[CES 2022] Korean low-carbon AI solutions, VR, robots to take limelight at CES 2022

South Korea-based exhibitors are headed for CES 2022 in Las Vegas to showcase new technology in line with the global drive to cut carbon emissions and the urge to adapt to the new normal.

Artificial intelligence-based solutions for chips and batteries, and nickel-rich batteries will show paths to reducing carbon footprints, while virtual reality-inspired mobility solutions are also expected to take center stage at what is considered the world’s largest electronics show.

On Sunday, SK Telecom, a telecommunication arm of Korea’s third-largest conglomerate SK Group, said it would bring forth its low-power chip technology under the brand name Sapeon at CES 2022.

According to SK Telecom, Sapeon processor chips, designed for data centers, will be capable of keeping themselves running while consuming 20 percent less power than standard graphics processing units, at a deep-learning computation speed 1.5 times faster than conventional GPUs.

SK Telecom’s businesses under Sapeon brand is expected to gather speed, as it announced in December plans to spin off its AI chip business under a new entity called Sapeon Korea on Tuesday.

Also at CES, SK Telecom will premiere its single radio access network technology, allowing the mobile telecommunications operator to support both third-generational and fourth-generational long-term evolution standards on a single network.

SK Telecom said the technology would help cut power consumption by 53 percent.

Currently applied to 78 base transceiver stations across Seoul, the wireless technology has allowed SK Telecom to secure 10,000 tons of surplus emissions allowances a year since 2020.

Another SK affiliate, SK Innovation, said Sunday its newest low-carbon solutions, including nickel cobalt manganese batteries containing 90 percent nickel -- also known as NCM9 -- will be part of its green technology to reduce carbon footprints.

Using its subsidiaries’ technologies -- SK ie technology’s lithium-ion battery separator and SK On’s AI-powered battery degradation analysis solutions -- SK Innovation said it would reduce carbon emissions by 11 million tons each year by 2030.

Alongside SK Telecom and SK Innovation, four more SK affiliates will take part in CES 2022 as exhibitors with a 920 square-meter space.

Also drawing attention are the futuristic mobility technologies aligned with the metaverse -- a form of virtual world designed for social connection using headsets.

Hyundai Motor Group Chairman Chung Euisun is poised attend CES for the first time in two years to present the group’s new vision for robotics business and unveil the corporation’s latest robot model in line with the approach.

Hyundai Motor said the key message of its presentation will include what robotics technology can offer humanity in the future, in line with its vision of pushing mobility beyond the limits of physical movement, time and space.

The automaker will exhibit examples of how robotics technology can work as a medium to connect the virtual world with reality in the metaverse. Other robot products will also be showcased, including the recently revealed Mobile Eccentric Droid (MobED) as well as Boston Dynamics’ Spot and Atlas.

Hyundai Motor and its auto parts making unit Hyundai Mobis will run booths at CES, according to the company. 

Other Korean exhibitors will also show how to take metaverse to the next level, with the use cases of metaverse-inspired platforms in the real world.

LG Electronics’ in-person exhibition booths are expected to offer visitors an immersive experience in a room-scale virtual reality space, featuring premium home appliances such as organic light-emitting diode televisions, fridges with ice makers under its Objet Collection and indoor gardening appliance Tiiun. LG Electronics said Sunday that visitors may use smartphones at each “view point” at the booth for audience engagement.

This will be an addition to its online exhibitions, one of which is built on metaverse platforms by Zepeto and Roblox.

Meanwhile, SK Telecom also said it would present the metaverse’s potential to make the future more sustainable by using less power, with its “ifland” platform that is capable of inviting up to 130 people in a single virtual space.

These companies will be part of 416 Korean exhibitors at CES 2022.

CES 2022 in-person events are shortened to a three-day schedule, from Wednesday through Friday, following a decision to close a day earlier than planned due to ongoing COVID-19 concerns.

By Son Ji-hyoung (consnow@heraldcorp.com) and Kim Da-sol (ddd@heraldcorp.com)