Samsung Electronics will join forces with South Korea‘s largest mobile carrier SK Telecom and the country’s top mobile messenger operator Kakao to develop an artificial intelligence platform that alerts users of coronavirus risks in advance.

According to the companies Tuesday, a joint research and development group has been formed with an aim to introduce the platform by early next year.

The current emergency text alert system, run by the government, offers information of confirmed coronavirus cases, but the AI model will analyze big data to evaluate potential risks and offer safe, alternative travel routes to users.

“The AI platform gathers foot traffic big data, public disaster data and social media information and calculates an accurate risk level by region.

Also, it provides a customized alert service to users with data saved in their smartphones, such as their calendar schedule, flight bookings and hotel reservations,” an SK Telecom official said.

The three companies will open key functions and technologies of the AI platform to the public and allow the access to developers, research institutions and private companies.

By Kim Byung-wook (kbw@heraldcorp.com)