SK Broadband's AI set-top box sweeps major global design awards

SK Broadband said Tuesday that its "AI 5" set-top box has won all four of the world's major product design awards, a feat the Korean telecom and media company called a "grand slam." The device, used with SK Broadband's B tv pay-television service, won Japan's Good Design Award last year, followed this year by Germany's iF Design Award in March, Germany's Red Dot Design Award in April and a main prize at the International Design Excellence Awards, a U.S. competition known as IDEA, in August. SK Broadband, led by CEO Kim Sung-soo, said the set-top box features a circular, matte-black design meant to minimize visible technology and blend into everyday living spaces as a "home object" rather than looking like typical telecom equipment. The company said it deliberately hid buttons and a logo that are usually visible on top of set-top boxes, shifting most functions to artificial intelligence voice controls and the on-screen interface, and applied a matte surface finish after testing different textures to give the device an object-like feel distinct from typical electronics. The rear panel, whe