[Interview] Go In-seok, Director of Seoul Institute of Technology, "Research Achievements Solving Seoul Urban Issues Including Advanced IoT-Based Heat Transport Pipe Maintenance Technology"

Although a newly established institution in its third year, it revealed plans to continue growing as a think tank opening a new urban future through technological innovation to improve citizens' safety and quality of life.

[Asia Economy Reporter Jong-il Park] “The Seoul Institute of Technology is a newly established institution founded in December 2018 to solve the complex urban problems of Seoul through science and technology, and it is now celebrating its third anniversary. Since its opening, it has been dedicated to research with three main pillars to contribute to the sustainable development of the city and the happiness of its citizens.”

In an interview with this publication, In-seok Ko, Director of the Seoul Institute of Technology (photo), explained the purpose of the institute’s establishment and the current progress of its research.

The institute primarily conducts ‘urban problem-solving research,’ actively supports policies necessary for city administration, and serves as a ‘technology innovation platform’ acting as a bridge between private sector technologies and actual users. Additionally, the institute aims to become a ‘startup Valley’ itself, contributing to the creation of South Korea’s technology innovation ecosystem.

Accordingly, the institute established its own startup support regulations, allowing anyone within the institute to start a business as long as they have an idea. At the end of last year, an internal venture startup idea contest was held, selecting one team. Director Ko emphasized, “We envision the institute as a corporate-type research institute that applies its unique ideas and research results not just to shelves but to actual field technologies.”

The institute’s organizational structure includes the Urban Infrastructure Research Division, Safety and Disaster Prevention Research Division, Living Environment Research Division, Smart City Research Division, Climate Environment Research Division, Earthquake Safety Center, and Data Science Center. Each year, it undertakes its own research projects and commissioned projects, having completed a total of 112 research projects by last year, with 18 policy proposals made and reflected. As a Seoul city-funded research institution, the demand for research projects linked with the city has been steadily increasing annually (2018: 27 projects → 2019: 43 projects → 2020: 53 projects). The institute also emphasizes that it conducts annual demand surveys for selecting research projects and holds meetings with related Seoul city departments and institutions to select research topics.

Among the institute’s achievements so far is the ‘Advanced IoT-based Heat Transport Pipe Maintenance Technology.’ The institute developed the country’s first IoT-based heat transport pipe maintenance technology, currently in the demonstration phase at the Seoul Energy Corporation’s Sanggye-dong site. Another technology, the ‘Virtual GPS Signal Generation Technology using SDR’ for use in underground tunnels, is currently being pilot-operated at Namsan No.1 Tunnel. Director Ko stated, “It is possible to detect the location and information of heat transport pipe damage in real time and transmit it to managers via wireless communication networks. Additionally, by linking AI-based data analysis functions, real-time monitoring information can be acquired and analyzed.”

He also proudly mentioned the ‘Seoul Future Report 2030,’ the institute’s first future study, which derived policies and technological tasks to prepare for Seoul’s urban future based on future forecasting.

Alongside this, the study on ‘Utilization of Environmental Satellite Information for Seoul’s Air Quality Monitoring’ is explained as research that can practically assist in monitoring air quality and establishing reduction measures in Seoul. Director Ko said, “Currently, the city operates urban air monitoring stations in each of the 25 autonomous districts to measure air quality. This point-based monitoring method only provides air quality information at specific points, making it difficult to identify sources of air pollution coming from outside.” He added, “The institute reviewed the feasibility of using environmental satellites for Seoul’s air quality monitoring and established a plan to utilize remote sensing data for advanced air quality surveillance.” Furthermore, the ‘Seoul Metropolitan Area Data Science System Establishment Plan’ aimed to build an intelligent data analysis environment platform to predict urban problems and enable proactive responses through big data and AI utilization.

Director Ko said, “The institute will continue to grow as a think tank opening a new urban future through technological innovation to improve citizens’ safety and quality of life. Especially this year, we plan to conduct technological research that proactively addresses problems faced by global cities through convergent and multifaceted technological approaches using data.”

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