▶주메뉴 바로가기

▶본문 바로가기

The Korea Herald
검색폼

THE INVESTOR
March 29, 2024

Startups

How can startups solve Seoul’s urban problem with AI, IoT?

  • PUBLISHED :August 30, 2019 - 15:08
  • UPDATED :September 02, 2019 - 14:01
  • 폰트작게
  • 폰트크게
  • facebook
  • sms
  • print

South Korean capital Seoul is one of the most tech-savvy cities in the world, and this has allowed the startup community here to brim with solutions to tackle its problems.

For startups honing their tech capacity, ranging from ultrafine dust management to household waste treatment and fire prevention, the forthcoming tech event hosted by the Seoul Metropolitan Government, “Start-Up Seoul: Tech-Rise 2019,” could be a chance to gain access to venture investors and corporate representatives for open innovation, among others.

Exterior view of Dongdaemun Design Plaza
Dongdaemun Design Plaza

Related:
Seoul aims to be global innovation launchpad, prepares to host 3-day tech event


As part of the three-day tech event in early September, “Exhibition on Seoul Innovations” at Dongdaemun Design Plaza on Sept. 5-6 is expected to allow some 50 homegrown startups to showcase technologies that can apply to the real world.

Also during Exhibition on Seoul Innovations, visitors are expected to get a glimpse of the technology trend in the city in terms of artificial intelligence, big data and the internet of things.

In particular under the limelight are those in search of a chance to become the next automated solution to problems the municipal government is facing, such as worsening air quality and urban insecurity.

One example is DroMii, a Seoul-based AI startup that develops a car-free street mapping service and sensor solutions for cracks and depressions like potholes on the road surface. 

Another Seoul-based AI-driven startup moving to handle urban issues is Spacewalk, a realty solution to present optimal profit scenarios of an urban regeneration project and examine its feasibility. Their product, called “Landbook,” is expected to boost the city government’s initiative to regenerate the city.

For Gatda, its AI-powered “Ppaegi” service is designed to come up with the optimal cost of household waste disposal and aid household waste collection in Seoul.

Atlasen, in the meantime, uses IoT sensor modules to monitor and analyze indoor ultrafine dust, carbon dioxide, temperature and humidity. Another IoT startup, Wyhil will present products to gauge air quality and allow users to control it using a chatbot function.

Xpia, on the other hand, uses big data technology for a home fire prevention solution, as it tracks Seoul households’ gas usage, the heat of a kitchen and a voice recognition algorithm into big data.

Aside from urban issues, visitors will also be able to learn how AI, IoT and other technologies by Seoul-based startups are applied in various use cases, including pet condition monitoring, neural audio synthesis, quantified self-movement tracking, fashion recommendation, surgical video analysis, safe driving solutions, tunnel road monitoring and solar panel management, among others.

At Exhibition on Seoul Innovations, over three out of five make use of either AI, big data or IoT technologies. 

The two-day expo will be composed of exhibition booths, a pitch competition by 10 startups on Sept. 5 and customer experience zones by five startups.

Other than Exhibition on Seoul Innovations, the Seoul-sponsored tech event from Sept. 4-6 features programs and exhibitions at Seoul Startup Hub, Seoul Bio Hub and Yangjae R&CD Innovation Hub in its first day and conferences at DDP for the other two days.

By Son Ji-hyoung (consnow@heraldcorp.com)

EDITOR'S PICKS