Telecommunications firm LG U+ introduced a 5G network-based autonomous parking solution, during a closed demonstration held in Seoul, Thursday.

In an online video demonstration, the carrier tested the self-driving vehicle, which traveled about five minutes on roads and managed to park itself in a public parking lot.

The test car, a Genesis GV80 SUV equipped with lidar and radar sensors, started off on a road 800 meters from the parking lot, followed traffic signals on the way and parked in a tight space without incident. The demonstration took place at the world‘s first self-driving car test bed running on a 5G network in Sangam-dong, Mapo-gu, western Seoul.

With the successful test run, LG U+ has become the world‘s first company to showcase both self-driving and autonomous parking using 5G technology in a public setting, the company stressed.

LG U+ has teamed up with Hanyang University and local mobility solution provider Controlworks for the project.

“The technology will allow drivers to save time finding empty parking spots and free them of the hassle of parking their cars,” said professor Sunwoo Myoung-Ho of Hanyang University’s Ace Lab, an automotive control and electronics laboratory that joined the future mobility project.

The autonomous parking solution demo includes not just 5G-based self-driving technology, but also comes with technology that helps a vehicle search for nearby parking lots and a cloud-based control center. Drivers can also use a mobile application to control their vehicles, the company added.

The mobile carrier‘s latest development follows its demonstrations last year when its test vehicles roamed around roads in the capital, relying on sensor technology.

The self-driving demo, however, does not include security measures yet. LG U+ said it plans to introduce the highest level of security measures to this self-driving solution to protect vehicles from potential breach through the telecommunications network.

It added it will test the technology for the wider public as early as next month.

South Korea has been actively pursuing the development of autonomous vehicles, with the government vowing early this year to spend 1.1 trillion won ($1 billion) for research on the technology by 2027.

By Shim Woo-hyun & news reports (ws@heraldcorp.com)