Daejeon Hosts Nation's First Demonstration of Autonomous Water Mobility

The nation’s first autonomous navigation-based water mobility demonstration project will be conducted in Daejeon.

On the 7th, Daejeon City announced that the ‘Autonomous Navigation-Based Water Mobility Service Demonstration Project’ was finally selected for the Ministry of Science and ICT’s ‘2024 Smart Village Distribution and Expansion Project.’

According to the selection results, the city plans to secure up to 3 billion KRW in national funding from next year through 2026 to carry out the demonstration project.

The demonstration project is a testbed initiative to build a multifunctional eco-friendly water mobility platform capable of autonomous navigation-based water tourism and water transportation, and to verify safety and effectiveness in inland water environments such as Gapcheon Stream and Daecheongho Lake.

Autonomous navigation water mobility is a system that collects and manages vessel operation information using land and water communication technologies, and supports navigation planning, fault diagnosis, preventive maintenance, and decision-making through information and communication technologies such as autonomous navigation and big data analysis.

The city plans to collaborate with Daejeon Information & Culture Industry Promotion Agency, Samsung Heavy Industries Daedeok Research Center, Chungnam National University, and others to demonstrate water leisure tourism mobility services on Gapcheon Stream, and eco-friendly water mobility services equipped with functions such as environmental monitoring, resident transportation, and ecological learning around Daecheongho Lake.

Additionally, through selecting demonstration base areas, consulting with related organizations, and establishing demonstration scenarios and detailed operation plans, the city will begin developing water mobility suitable for inland water environments and building a safety control system starting next year.

No Gisu, Director of the Culture and Tourism Bureau of the city, said, “We will carefully manage the demonstration project to advance autonomous navigation water mobility technology and equip it with various functions for water tourism, water transportation, and water environmental monitoring. In particular, we will strive to make Daejeon a hub for the commercialization of water mobility services and lay the groundwork for nationwide expansion through this demonstration project.”

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