Robot operation demonstration on the 20th... Operation of facility guidance, day and night patrols, etc. –
Spot, a four-legged self-driving robot developed by Boston Dynamics, protects Ieung Bridge, a representative tourist attraction in Sejong City.
Sejong Special Self-Governing City (Mayor Choi Min-ho) announced on the 20th that it will be the first local government to deploy the artificial intelligence (AI) self-driving robot 'SPOT' for patrol in order to promote the safety of citizens using Ieung Bridge.
Spot is a world-class artificial intelligence-based patrol robot launched by Boston Dynamics in the United States. It has autonomous driving functions that detect and avoid obstacles, remote operation, and automatic charging functions.
In the domestic private sector, spot-based worker management, hazardous area patrols, and facility inspections are being implemented, but this is the first time that local governments are using them for safety patrols.
The spot to be introduced this time will provide information related to the operation of Ieung Bridge, autonomous patrol 24 hours a day and night, and use a built-in closed-circuit television (CCTV) to detect people falling and fire based on artificial intelligence (AI) functions.
In particular, the city plans to monitor the video obtained through Spot at the Urban Integrated Information Center, which controls the entire city, and to jointly respond to various accidents and crimes by linking with related agencies such as 112 and 119 when an accident is detected.
In addition, during the Sejong Festival, robots patrol the festival site and provide entertainment such as dancing and photo zones, and are also used to promote the image of Sejong as a smart city through demonstrations of autonomous robot functions.
Prior to full-scale deployment of patrol robots, the city held a demonstration at Ieung Bridge on this day and demonstrated preliminary on-site inspections for autonomous robot operation, robot (spot) functions, operation plans, and Ieung Bridge patrols.
This project is being promoted as part of the Sejong National pilot smart city life, healthcare, and safety public sector smart innovative technology consignment agreement project that the city has been promoting since 2020 with government funding from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, and Transport.
Mayor Choi Min-ho visited Boston Dynamics' headquarters during an official business trip to the United States last March and proposed establishing a cooperative relationship to introduce robot technology to autonomous vehicles and urban air mobility (UAM) and promote demonstration projects.
The city plans to introduce an additional Spot with government funding next year, and plans to review various ways to utilize it, such as safety patrols at Ieung Bridge, while expanding the area of use through technology exchanges with manufacturers.
Mayor Choi Min-ho said, “As the new technologies of the 4th Industrial Revolution, artificial intelligence and 5th generation communication services, are combined with robots, smartization is progressing rapidly and the field of application is rapidly expanding.” He added, “We will continue to utilize cutting-edge new technologies to promote citizen safety.” “I will do my best to do it,” he said.