[Asia Economy (Sejong) Reporter Jeong Il-woong] Sejong City will begin full-scale implementation of the regulatory innovation smart city project starting next month.
According to the city on the 30th, the National Smart City Committee approved regulatory exemptions in September for Sejong’s ▲electric kickboard demand forecasting and deployment service ▲drone and IoT-based urban gas pipeline safety management service ▲non-face-to-face ordering/payment and route guidance platform service for the visually impaired.
Subsequently, the city has recently completed preparations such as subscribing to liability insurance for providing related services, and will conduct a demonstration project for testing and verifying new technologies and services from the 1st of next month until July of next year.
The electric kickboard demand forecasting and deployment service focuses on launching 200 shared electric kickboards in the 1st residential zone starting from the 1st, along with a campaign at Sejong Lake Park to promote a “safe kickboard usage culture.”
Before operating the service, the city strengthened safety standards and insurance conditions to prevent cases where shared electric kickboards become a nuisance due to indiscriminate introduction and operation without operational standards.
In particular, to prevent safety accidents involving shared electric kickboards, the maximum speed is limited to 20 km/h, and it is automatically reduced to within 10 km/h in child protection zones.
Additionally, the city has placed dedicated helmets for shared kickboards on-site and, after users travel via bicycle lanes, they can return the kickboards to 100 designated parking zones with occupancy permits, as agreed upon with the operating company.
Furthermore, in the event of an accident, insurance will cover up to 180 million KRW for personal injury and up to 1 billion KRW for property damage.
The drone and IoT-based urban gas pipeline safety management service means managing urban gas pipelines, which were previously managed manually, using drones and IoT sensors. Through this project, the city plans to use drones to inspect gas pipelines installed on bridges and building exteriors, and install IoT sensors on urban gas pipelines to monitor gas leaks in real time.
Currently, this service is being initially established in Goun-dong, and the city expects full-scale service provision to be possible starting from March next year.
The non-face-to-face ordering/payment and route guidance platform service for the visually impaired helps visually impaired individuals easily use commercial facilities through a smartphone app and voice commands.
The city is currently recruiting commercial property owners and individual business operators within Saerom-dong. Property owners and individual operators can participate in the demonstration project on the condition that they provide building information such as floor plans and menu information for ordering and payment.
Visually impaired participants in the demonstration project will be selected through the Sejong City Association for the Visually Impaired, and the city explained that visually impaired assistants will be deployed in the project area to prevent safety accidents at intersections and other locations.
Jang Min-ju, head of the Smart City Division, said, “The city is currently at the stage of engaging with the local community to install and operate smart devices ahead of the regulatory innovation smart city project demonstration,” and added, “We ask for active participation and cooperation from citizens regarding the project.”
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