of infection, following the guidelines of the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency. SK Telecom’s AI NUGU now takes over this role.

By having AI perform tasks previously done by public health center personnel, SK Telecom expects systematic and rapid accumulation of monitoring data and a reduction in workload at quarantine sites.

SK Telecom is the first mobile carrier to build an AI assistant on the mobile communication network (IMS), allowing self-quarantine and active surveillance subjects to use ‘NUGU Care Call’ via phone calls without any separate app or device, and public health center officials to use it through a dedicated website.

When a public health center official logs into the ‘NUGU Care Call’ website and registers contacts, ‘NUGU Care Call’ calls the subjects to check for symptoms, immediately converts their responses into data, uploads it to the website, and the officials can then check the subjects’ symptom status through the website.

SK Telecom explained that ‘NUGU Care Call’ utilizes NLU and STT/TTS technologies to implement a question-and-answer system closer to human conversation rather than an ARS-style Q&A requiring yes or no answers. This allows for more accurate checking of symptom presence.

Additionally, ‘NUGU Care Call’ has customization features for each public health center, enabling use tailored to local circumstances, and AI reception scenarios can be added based on feedback after deployment at quarantine sites.

SK Telecom has signed an agreement with Gyeongsangnam-do and will start the service on the 20th for about 1,500 self-quarantine and active surveillance subjects in 18 cities and counties of Gyeongsangnam-do. The company plans to expand cooperation with other local governments to contribute to COVID-19 response efforts.

Lee Hyun-ah, head of SK Telecom’s AI Service Division, said, “As the COVID-19 pandemic prolongs and public health officials continue their hard work, we hope ‘NUGU Care Call’ will be of help,” adding, “We will continue to discover ways for SK Telecom’s AI technology to assist the public sector.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.