Gwangju City and LG Uplus Selected for MEC-Based 5G Public Sector Leading Application Project

5·18 Memorial Park Transformed into AI Park... Installation of Smart Poles with Integrated IoT Sensors

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Park Seon-gang] Gwangju Metropolitan City announced on the 20th that it has been finally selected in the smart city sector of the ‘MEC-based 5G Public Sector Leading Application’ project, jointly applied with LG Uplus, which was publicly recruited by the Ministry of Science and ICT and the National Information Society Agency.

This project will be promoted by investing a total of 7.8 billion KRW, including national funds, in the 5·18 Memorial Park where the 5·18 Memorial Culture Center is located, to introduce and build an intelligent park management system utilizing Mobile Edge Computing.

Mobile Edge Computing is a network technology that processes data on-site without transmitting it to a central storage device, significantly reducing the processing stages of data and drastically shortening the latency of specific services. It is a core technology for fostering new industries.

Gwangju City plans to establish by the end of this year an ‘intelligent robot’ that provides information to citizens and performs quarantine prevention such as fever detection at the 5·18 Memorial Culture Center, a ‘smart pole’ equipped with complex IoT sensors that monitor air quality information and CCTV, and a ‘media wall’ that offers various visual effects.

Among these, the intelligent indoor robot monitors visitors’ fever and fire, and in emergencies such as a visitor collapsing, it detects the situation in real-time through AI video analysis and requests help from nearby people.

Additionally, it provides an opportunity to experience MEC technology in real-time by responding to on-site situations through two-way communication services.

The ‘smart pole,’ equipped with complex IoT sensors including CCTV, measures the number of visitors and crowd density in the park through illuminance sensors and automatically adjusts the brightness of streetlights to save unnecessary energy.

Moreover, the thermal imaging camera measures visitors’ body temperature and broadcasts a guidance message saying, ‘If you have a suspected fever, please refrain from going out,’ to those suspected of COVID-19 symptoms. It is also equipped with sensors measuring fine dust and ultraviolet rays, providing air quality information to the control center.

In addition, a media wall made of translucent glass that does not spoil the park’s scenery will be installed to provide real-time information on quarantine, various announcements, and performance events even in plazas crowded with visitors.

Visitors can also interact by uploading photos to the media wall through dedicated terminals.

Oh Dong-gyo, Director of the Future Industry Policy Division of the city, said, “For Gwangju to become an AI-centered city, MEC (Mobile Edge Computing) technology, which can realize the ultra-low latency and ultra-high speed potential of 5G networks, is essential. Based on this, we will do our best to expand 5G MEC into public services that citizens can experience and help Gwangju leap forward as a leading city in the Green Digital New Deal.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.