The project to build a ‘Smart City’ as a model for future cities in Busan is gaining momentum. The city of Busan recently announced on the 18th that it has unveiled a ‘robot introduction pilot project’ at two apartment complexes in Eco Delta City, Gangseo-gu. Eco Delta City, along with Yeongdong-myeon in Sejong City, was selected by the government in 2018 as the first ‘national pilot city for smart cities’ in the country.

Smart City Busan Co., Ltd., which oversees the project implementation, unveiled four types of robots at the event: patrol, barista, transport, and cleaning robots. A city official stated, “It is the first time in the country that a robot integrated control platform is introduced in residential complexes to provide various robot services simultaneously.”

‘Busan Eco Delta National Pilot City’ is the largest smart city in the country, supervised by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport and Korea Water Resources Corporation. It aims to create a future city by applying advanced technology to commercial, business, residential, and cultural facilities on a site of approximately 2.8㎢. A total of KRW 5.6 trillion will be invested over the next 15 years.

Previously, in December last year, the city of Busan established a special purpose corporation, Smart City Busan, in the form of a public-private joint venture. Public institutions include Korea Water Resources Corporation and Busan Urban Corporation, and the corporate sector consists of 11 companies including LG CNS, Shinhan Bank, and Hyundai Engineering & Construction.

This company plans to develop a leading district within the national pilot city site over the next five years and provide various smart services over the next 10 years. In particular, it will introduce robotic innovation technology to establish an advanced service system in various fields. As the first step, four types of lifestyle-oriented robot services centered on residential complexes will be introduced as a pilot.

The robot services will be operated from next year at Hoban Summit Apartments and Sujain Apartments within Eco Delta City. The four types of robots, operated free of charge, include a barista robot that makes food and beverages at the community center, a patrol robot that autonomously navigates the complex and notifies the control room and management office in case of fire or safety incidents, a cleaning robot that automatically cleans common areas in the apartment at designated times, and a transport robot that carries items from the underground parking lot to the front of the house. Window cleaning robots for high-rise exterior windows and wearable robots that assist arm and back strength can be rented for a fee.

Park Heong-joon, Mayor of Busan, stated, “We will actively support and fulfill our public role to ensure that the national pilot city development project proceeds without a hitch, and we will closely cooperate with related organizations such as the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport.”

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