SKT and Goyang City Collaborate to Build Drone Industry Ecosystem

[Asia Economy Reporter Seulgina Jo] SK Telecom is joining hands with Goyang City to create infrastructure for revitalizing the Korean drone industry.

On the 19th, SK Telecom announced that it signed a business agreement with Goyang City at Goyang City Hall to establish a drone industry ecosystem. This collaboration was based on a mutual understanding to create human and material infrastructure for the activation and virtuous cycle ecosystem of the domestic drone industry.

Goyang City plans to invest a total of 14 billion KRW by September 2022 to construct the "Goyang Drone Anchor Center" on a 4,524m2 site near Hwajeon Station on the Gyeongui-Jungang Line, with one basement floor and three above-ground floors. The center will include an indoor drone flight experience hall and will house drone development companies and research and development institutions, serving as an advanced base for the drone industry.

SK Telecom will provide mentoring to help companies and institutions moving into the center overcome technical barriers they may face during the development stage, based on the technology and business experience accumulated through its high-definition real-time video monitoring solution, "T Livecaster." Additionally, SK Telecom and Goyang City will jointly discover new business models needed at the commercialization stage.

“T Livecaster,” commercialized for the first time in Korea by SK Telecom, is a solution that remotely controls drones via mobile communication networks while transmitting and receiving high-definition video captured by drones in real time. It is currently used by over 60 public institutions and companies, including the Fire Headquarters, National Police Agency, National Forensic Service, Chungcheongnam-do Province, Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power, Korea Western Power, and Samsung C&T. In May, SK Telecom also launched a subscription-based service called "T Livecaster Plan" targeting small and medium-sized enterprises and research institutes.

Furthermore, SK Telecom provides drone-utilizing companies with "T Livecaster TX," a software module for mission computers, enabling them to use SK Telecom’s proprietary high-definition, low-latency streaming technology in their ground control systems (GCS). T Livecaster is compatible not only with domestically produced drones equipped with Pixhawk FC (flight controller) but also with DJI drones, which hold the number one global market share, and AUTEL Robotics drones from the United States.

Choi Nak-hoon, Head of SK Telecom Smart Factory CO (Company), stated, “SK Telecom is transforming from a telecommunications company into an AI company, with one of the core areas being the robotics industry, including drones. Based on the technology accumulated from drone communication and software operation experience, we will contribute to revitalizing the domestic drone industry by providing total solutions necessary for drone services, such as video monitoring, spatial information platforms, and solar power plant management.”

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