[ITU 2017] Meet Musio, the AI social robot that understands humans

BUSAN — Artificial intelligence has recently begun to step closer into our lives — primarily in the form of voice-activated smart speakers like the Amazon Echo and Google Home or digital assistant software built into smartphones like Apple’s Siri or Samsung’s Bixby.　These devices all claim to be the so-called “chatbots,” but their ability to converse mostly stops at providing answers to one-ended inquiries or carrying out specific tasks commanded by humans.Seeking to create a more personable AI,

Sept. 28, 2017

Toshiba inks deal to sell memory biz to global consortium

Japanese tech giant Toshiba Corp. said Thursday it signed off on a deal to sell its memory business to a global consortium which includes South Korea's SK hynix Inc.Toshiba earlier decided to start negotiations on selling its memory business to the consortium including participants from South Korea, the United States and Japan. The companies also include Bain Capital, Apple Inc. and Dell Inc., and a handful of other tech firms.The deal is estimated to be worth 2 trillion yen ($17.6 billion).Tosh

Sept. 28, 2017

Samsung, SK Telecom links 4G, 5G networks for first time

Samsung Electronics Co. and SK Telecom Co. on Thursday demonstrated the communication between fourth-generation and fifth-generation networks for the first time in the industry, the companies said.The South Korean tech giant and the country's No. 1 mobile carrier said they successfully made communications between the long-term evolution network that utilizes 2.6 GHz frequency band, with that of the 5G network that uses the 28 GHz and 3.5 GHz frequency band.Samsung said the communication was made

Sept. 28, 2017

Samsung's Galaxy advertisement wins 7 titles at Clio Awards

Samsung Electronics Co. said Thursday its Galaxy smartphones advertisement won seven awards from the 58th Clio Awards held in New York.The South Korean tech giant said its advertisement dubbed "Ostrich" won one gold in short film and four silvers in directing, cinematography, animation and visual effects. Samsung also won two bronzes for editing and music. (Yonhap)Samsung Electronics said the Clio Awards can be considered one of the world's top three advertising competitions, along with the Cann

Sept. 28, 2017

[ITU 2017] Samwon FA showcases transport system technologies at ITU Telecom World

Among the smaller companies that joined this week’s ITU Telecom World 2017 in Busan was a Korean tech firm, Samwon FA, which showcased its intelligent transport systems solutions and technologies.Samwon FA is a producer of automatic fare collection systems for buses and urban rail transit as well as electronic payment solutions for retailers and parking lots.Samwon FA exhibits its intelligent transport systems technologies at ITU Telecom World 2017, which took place in Busan from Monday to Thurs

Sept. 28, 2017

Samsung's QLED TVs win positive review by US industry trackers

Samsung Electronics Co. said Thursday its QLED TVs won positive reviews from US industry trackers as it pushes to promote the cutting edge technology. Samsung Electronics said US-based DisplayMate and Forbes praised its QLED TVs for delivering satisfactory all-round performance.The QLED TVs make use of so-called quantum-dot technology, which are semiconductor nanocrystals that Samsung says improve display brightness, contrast and power efficiency. The feature compares well to the OLED TVs promot

Sept. 28, 2017

KT takes Korean-style health tech solutions to the world stage

With its expertise in connecting people through telecommunications, connectivity has been at the core of other aspects of businesses promoted and operated by KT. A notable move is the healthcare sector, with KT taking its healthcare solutions to far-flung regions like Africa, Russia and Kazakhstan. By introducing connectivity between healthcare centers and remote regions, KT‘s healthcare solutions are aimed at bringing patients in rural areas into the mainstream healthcare system. KT exhibits it

Sept. 27, 2017

KT stands at forefront of 5G

Since March 2015, when KT Chairman Hwang Chang-gyu first mentioned 5G, or the fifth-generation network, the South Korean mobile carrier has been making efforts to prepare for the establishment of the world’s first 5G network services. The company’s efforts are close to bearing fruit at the PyeongChang 2018 Winter Olympics set to take place in Gangwon Province in February. Taking advantage of being an official telecom partner for the PyeongChang Olympics, KT has been working to showcase the world

Sept. 27, 2017

AI will halve jobs, but also create new ones: SKT ICT chief

Technological advancements centering on artificial intelligence and robotics will inevitably halve jobs, but at the same time, create new task-specific jobs, said Lee Ho-soo, president of ICT strategy at SK Telecom, on Tuesday. At the Korea CQ Forum of Corea Image Communication Institute at the Danish Ambassador’s residence in northern Seoul, Lee, who is a veteran of AI technologies, delivered a special lecture on latest technological advances toward the “fourth industrial revolution” and their

Sept. 27, 2017

LG to inject W600b to renovate outdated Changwon factory

In preparation for the “fourth industrial revolution,” LG Electronics announced a mid-term plan to build smart production lines for major kitchen appliances in Changwon, South Gyeongsang Province, with the goals of maximizing efficiency and improving product quality. By 2022, the company will spend a total of 600 billion won ($527 million) on renovating outdated production lines in plant No. 1 of the Changwon complex, about 300 kilometers southeast of Seoul.The renewed lines will produce kitchen

Sept. 27, 2017

[ITU 2017] KT highlights 5G era push at ITU

BUSAN – From a smart air quality monitoring device to a solution that allows a gigabit internet speed with traditional telephone wires, telecommunications giant KT has showcased its solutions and products running on its high-speed network infrastructure at the ITU Telecom World, a UN-backed annual ICT conference held through Thursday in Busan.The Korean telecom firm has been participating in the annual ICT conference every year since 2015, and this year’s event is especially important for the fi

Sept. 27, 2017

[ITU 2017] ‘Korea needs strategic 5G road map’

BUSAN -- Korea needs to have a strategic roadmap for the fifth-generation network as the commercial launch of the 5G network is no longer subject to question but will soon become a reality, according to ITU’s standardization chief.The next-generation mobile network, 5G, will serve as a key role in future data-oriented technologies, including artificial intelligence, the Internet of Things, connected cars, virtual reality and the smart home. “We have so far been too focused on demonstrating the p

Sept. 27, 2017

Samsung, LG to invest W10.5tr in phone, home appliances by 2020

South Korea's leading tech giants -- Samsung Electronics Co. and LG Electronics Inc., -- said Wednesday they will invest a combined 10.5 trillion won ($9.21 billion) by 2020 to develop advanced technology for cell phone and home appliances.Kim Jong-ho, the head of electronic appliances at Samsung Electronics and Song Dae-hyun, home appliance division chief at LG Electronics, announced their domestic investment plan in a meeting with Paik Un-gyu, Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy, along with

Sept. 27, 2017

SK head visits Japan amid Toshiba deal

The chief of South Korean conglomerate SK Group on Wednesday departed for Japan, fanning speculation that the consortium that includes its affiliate SK hynix Inc. is in the process of finalizing a deal to take over Toshiba Corp.'s memory business, a company official said.Earlier this month, Japanese Toshiba's board of directors decided to sell its chipmaking unit to the consortium, which also includes Bain Capital and the Development Bank of Japan, as well as Apple Inc. and Dell Inc.Toshiba has

Sept. 27, 2017

LG Chem, Samsung SDI showcase cutting-edge battery tech at fair

South Korean battery makers, such as LG Chem Ltd., showcased their latest battery products at a local trade fair Wednesday, with visitors having a chance to peek into the latest technologies being developed in the burgeoning sector.At the InterBattery 2017, which runs through Friday in Seoul, LG Chem rolled out "Free Form" batteries, which can be easily customized into various products, such as IT and wearable devices. (Yonhap)The country's top chemical firm also showcased round batteries that c

Sept. 27, 2017

Gene editing meeting to open in Seoul

Genome editing experts from around the globe will get together in Seoul later this week to introduce and share their new genome engineering technologies, organizers said Tuesday. "The IBS-Nature Conference on Frontiers in Genome Engineering will open at Seoul National University on Wednesday for a three-day run, with 18 renowned scientists from home and abroad attending," the organizers said. The Institute for Basic Science is based in Daejeon, 164km south of Seoul.The meeting will handle three

Sept. 26, 2017

Samsung starts mass producing world’s first eUFS for vehicles

Samsung Electronics has started to mass produce a premium memory product for cars, rapidly expanding into the automobile industry, the company announced Tuesday. The South Korean memory chip giant said it would provide the industry’s first 128 gigabyte embedded universal flash storage solution for vehicles, which will enable connections between cars and mobile devices, providing advanced data transfer speeds and robust data reliability. Consisting of 128 GB and 64 GB versions, the new eUFS solut

Sept. 26, 2017

[ITU 2017] KT’s control tower for undersea cables boasts cutting-edge technologies

BUSAN -- South Korean telecommunications firm KT has launched a control tower in Busan that manages internet cables laid thousands of feet underwater, which are often called submarine communication cables.KT is one of multiple global network operators in charge of managing underwater cables that connect seven nations, including the US, China and Japan. Of the entire 130-kilometer submarine cables currently up and running around the globe, the KT-backed cables account for 12 percent, or equivalen

Sept. 26, 2017

[ITU 2017] Meetings made easy with AI-powered scheduler bot Kono

BUSAN — In the real world, only the big bosses get a personal secretary to manage their schedule and set up meetings at the most suitable time. But a new digital scheduling assistant may change that with just an email. Meet Kono, a new artificially intelligent scheduling bot developed by South Korean tech startup Konolabs. The smart bot syncs with calendar apps built into smartphones like Google Calendar, and is powered by an AI engine equipped with machine learning and natural language processi

Sept. 26, 2017

SK hynix to boost NAND flash business with Toshiba acquisition

South Korean chipmaker SK hynix is on track to becoming a global NAND flash memory powerhouse, as it is part of an international consortium that is on course to take over Japanese tech giant Toshiba’s memory chip business unit.Toshiba’s memory chip unit is the second-largest NAND flash memory manufacturer in the world after Korean tech giant Samsung Electronics, while the chip manufacturing unit of SK Group comes fifth in the sector.The Japanese tech firm, which has been suffering a financial cr

Sept. 26, 2017