Korea Telecom (KT) unveiled a new platform which uses drones and robots for disaster and safety management, as it continues an effort to diversify its business through 5G and ICT technologies.

The platform, dubbed Skyship, operates an aircraft and a mobile communication centre to remotely control drones and robots which carry out search and rescue operations for disaster survivors.

KT explained rescuers on the ground are also assisted with augmented reality (AR) glasses, providing a direct line of communication to doctors at nearby hospitals for assistance and delivering emergency treatment.

The effort forms part of an ongoing strategy, said KT, to diversify from its traditional business, as it prepares to launch a 5G network in 2019. The Skyship disaster management platform will also help with South Korea’s $1.5 billion nationwide public safety network, which is due to be completed in 2020.

At a press briefing last week, KT showed off Skyship in a real-time disaster simulation. The platform conducted a remote search and rescue operation in conjunction with a hospital in Seoul, and a disaster survivor was located by the platform. A rescue squad then used AR eyewear to carry out emergency procedures, connected by KT’s LTE network.

In total, Skyship has four major components: the Skyship, described as a new-concept aircraft combining an airship and a drone; the Skyship C3 station, a mobile ground control station; a drone; and a robot.

“Over the past years, KT has pioneered technological innovations in the field of disaster and safety management in South Korea,” said Oh Seong-Mok, president of KT’s network business.

KT plans to upgrade the platform to 5G with another version of the Skyship platform in 2020.