SK Telecom plans to install Mobileye ADAS in 200 vehicles run by local car-sharing firm SoCar in a move to test its own safety technologies integrated with network, according to a source familiar with the matter.

Israeli tech firm Mobileye’s advanced driver-assistance system, or ADAS, refers to vehicle systems used by most global automakers as a safety feature. It alerts drivers to potential collisions or accidents and helps them keep in the correct lane.

The local telecom operator plans to integrate the vehicle safety technology with its network to develop its own remote ADAS technology that collects and analyzes data on drivers’ behavior, traffic information and car accidents.


SK Telecom already completed the solution test for remote ADAS technology in July using 10 Mobileye ADAS products in partnership with SoCar.

“SKT plans to expand the proof of concept project -- a pilot project to demonstrate feasibility -- by additionally installing 200 ADAS units in SoCar’s fleet until the end of this year,” a source familiar with the matter told The Korea Herald.

The mobile carrier’s latest move is part of its push to brace for the growing self-driving vehicle industry amid a saturated telecom market in the nation. Its two other rivals KT and LG Uplus have also begun advances into the market by each partnering with Mobileye and KT running 5G-based self-driving buses.

SK Telecom is also developing various vehicle technologies including 5G vehicle-to-everything technology and 3-D high-precision map solution apart from the remote ADAS technology.

The 5G vehicle-to-everything technology, or 5G V2X, is a network allowing cars to exchange real-time traffic information with vehicle control centers and traffic lights to prevent accidents. The 5G network allows faster communication with a response time of less than 0.001 second.

The 3-D high-precision map solution captures images of objects smaller than 25 square centimeters, enabling a car to avoid obstacles that are too small to be captured by existing map solutions available in the market.

Last month, SK Telecom was granted permission by the government to test autonomous cars on public roads using Hyundai vehicles as the first local mobile carrier.

By Shin Ji-hye (shinjh@heraldcorp.com)