This expanded private 5G network collaboration follows Samsung’s announcement with NAVER Cloud in 2022, when the companies launched a private 5G network at NAVER’s new headquarters to power autonomous mobile robots.

Wireless communication is an essential part of environments supporting highly mobile workers and machinery. Samsung and NAVER Cloud’s collaboration underlines 5G networks’ ability to significantly improve worksite operations and will include a variety of next-generation applications to enhance Hoban Construction’s workflow. New construction industry-specific 5G applications that will be utilized at the company’s worksite include:

• Drone-based high-resolution monitoring will provide live inspection videos, reducing the need for on-site visits and enabling issues to be detected earlier.
• IoT concrete strength sensors will support real-time monitoring of concrete temperature and strength, providing real-time, accurate information during the curing phase.
• Construction site management solutions will help keep track of construction progress and optimize project outcomes. They will allow workers both on- and off-site to track progress, view floor plans and share updates through visual dashboards.
• Smart safety jackets are equipped with gas detection sensors, 140-degree full HD cameras and safety buttons, creating a safer working environment by enabling potential safety risks to be detected earlier.
• Real-time CCTV video monitoring will help reduce on-site hazards and errors with 4K video streaming capabilities. With wireless transmission support, CCTV cameras can be easily installed throughout worksites.

These 5G applications will streamline communications for human-to-human, machine-to-machine and human-to-machine interactions, helping Hoban Construction improve on-site collaboration and allocate resources more effectively.

“We are excited to partner with Samsung and NAVER Cloud to deploy Korea’s first 5G private network in the construction sector,” said Kap Moon, Vice President of Management Division, Hoban Construction. “We look forward to using this advanced technology to enhance safety at our worksites, improve construction workflow and provide workers with real-time data to allocate resources and deliver better outcomes for our projects.”

“This collaboration with Samsung and Hoban Construction represents an exciting milestone in our efforts to bring 5G to various industries in Korea,” said Sang-young Han, Executive Director at NAVER Cloud Strategy and Planning. “As Korea’s first private 5G common carrier, we are confident that the benefits of private 5G networks will be transformative for the entire construction sector, and we look forward to showcasing these benefits to the wider industry.”

NAVER Cloud has a license for private 5G dedicated spectrum in Korea, making the private spectrum available to enterprises. NAVER Cloud is also leading the project, managing partnerships with the IT companies providing various solutions.

For this project, Samsung provided its outdoor radios, baseband units and advanced core solution — 5G Standalone Compact Core. These solutions support the mid-band (4.7GHz) spectrum dedicated to private 5G networks in Korea. Samsung’s 5G SA Compact Core is a “one box” solution that can run on a single server hardware, ideal for quick deployments and less complex operation.

“We are delighted to build on our collaboration with NAVER Cloud to bring new 5G innovations to Hoban Construction,” said Yong Chang, Vice President of Global Sales and Marketing, Networks Business at Samsung Electronics. “Our advanced network technology will help construction companies in expanding what’s possible, by bringing forth new tools and applications that will optimize their operations and improve safety on-site.”

Private 5G networks have the potential to transform and improve business operations in many industries by enabling new use cases for automation, productivity and safety.

Samsung has pioneered the successful delivery of 5G end-to-end solutions including chipsets, radios and core. Through ongoing research and development, Samsung continues to drive the industry to advance 5G networks with a market-leading product portfolio ranging from RAN and Core to private network solutions and AI-powered automation tools. The company currently provides network solutions to mobile operators that deliver connectivity to hundreds of millions of users worldwide.

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 myriad of companies and organizations in diverse industries.

Samsung Electronics and NAVER Cloud signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) in March 2022 for a private 5G network collaboration. The companies will continue working together to develop new business models and use cases to expand private 5G networks globally, helping support the buildout of secure and dedicated networks for enterprises using Samsung’s private 5G network solutions and NAVER’s cloud technology.

“NAVER’s new headquarters serves as a test bed to explore technologies of the future, where 5G network and cloud play a central role,” said Sangyoung Han, Executive Director at NAVER Cloud Strategy and Planning at NAVER Cloud. “Together with Samsung, we will continue to develop new private 5G networks business models and cooperate to help more companies achieve digital transformation with cloud technology.”

Private 5G Network Enables Cloud-Based Autonomous Mobile Robots

NAVER’s autonomous mobile robot services leverage both NAVER and Samsung’s technologies to introduce a private 5G use case, bringing immediate benefits within the building. Serving as assistants for employees, the robots provide convenience services such as delivering packages, coffee and lunch boxes to employees throughout the building. There are 40 robots moving around three floors within the 1784 headquarters, with plans to expand to hundreds of robots traveling around the entire 36-floor building this year.

The cloud acts as a shared brain for the robot, named “Rookie,” instead of a built-in chipset. Samsung’s private 5G network plays the role of a neural network that connects the robots and the cloud, enabling the cloud to control and support tens of thousands of robots in real-time and allowing them to be smarter together. In addition, advanced technologies such as digital twin, 3D/HD mapping and AI are applied to help robots learn to find their way inside the building by creating a virtual space that replicates the real world.

The Private 5G Network Solutions

Private 5G solutions are necessary to support enterprises like NAVER that require secure and reliable communications for data-intensive mobile applications. The commercial private 5G solutions powering NAVER’s application includes Samsung’s Compact Core and 5G radios supporting 4.7GHz and 28GHz spectrums, which are dedicated for private 5G network in Korea. The private 5G radios from Samsung include an optimized uplink allocation feature, with an allocation ratio of up to 40 percent. This latest feature, which nearly doubles the upload capabilities of today’s commercial 5G radios, is designed to help enterprises upload vast amounts of data across many people and machines simultaneously, which is required in many private networks. Additionally, the new radios help enterprises with optimal frequency use by leveraging New Radio-Dual Connectivity (NR-DC) technology, allowing devices or end users to connect to mid-band and mmWave frequencies simultaneously.

“Our collaboration with NAVER highlights how we creatively drive business innovation by future technology convergence. We are thrilled to work with NAVER to successfully realize our vision with private 5G network solutions,” said Yong Chang, Vice President of Global Sales and Marketing, Networks Business at Samsung Electronics. “Samsung will continue to work with public institutions and enterprises to deliver diverse use cases for transportation systems, hospitals, schools, SOC facilities and more.”

Samsung Networks Business has pioneered the successful delivery of 5G end-to-end solutions including chipsets, radios and core. Through ongoing research and development, Samsung drives the industry to advance 5G networks with its market-leading product portfolio from fully virtualized RAN and Core to private network solutions and AI-powered automation tools. The company is currently providing network solutions to mobile operators that deliver connectivity to hundreds of millions of users around the world.

¹ With a total floor area of 165,000 square meters, the 1784 headquarters based in Korea can accommodate over 5,000 people.