Summary
Samsung has signed contracts with KT and SK Telecom for Korean AI-RAN projects scheduled to begin in October 2026. The planned field trials will test private 5G networks and edge AI in shipyard and petrochemical settings.
Samsung says it has signed contracts with KT and SK Telecom for artificial-intelligence radio access network (AI-RAN) projects under South Korea’s Ministry of Science and ICT “Hyper AI Network” initiative. The projects are scheduled to begin in October 2026, with field trials of private 5G Standalone networks at a shipyard and a petrochemical facility. Samsung will be KT’s sole global vendor and SK Telecom’s main vendor, and says it is the only partner selected for both projects.
The trials are intended to test how network and AI systems can support physical AI: machines such as robots that use sensors, software and connectivity to act in the physical world. AI RAN refers here to network technology being developed both to support AI applications and to apply AI in network operations.
Shipyard trials pair robots with edge computing
At HD Hyundai Samho’s Yeongam Shipyard, KT plans field trials of physical AI services that include welding and painting robots, as well as autonomous robots for telecom facility operations. One use case is a quadruped robot that will autonomously assess its working environment and carry out welding, using 5G connectivity and an edge AI platform.
Samsung is supplying its Network in a Server (NIS) platform and CognitiV Network Operations Suite for the welding-robot project. NIS combines virtualized radio access network software (vRAN), an AI core and AI applications. Samsung says the system is designed for on-premises deployment, placing computing close to where data is generated and decisions are made.
The stated hardware and software configuration runs vRAN and 5G Standalone core software on a Supermicro commercial off-the-shelf Compact Edge Server powered by an AMD EPYC 8004 server CPU, with Wind River Cloud Platform. Samsung says the software-based design can be scaled to incorporate GPU computing if a site requires it. Keeping processing near the robot is intended to support the low latency, reliable connections and consistent throughput that real-time control demands; the announcement does not report trial performance results.
Petrochemical site to test robotic patrols
At SK Incheon Petrochem, SK Telecom plans to test an autonomous robot that patrols hazardous areas and CCTV-based monitoring. The patrol robot is intended to transmit high-definition video while moving, so AI systems can analyse footage for potential hazards and support integrated monitoring. Samsung is providing NIS for this project.
The two settings put the network technology to different industrial tasks: controlling a welding robot in a shipyard and transmitting video from a robot in a petrochemical facility. In both cases, private 5G provides connectivity within the industrial environment, while edge computing brings processing closer to the equipment and data sources. The trials are part of a broader initiative that the ministry and participating organisations describe as supporting physical AI, autonomous operations and preparation for a transition to 6G.
The work is planned as field validation, not a report of completed deployments or results. Its next practical test is whether the proposed network and computing systems can support these services in the specific industrial environments where the trials are conducted.