KT Corp., a South Korean telecom giant, said Wednesday it has tested an autonomous cruise ship being remotely controlled hundreds of kilometers away on its high-speed 5G network.

The telecom operator said a 12-person cruise ship navigated through the narrow 10-kilometer Pohang Canal in the port city, 302 kilometers southeast of Seoul, without a captain on board and with it being controlled from its offices in Gwacheon, just south of the capital.

KT said it partnered with Avikus Corp., an autonomous navigation company under shipbuilding giant Hyundai Heavy Industries Group, for the testing. The telecom operator was in charge of remotely controlling the ship through its 5G network, while Avikus provided the autonomous system for the ship.

KT said its low latency 5G network allowed the sending of real-time sensor data of the ship's operations, including 360-degree video footage of the ship as well as lidar and radar information, allowing the ship to run remotely.

The telecom operator said it will continue to work with Avikus to develop new business models for autonomous ships.

The move comes after KT bought a stake in Hyundai Heavy's robotics unit last year, with the goal of strengthening its competitiveness in smart factory and robot solutions. (Yonhap)