Korea is looking to lead the way on autonomous shipping following the development of a 5G-based test platform by SK Telecom and Samsung Heavy Industries.

The new platform even includes a 3.3-meter-long test ship made by Samsung, which is equipped with with 5G-based LiDAR, a cloud-based IoT platform and T Live Caster, SK Telecom’s real-time video monitoring solution. Its maiden voyage took place in a shipyard that is covered by SK Telecom’s 5G network, enabling it to be remote controlled from 250 km away and to remotely keep an eye on its autonomous decisions.

“Today’s successful test marks a meaningful step towards commercialization of technologies for autonomous navigation of ships powered by 5G,” said Choi Il-gyu, Head of the B2B Office of SK Telecom. “SK Telecom will continue to drive innovations in the manufacturing sector with the world’s best 5G network and technologies.”

“We have now secured an optimal research environment to make a leap in the area of autonomous navigation ship technologies by combining Samsung Heavy Industries’ autonomous and remote navigation system and SK Telecom’s 5G communication technologies,” said Shim, Yong-Lae, VP of the SHI Ship & Offshore Research Institute.

While the thought of a supertanker cruising around the place thinking for itself is pretty alarming and dystopian, the companies involved insist this kind of technology actually improves safety, especially in narrow or shoreline environments, thanks to the ability to monitor the movements of other ships in real time. So long as the technology also ensures a human can step in if needed then that does sound plausible, if still a bit scary.