Robot Guards Safety 24/7... SKT Jointly Develops AI Patrol Robot

[Asia Economy Reporter Oh Su-yeon] SK Telecom announced on the 7th that it will jointly develop and commercialize an ‘Autonomous Driving AI Patrol Robot’ in collaboration with Newbility, a leading company in autonomous delivery robots, and SK Shieldus, a specialized convergence security service company, based on artificial intelligence (AI) technology.

On the same day, the three companies signed an MOU at SK Shieldus’s Samsung-dong office. SKT’s AI video recognition and transmission technology will be applied to Newbility’s autonomous driving robot technology and remote control solutions, and SK Shieldus’s security solutions and sales infrastructure will be utilized to check the efficiency of the AI patrol robot service and accelerate its commercial launch. The ‘Autonomous Driving AI Patrol Robot’ service is a security and guard service where an autonomous driving robot continuously moves within a designated area to monitor it and dispatches security personnel from the control center upon detecting unusual situations.

A pilot test of the 'AI Patrol Robot' on the campus of Duksung Women's University
[Photo by SKT]

Transforming Delivery Robots into Patrol Robots by Integrating AI

‘Newbi’ is an autonomous delivery robot that recognizes and avoids obstacles by combining GPS, cameras, and sensors. Instead of expensive LiDAR sensors, it applies a camera-based autonomous driving solution, which is its unique strength in price competitiveness. The three companies are reviewing the market potential for patrol robots targeting places with 24-hour monitoring demand and many CCTV blind spots, such as schools, factories, and public institutions. They upgraded Newbi into a cost-effective patrol robot, resolving the price burden, which is a barrier to early adoption.

SKT applied its proprietary real-time high-definition video streaming technology and vision AI video analysis technology to the control system equipped on ‘Newbi,’ and newly installed a low-light 360-degree rotating camera for nighttime patrols. The AI patrol robot autonomously drives within a set space, enabling 24-hour video monitoring and warning broadcasts, drawing attention in the security market as a means to strengthen public safety and assist facility management.

Since February 22, the AI patrol robot has been undergoing pilot testing at Duksung Women’s University Ssangmun Geunhwa Campus located in Dobong-gu, Seoul. The AI patrol robot autonomously drives and monitors a 900-meter course in about 15 minutes, starting from the campus main gate guard post, passing through the main lecture hall, Chami Lisa Memorial Hall, and the College of Arts, then returning to the main gate. It automatically starts patrolling at preset times, and the control room monitors the video sent by the robot in real time. Key functions such as recorded announcement broadcasts are being tested as needed. The three companies plan to complete the pilot test at Duksung Women’s University by the 10th of this month and then survey satisfaction and additional requirements from school security personnel and stakeholders to improve the AI patrol robot service.

Main Contract to be Signed within Q2... Official Service Planned within the Year

Based on the pilot test results, the specifications and functions necessary for commercializing the AI patrol robot service will be finalized by the end of March. Subsequently, a main contract including each company’s roles for joint development, cost-sharing plans, and business models will be signed within the second quarter, and a commercial service will be launched within the year. Last June, during the ‘SK Telecom Open 2022’ tournament, SKT and Newbility deployed the autonomous driving robot ‘Newbi’ at Jeju Pinx GC to provide water and beverages to galleries and players.

Lee Sang-min, CEO of Newbility, said, “It is very meaningful and gratifying to collaborate with SKT, which is advancing as an AI company, and SK Shieldus, which leads convergence security services,” adding, “We will make every effort to commercialize a highly complete AI patrol robot and continuously expand the application scope of new services using autonomous driving robots.”

Kim Yoon-ho, Head of Growth Promotion at SK Shieldus, said, “The autonomous driving AI patrol robot can eliminate security blind spots and identify various risk factors in real time, which is expected to improve the efficiency of security work,” and added, “Starting with this patrol robot, we will continue to introduce various robots that can help with facility safety and fire prevention, taking the lead in protecting everyday safety.”

Choi Nak-hoon, Head of SKT Industrial AIX CO, said, “The core of SKT’s robot business is to solve areas that robot manufacturers find difficult to handle directly through AI technology and solutions despite customer demands,” and stated, “Starting with this agreement, we will cooperate with SK Shieldus and Newbility to safely make various everyday spaces such as university campuses, apartment complexes, and industrial sites autonomous driving robot-enabled.”

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