University of Seoul to Tackle Traffic Congestion with AI and Digital Twins

[Financial News] A global forum for knowledge exchange will open to address complex urban challenges, including chronic traffic congestion and urban overcrowding, by combining artificial intelligence (AI) with digital twin technology.
The University of Seoul (UOS) announced on the 7th that it will host the three-day 2026 Seoul Urban Science Symposium (SSUS) from the 10th to the 12th at its Natural Sciences Building. Under the theme “Advancing Urban Intelligence through AI, Data, and Analytics,” this year’s event will bring together leading scholars from around the world to discuss ways to build future smart cities based on advanced digital technologies.
The symposium’s central theme is “the convergence of urban infrastructure and AI.” Piyushmita Takuria, a professor at Rutgers University, will deliver a keynote address on urban analysis using generative AI and the potential of a new form of urban intelligence. S.C. Wong of the University of Hong Kong will discuss urban transportation networks and fluctuations in traffic flows, while Alison Heppenstall of the University of Glasgow will share research findings on human behavior and urban mobility modeling.
The afternoon’s specialized sessions will cover a wide range of emerging technologies with significant industrial and policy implications.
The “Smart Mobility and Transportation Analytics” session will feature presentations on analyzing citizens’ travel data using large language models (LLMs), digital twin technology that recreates cities in virtual spaces to control traffic signals and flows in real time, and methods for analyzing electric vehicle data. Fernando Vaca, Dong Ngo Duy, Ki-tae Jang, and Professor Suki Lee will examine specific data analysis models that can be applied to real roads and mobility systems.
The “Agentic City, Digital Twins, and Policy Intelligence” session will feature Clayton C. Miller and UOS professors Sang-hoon Lee, Seung-hyun Lee, and Jae Teuk Chin. It will focus on changes in future urban administration, including digital twins combined with “agentic AI,” which makes decisions and coordinates actions autonomously, as well as citizen-participatory data, generative AI-based urban policymaking, and algorithmic governance.
The event marks the launch of SSUS, a new name and expanded format succeeding the Seoul Metropolitan Forum (SMF), which has led global discussions in urban planning, the environment, and transportation for the past 30 years. The International Journal of Urban Sciences Part B, an affiliated academic journal, will also be launched during the event to establish a sustainable global research collaboration network.
The event will begin with a welcome dinner on the 10th, followed by the plenary session on the 11th, including the opening ceremony, keynote speeches, and specialized sessions. It will conclude on the 12th with a technical tour of major urban sites in Seoul.

[email protected] Man-ki Kim Reporter