Attempt to Assign 3D Addresses for Easier Underground Navigation Where GPS Fails

[Seoul District News] Songpa-gu Holds Indoor Navigation Demonstration Using Jamsil Station 3D Address Information... 'Seocho Senior 100-Second Video Festival & Metaverse Fashion Show' Held

[Asia Economy Reporter Jong-il Park] Songpa-gu (Mayor Seogang Seok) held a “Jamsil Station 3D Address Advancement Project Indoor Navigation Demonstration” on the 28th of last month for the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, public institutions, and stakeholders in the address-based industry.

There was considerable inconvenience for vulnerable groups such as the disabled and elderly in the subway where GPS reception is unavailable, as they struggled to find elevators, necessitating countermeasures.

Accordingly, last year, through the Ministry of the Interior and Safety’s public contest on “Nationwide Expansion and Utilization of 3D Addresses,” the district became the first in the nation to assign 3D addresses to the entire underground space around Jamsil Station (Lines 2 and 8, Metropolitan Transfer Center, Jamsil Station Underground Shopping Mall, Jamsil Station Public Parking Lot), installed address information facilities, and completed development and empirical research on indoor navigation utilization.

Based on this project, the Road Name Address Act was fully revised last year, establishing a legal framework for 3D addresses connecting aboveground and underground spaces from the previous 2D flat addresses. The project area was assigned 19 internal road names, and 37 road nameplates, 234 basic number plates, 230 building number plates, and 180 object address plates were installed as address information guidance facilities.

Furthermore, with AR marker positioning technology achieving GPS-level accuracy indoors, collaboration among government, industry, and academia successfully advanced the development and empirical research of AR marker indoor navigation using address information facilities, laying the foundation for expanding the address industry model.

In particular, the Ministry of Science and ICT selected the Jamsil Station 3D complex transfer facility as the demonstration site for this year’s “Video Positioning Technology-based AR Service Platform Construction Project,” and plans to launch a commercial indoor navigation service app utilizing 3D addresses and address information facilities in October.

Yang Yumi, Director of the Real Estate Information Division, stated, “Through the advancement of Jamsil Station’s 3D address and the development of the indoor navigation industry model, accurate guidance is now possible in 3D spaces both above and below ground, beyond the 2D flat plane.” She added, “This will not only enhance daily convenience but also protect residents’ safety through rapid response in emergencies and provide accurate information to tourists seeking shops within the station, contributing to regional economic revitalization.”

Seocho-gu (Mayor Jeon Seongsu) announced that on the 11th, it will hold the “Seocho Senior 100-Second Video Festival & Metaverse Fashion Show” at Naegok Nut Tree Rest Area to provide a smart living and communication space for seniors exhausted by the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic.

As part of the specialized project “Seocho Smart Senior Project” aimed at bridging the digital divide among seniors, this event will invite 150 seniors from the region and proceed for about 90 minutes from 2 PM with the ▲Seocho Senior 100-Second Video Festival ▲Metaverse Fashion Show ▲Cultural Performances in sequence.

First, the “Seocho Senior 100-Second Video Festival” features five videos planned, filmed, and produced directly by seniors under the theme “100 Seconds of Active Seniors’ Daily Lives in the Era of 100 Years.” This festival will showcase the skills learned by seniors who received training at two senior cultural complex spaces, Nut Tree Rest Areas (Bangbae and Naegok), and three senior welfare centers (Yangjae, Bangbae, Jungang).

Alongside, the “Metaverse Fashion Show” will feature seven teams of senior models alongside metaverse avatars. In this fashion show, seniors active at Nut Tree Rest Area will directly present fashion shows on stage with various concepts such as Korean beauty, magicians, flamenco, and idol singers. On monitors on both sides of the stage, their self-created avatars will appear wearing the same clothes and striking the same poses as the seniors, creating a new synergy.

Kim Yeo-jin, a 70-year-old senior residing in Bangbae-dong participating in this fashion show, said, “I dreamed of becoming an actor when I was young, and I am very excited to stand on the fashion show stage with the metaverse avatar I learned to create at Nut Tree Rest Area.”

Additionally, performances by singers Ha Dong-geun and Kang Tae-gwan, who appeared on “Tomorrow’s Mr. Trot,” will provide enjoyment for the seniors.

Meanwhile, last July, the district became the first local government to implement Seocho-gu Nut Tree Rest Area within a metaverse platform, holding a year-end exhibition in the metaverse space, and continues to provide metaverse education and experiences to adapt to the rapidly changing digital era.

Seocho-gu Mayor Jeon Seongsu said, “In the era of 100 years, we will strive to create a ‘Seocho where today is happy and tomorrow is anticipated’ by promoting various smart senior projects so that seniors do not feel digitally excluded.”