“Collecting recyclables. Please step aside.”

On 5 January at Shintree Park in Yangcheon District, Seoul, elderly walkers on the promenade burst into laughter when an autonomous waste-sorting robot requested the right of way with a recorded message. As the robot passed, people remarked, “It’s really good at finding its way,” “It’s cute,” and “I don’t have any recyclables to give it.” A district official said, “It was installed at Shintree Park in December last year, and it has already become a landmark of this park.”

● From recycling collection to patrols… Robot “Ant”

“Ant” is an autonomous recycling-sorting robot introduced by Yangcheon District. After Yangcheon District was selected for a Seoul Metropolitan Government demonstration project, operations began in September 2024 at Yangcheon Park, Omok Park, and Paris Park. According to Yangcheon District, this is the first case nationwide in which an autonomous recycling-sorting robot has been operated in parks on a regular basis.

The robot is a box-shaped structure about 70 cm in height with four wheels. It is equipped with a total of five cameras—four on the front and one on the back—and a LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) sensor that uses lasers to recognize surrounding topography and objects. It autonomously moves around the park, adjusting its route by recognizing pedestrians and obstacles.

The robot can be summoned via QR codes posted throughout the park. When users access the QR code and press the “Call Robot” button, Ant moves to the specified location in about five minutes. After users place recyclables such as beverage cans into the basket loaded on the robot, it waits briefly and then resumes its route. Park management staff regularly collect the recyclables gathered by the robot.

After finishing its tasks, Ant moves on its own to a charging booth and begins charging with voice guidance. A Yangcheon District official said, “Once fully charged, it can operate continuously for about six hours,” adding, “It has been well received by residents as it reduces the inconvenience of having to walk to recycling collection points while using the park.”

The Ant deployed at Paris Park is also used for nighttime patrols in addition to recycling collection. Between 8 p.m. and 9 p.m., it records conditions in the park with its front and rear cameras, and the control center monitors the footage and responds immediately if any abnormal situation occurs.

● From food and beverage delivery to fire detection

In Yangcheon District, another autonomous robot called “Yangcheon Nurion” provides food and beverage delivery services in parks in addition to the recycling robot. It delivers drinks or ice cream ordered from park cafés to designated locations. A Yangcheon District official said, “We plan to analyze the demonstration results and review how far to extend the scope and scale of autonomous robot deployment.”

Experiments using autonomous robots are not limited to Yangcheon District. Gangseo District is conducting a demonstration project using an autonomous recycling collection robot introduced at Magok-hani Park. Dongdaemun District, in cooperation with the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, the Seoul Metropolitan Government, and the Korea Land and Geospatial Informatix Corporation, conducted a pilot operation of address-based autonomous patrol robots in traditional markets from October to December last year. For these robots, a movement-path database was built so they can move independently even in complex indoor and outdoor environments such as Cheongnyangni Traditional Market and Cheongnyangni Agricultural and Fishery Market, and their patrol and fire/hazard detection functions were tested.

The Seoul Metropolitan Government plans to revise relevant ordinances in the first half of this year (January–June) to enable autonomous robots to provide patrol, cleaning, and information services in Hangang Parks. The amendment will include safety measures such as permitted operating sections and hours, speed limits, and weight standards.

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