ETRI President Bang Seung-chan showcases 6G-Based Real-Time Metaverse Performance. (Image courtesy of ETRI)
SEOUL, June 5 (Korea Bizwire) — From ultra-low latency 6G that links Seoul and Busan in under 5 milliseconds to AI-powered guide robots for the visually impaired, South Korea showcased its next-generation ICT capabilities on Thursday at the ETRI Conference 2025, held at COEX in southern Seoul.
The event, organized by the Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute (ETRI), drew over 2,000 attendees and featured seven tech sessions and 30 exhibition booths under the theme “ETRI Today, Korea’s Future.”
In a live demonstration, ETRI President Bang Seung-chan illustrated the power of 6G by playing a real-time game of rock-paper-scissors across 1,190 kilometers between Seoul, Daejeon, and Busan, using a 6.2-millisecond delay connection.
The demonstration also included synchronized counting exercises and a remote metaverse performance of Crying Nut’s “A Sleepless Night” across the three cities.
Bang emphasized the breakthrough’s foundation: multi-antenna technology operating in the sub-terahertz band with a 10GHz bandwidth, ensuring both high-speed transmission and connection stability.
He then introduced “Eddie,” a four-legged AI robot guide dog designed for the visually impaired. Equipped with real-time voice navigation, obstacle detection, and multimodal AI capabilities, Eddie aims to pass the world’s first official guide dog certification test by 2027.
ETRI also revealed cutting-edge research achievements, including a high-performance computing cluster with a custom accelerator, a quantum computing emulation system, and hyper-realistic metaverse video technology.
Bang noted that ETRI’s humanoid AI robot project was recently selected for Korea’s Global Top Strategy Research Program, securing 1.05 trillion won ($770 million) in funding over five years. With additional support from related institutions, the total investment is expected to reach 2.5 trillion won ($1.8 billion).
Other technologies on display included immersive 3D video streaming, empathic AI robotics, and non-invasive wearable glucose monitors. To accelerate commercialization, an “Innovation Investment Forum” hosted by ETRI Holdings and Samsung Securities brought together leading startups in ICT, biotech, and materials for investor briefings.
Seven themed tech sessions explored topics such as AI-human coexistence, hyper-connected 6G communication, ultra-realistic spatial computing, and the future of national strategic tech development.
“We remain committed to developing trusted, people-centric innovations and leading the charge in solving Korea’s next major technological challenges,” said Bang.
Kevin Lee (kevinlee@koreabizwire.com)
