Daejeon Metropolitan City Accelerates the Intelligence of a 'Safe City' with AI and Digital Twins

[Financial News, Daejeon = Reporter Kim Won-jun] Daejeon Metropolitan City is enhancing its urban safety management system by combining artificial intelligence (AI) and digital twin technology.
Daejeon Metropolitan City announced on the 8th that it had signed a 'Memorandum of Understanding for Research and Demonstration of Urban Safety AI Model Development' with major companies and institutions in the information and communication technology (ICT) sector, including Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) and WAVUS Co., Ltd.
This agreement was established to spread the achievements of building a 'Digital Twin Daejeon' based on advanced technology nationwide and to solidify an organic cooperation system among industry, academia, research institutes, and government for the successful implementation of the 'Urban Safety AI Model Development and Demonstration Project (R&D).'
A total of 11 innovation institutions and companies participated in the agreement, including Daejeon Metropolitan City, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST), WAVUS, datamaker, Hansung Cisco, Teleworks, Cuba, SAMITECH, MoveMents, Line World, and Link9.
Participating organizations and companies closely cooperate in a total of six key areas based on their technological capabilities and infrastructure.
Key areas of cooperation include: △promoting the development and demonstration of urban safety AI models (R&D); △establishing strategies for the expansion of AI-based 'Digital Twin Daejeon' and conducting joint research; △proposing and developing AI-based virtual model service models to support decision-making; △sharing infrastructure, exchanging technology, and providing consultation for the promotion of research projects; △supporting the establishment and utilization of Daejeon Metropolitan City's spatial information system; and △joint planning to attract inter-ministerial R&D projects and public competition projects.
The establishment of this cooperation framework was driven by the judgment that a 'predictive safety system'—going beyond the existing control-centered safety network—is essential to respond to the surging complex disasters caused by climate change-induced torrential rains and the aging of urban infrastructure. When digital twin technology, which replicates an environment identical to a real city in a virtual space, is combined with AI's real-time data analysis capabilities, it becomes possible to detect risk factors such as flooding, fires, and traffic accidents in advance and immediately derive optimal evacuation routes and response scenarios.
With this agreement, Daejeon Metropolitan City plans to establish a municipal decision-making system based on AI technology and build an intelligent city management platform capable of responding immediately to various urban disasters and safety accidents.
"This agreement will be an important turning point in elevating Daejeon Metropolitan City's urban safety system to the next level by utilizing AI and digital twin technology," said Daejeon Mayor Heo Tae-jeong. "We will focus our efforts on successfully developing a Daejeon-style urban safety AI model, creating tangible results that citizens can experience in their daily lives, and discovering follow-up projects."

[email protected] Kim Won-jun Reporter