Engineers from a subsidiary of SK Telecom Co. inspect a cell tower in this photo provided by the wireless carrier on Jan. 31, 2023.
SEOUL, Feb. 1 (Korea Bizwire) — SK Telecom Co., South Korea’s largest wireless carrier, said Tuesday it developed a new cell tower safety inspection system using drones and image analysis artificial intelligence (AI).
The newly-developed image analysis AI model checks the status of nuts and bolts by analyzing images taken by drones.
Cell towers with antennas for sending and receiving telecommunications signals are installed across the country, with their maximum height estimated at 75 meters.
Since cell towers require regular maintenance to prevent accidents that can be caused by deterioration such as corrosion or loosening of nuts and bolts, specialized personnel had to climb them to inspect their condition with their bare eyes.
To check the condition of a single cell tower, workers needed to inspect about 100 images taken by drones. However, the company reduced the decoding time by 95 percent and enhanced reliability through automation.
Kevin Lee (kevinlee@koreabizwire.com)
