Busan City announced on the 2nd that its “Busan-Type Smart Sewer Pipeline Safety Management Project through the Purchase of Intelligent Robots” has been finally selected for the Disaster Prevention Activity Support Project for Local Governments, organized by the Korea Local Finance Association. The project was promoted to respond preemptively to the nationwide increase in ground subsidence.

Accordingly, the city plans to integrate advanced robotics and artificial intelligence (AI) technology to detect in advance risk factors that cannot be identified with the naked eye. According to the city, existing sewer pipeline inspections rely on closed-circuit (CC) TV and visual checks, making it difficult to conduct a full survey of extensive pipeline sections and resulting in reading errors.

The project will be carried out from next month through December. With a project budget of KRW 125 million, the city will introduce advanced robots and AI-based automatic sewer pipeline detection equipment. By deploying tracked and wheeled semi-autonomous robots into high-risk confined spaces such as sewer pipelines, the city aims to secure worker safety and improve inspection efficiency.

The robots will be equipped with high-definition cameras, three-dimensional (3D) laser scanners, and precision multi-sensors such as ultrasonic and gas sensors to precisely measure internal pipeline cracks and hazardous gases. Based on the collected video footage and sensor data, the robots will apply AI deep-learning analysis algorithms to autonomously detect and analyze major defects such as cracks, damage, leakage, and subsidence.

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