Naver said that the new drone system is expected to be commercially available in 2023
Naver’s cloud computing arm, Naver Cloud, has partnered with U.S. chip manufacturer Qualcomm and local drone developer Argosdyne to build what it claims to be Korea’s first drones running on a 5G wireless network.
Under the terms of the partnership, Naver Cloud will build the 5G network infrastructure for drone services, while Argosdyne will develop drones that can be operated to run on Qualcomm’s Flight RB5 5G platform.
Flight RB5 5G is an artificial intelligence and 5G-enabled platform that provides increased security and data control for drones.
“The 5G-based cloud service is the ultimate solution that supports communication between devices and the real-time data analysis and processing of autonomous drones,” said Kim Tae-chang, business chief at Naver Cloud. “Naver, as the business operator of the nation’s first Eum 5G network, will create new business opportunities for 5G drones.”
The three companies expect to develop a prototype drone and carry out testing of the new technology in the second half of the year, with the new offering expected to be commercially available in 2023.
Earlier this month, Samsung Electronics and Naver Cloud announced that the companies have joined together to switch on what they claim to be South Korea’s first private 5G network.
Samsung noted that its network solution will support Naver’s private 5G commercial service to power cloud-based autonomous mobile robots created to provide convenient services to employees throughout one of its headquarters.
Naver Cloud operates the global IT infrastructure and enterprise solution services for Naver and its subsidiaries while providing its public cloud services, Naver Cloud Platform, to a number of companies and organizations across several industries.
Samsung Electronics and Naver Cloud signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) in March 2022 for a private 5G network collaboration. The companies noted they will continue working together to develop new business models and use cases to expand private 5G networks globally.
Naver’s autonomous mobile robot services provide convenience services such as delivering packages, coffee and lunch boxes to employees throughout the building. There are currently 40 robots moving around three floors within the building, with plans to expand to hundreds of robots traveling around the entire 36-floor building this year.
The commercial private 5G solutions powering Naver’s application include Samsung’s Compact Core and 5G radios supporting 4.7GHz and 28GHz spectrum bands, which are dedicated for private 5G networks in Korea. The private 5G radios from Samsung include an optimized uplink allocation feature, with an allocation ratio of up to 40%
