[Courtesy of Hyundai]
SEOUL, Jan. 29 (Aju News) -- South Korea designated two testbeds Monday for smart city platforms that would feature future technologies such as autonomous driving, grid-based energy control, AI-based disaster control and smart farming, all linked to the world's first fifth-generation mobile data network.
A smart city is a suburban area that uses different types of electronic sensors to collect and share data. The processed data is efficiently used by various parts of the city. Because the smart city is an integrated web of devices and networks, fast and secure internet connection is needed. South Korea plans to use the super-fast 5G network to connect the platforms of smart cities together.
In a roadmap presented by the presidential committee for the Fourth Industrial Revolution, two areas in the central city of Sejong and the southern port city of Busan were designated as testbeds for connected smart city platforms.
"The smart city has a great meaning as it is a platform to actualize all services related to the Fourth Industrial Revolution," a committee head official said in a statement, adding it aims to establish the smart cities by 2023.
The smart city in Sejong is a self-sustainable city which specializes in supporting autonomous connected cars, featuring an energy management system, which cuts down living costs for local residents, the committee said.
The smart city in Busan would take advantage of the ocean, providing a new water purification system and hydrothermal energy generation. The committee said the Busan smart city would provide a free 5G wireless internet along with a disaster management system for earthquakes and floods.