SK Telecom pits its AI wits against transmission fixSK Telecom pits its AI wits against transmission fix

SK Telecom (SKT) is using on-device AI in combination with a larger number of physical antennas to improve smartphone transmission speeds.

According to the Korean telco, under normal circumstances, cramming extra antennas into something as small as a smartphone can cause interference issues and degraded performance.

SKT, working with researchers from Pohang University of Science and Technology (POSTECH), was able to overcome this by using AI to actively manage the antennas according to a user's posture as well as changes in the surrounding environment. It doesn't go into detail, but presumably it involves actively switching between antennas to ensure the optimum one is in use at all times.

The upshot is, SKT said it "significantly" improved transmission speeds by doubling the number of antennas in a smartphone from four to eight, all without compromising its form factor.

The work was carried out under lab conditions that simulated more than a million smartphone usage scenarios, enabling SKT to claim with some confidence that its AI solution will work in the real world.

"Although the number of antennas is an important factor in communications competitiveness, technological advancement has been difficult due to various practical constraints," said POSTECH professor Hong Won-bin. "By integrating on-device AI and antenna expansion technology, we will be able to overcome existing limitations and create various added values."

SKT's next step is to work on a plan to commercialise the technology in partnership with chipset, component, and smartphone OEMs, and push for its standardisation at 3GPP.

"This is a meaningful achievement that has confirmed that smartphone performance and communication technology can be further developed with on-device AI," said Ryu Tak-ki, head of SKT's infrastructure technology division. "We will continue to secure core 6G and AI infrastructure technologies to increase customer satisfaction and strengthen competitiveness in the global market through innovative research."

This isn't the first bit of useful on-device AI tech developed by SKT.

This time last year, in partnership with chip maker MediaTek and AI start-up Nota AI, SKT developed an application that improves smartphone battery life.

It does this by predicting when data transmission from the device to the base station is likely to occur. If such an occurrence is unlikely, it will disconnect from the base station, saving power.

Unfortunately, practical developments like these are often overlooked because they're not as eye-catching as using AI to scrub friends out of pictures, or for recommending a Tuscan olive oil as a suitable house-warming gift for a teetotaller.

Meanwhile, SKT has also joined a new generative AI (GenAI) partnership led by researchers from MIT.

Called the MIT GenAI Impact Consortium, the group also includes Coca-Cola, Tata Group, US chip maker Analog Devices, and venture capital firm TWG Global Holdings.

Together they will conduct research in various fields in an effort to steer GenAI development in a direction that maximises its positive potential impact on industry and society.

"We are delighted to serve as an ideal bridge between academia and global leaders in various industries, including SKT," said Anantha Chandrakasan, MIT's chief innovation and strategy officer, dean of engineering, and leader of the consortium. "The MIT GenAI Impact Consortium will do its utmost to break down barriers between academic fields and ensure that the global society, which is being reshaped by AI, moves forward in a positive direction."

Addressing real problems like smartphone antenna and battery performance arguably meets that threshold, much more so than a glorified search engine that consumes 10 times the amount of energy.