SKT-POSTECH Improve Smartphone Antenna Transmission Quality with 'On-Device AI'

Typically, smartphones are equipped with 4 antennas
Development of technology to expand up to 8 antennas
AI enables real-time optimization of transmission performance
across one million smartphone usage scenarios
Confirmed the potential of on-device AI
Ongoing research on advanced technologies for further enhancement

SKT researchers and Professor Hong Won-bin's team at POSTECH testing the technology in a POSTECH laboratory

SK Telecom announced on the 6th that it has developed and successfully demonstrated a technology that increases the number of antennas embedded in smartphones to enhance communication performance, in collaboration with Professor Wonbin Hong's team from the Department of Electrical and Electronics Engineering at POSTECH (Pohang University of Science and Technology).

The newly developed technology utilizes on-device AI to maintain the same frequency environment and smartphone size as before, while increasing the number of antennas typically installed in smartphones from 4 to up to 8, demonstrating the potential to improve data transmission quality.

This technology uses artificial intelligence to reliably respond to various variables across more than one million smartphone usage environments. It is expected to have high applicability by providing solutions to antenna performance issues that vary according to users' postures and environmental changes.

Previous attempts to expand multiple antennas were hardware-centered, but this research opened new possibilities by leveraging AI.

During the demonstration phase, SK Telecom used AI to solve the problem of increased mutual interference as the number of antennas embedded in mobile devices increased. Based on information learned by on-device AI, mutual interference was minimized, enabling real-time optimization of antenna performance.

In the demonstration conducted in a laboratory environment, SK Telecom confirmed a significant improvement in data transmission speed under the same conditions as existing smartphones by using measurement equipment from the global communication measurement equipment company Anritsu.

SK Telecom plans to advance this technology and promote standardization through 3GPP, the mobile communication standardization organization, while also concretizing a roadmap for commercialization through collaboration with chipset manufacturers, component companies, and smartphone manufacturers.

Additionally, SK Telecom continues to conduct research related to on-device AI in line with the AI era. Through these efforts, it received the ‘Excellent AI Utilization Case’ award in the on-device AI-based smartphone power consumption reduction technology category at the ‘Leading Light Awards 2024’ last September.

Ryu Takgi, Head of SK Telecom’s Infrastructure Technology Division, stated, “This is a meaningful achievement confirming that smartphone performance and communication technology can evolve to the next level through on-device AI.” Professor Wonbin Hong of POSTECH said, “Although the number of antennas is an important factor in communication competitiveness, there have been difficulties in technological development due to various practical constraints. By combining on-device AI with antenna expansion technology, we can overcome existing limitations and create diverse added values.”

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