An abnormal rise in temperature was detected at about 70 meters from the entrance of Hyehwa State Building's underground communications zone. A fire was suspected due to high temperatures of 95 degrees, and a 5G robot was immediately moved to the location. The robot's thermal infrared camera and optical camera broadcast the detailed situation of the site in real time through the 5G network. The robot then sprayed the digestive powder with an aerosol fire extinguisher to make its evolution successful. All this took place in three minutes.
A flood alarm went off at Man Hall 1-2 in Gwancheol-dong, Jongno-gu, Seoul. Self-driving 5G robots will open the lid of flooded manhole. The situation then ended when he entered the flooded manhole and drained the water outside.
KT (Chairman Hwang Chang-gyu) held a press conference at Daedeok Research Complex in Daejeon on Sept. 4 to unveil the "OSP Innovation Center." KT said at the meeting that it will change the paradigm of building and operating telecommunication infrastructure based on innovative technologies developed.
Outside Plant (OSP) refers to basic communication infrastructure such as communication tools, communication owners, and manholes in addition to communication equipment such as base stations and servers. Currently, there are 230 OSPs in South Korea that are operated by KT and 790,000 in manhole. It is expected that efficiency and stability of OSPs will become more important in super-connected society that 5G will create.
To innovate OSPs that are needed by the 5G era, KT has carried out extensive inspection and improvement activities on telecommunication infrastructure facilities. It also regularly conducts large-scale emergency communication recovery drills to enable swift action in the event of a disaster.
In July, it established "KT OSP Innovation Center" to develop innovative technologies for next-generation telecommunication infrastructures. OSP Innovation Center, located in Daedeok Research Complex, is developing technologies for stable but efficient OSP establishment and operation and experimenting in actual situations.
KT uses 5G and AI-based robots to manage communication tools and manholes more safely and reliably.
Existing fire detectors took time to respond in real-time in urgent situations. Power needed for sensor operation was also cited as another cause of the fire. Also, when a fire broke out in the communication area, it was difficult to enter due to toxic gas.
KT explained that it would solve these problems with its newly developed "Cable Tunnel Temperature Remote Sensing (CTTRS)" and 5G robots. If CTTRS detects abnormal changes in temperature inside a communication zone, a rail-type 5G robot installed in a communication zone will detect the situation of the communication zone and extinguish the fire early.
The rail-type 5G robot travels along rails installed in communication tools and can remotely control the 5G environment through the network. Full HD camera and IR camera will broadcast on real-time situations to 5G and spray fire powder with aerosol fire extinguisher to extinguish fires in the early stages.
"Manhole Flooding Remote Sensing (MFRS)", which was developed by KT, is an AI-based distributed sonar method that can determine whether or not manhole is flooded. The robot checks the position of the submerged manhole by the MFRS and perform and performs work on the site. 5G remote-controlled robot based on self-driving technology will search for manhole environments and carry out water transfer measures. The MFRS expects to help prevent manhole work accidents as it can check inside manhole with a 360-degree camera and harmful gas sensor.
