Seoul will collect all data produced from smart city districts to share with the public as well as the corporate sector. (image: Yonhap)
SEOUL, Jan. 31 (Korea Bizwire) — The Seoul Metropolitan Government plans to designate a number of ‘smart city districts’ to resolve various urban issues with cutting-edge information and communications technology.
The city announced on Wednesday that it has selected Seongdong and Yangcheon districts as the first two smart city districts.
Smart city districts designated by Seoul will introduce new technology and services for their residents, while suppliers will be supported to demonstrate and commercialize their technology.
Seongdong District will focus on various services related to traffic and safety, while Yangcheon District will be in charge of welfare and environment-related services.
The city will invest 3.6 billion won (US$3.2 million) over the next three years to carry out the initiative.
One of Seongdong District’s projects will include installing ‘smart crosswalks’.
Smart crosswalks have LED pedestrian lights placed on the ground to assist so-called ‘smartphone zombies,’ referring to those using their mobile phones while walking.
When a pedestrian attempts to cross the street during a red light, an alarm will sound warning the individual that the light is still red.
The crosswalk will also be equipped with a spotlight system to help drivers slow down.
Yangcheon District will introduce ‘smart plugs’ that will help prevent seniors from dying alone, as well as ‘smart security lamps’ that self-repair and automatically report to relevant authorities via IoT networks.
Smart security lamps will be equipped with special sensors allocated for each region to monitor waste dumping, illegal parking, and measure noise, temperature, humidity, and fine dust levels.
Seoul will collect all data produced from smart city districts to share with the public as well as the corporate sector.
The data will be used to help newly emerging industries as well as a reference in the creation of new policies for urban agendas.
“Seoul’s smart city districts will focus on introducing services that citizens can actually access,” said im Tae-gyun, Director General for Information Planning in Seoul Metropolitan Government.
“We will work with Seongdong and Yangcheon to create a successful smart city model that will be able to tackle various urban problems.”
H. M. Kang (hmkang@koreabizwire.com)
