[Edaily Reporter Shin Yeong-bin ] Seoul Robotics, an infrastructure-based autonomous operation software company, is participating in a national project to build an artificial intelligence (AI)-specialized pilot city in Wonju, Gangwon Province, in collaboration with the HyundaiMotor(005380), and others.

RoboRobo Co., Ltd. announced on the 24th that it has been selected as the implementing agency for the Gangwon region under the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport’s “AI-Specialized Pilot City Project.” This national project aims to realize a “K-AI City” by integrating AI across all aspects of urban life, including transportation, safety, housing, and healthcare.

Wonju City was ultimately selected as the project site for the Gangwon region after proposing a Wonju-style AI innovation model. The project’s total budget is 198.1 billion won, comprising 143.4 billion won in national funding and 48.9 billion won in local funding. Following a one-year basic planning phase starting in the second half of this year, the project is scheduled to proceed from 2027—upon designation as a pilot city—through 2030.

In the Gangwon-Wonju Innovation City, designated as the priority district, future mobility services such as circular autonomous shuttles and robo-buses will be introduced. Disaster safety services for early detection of urban disaster signs, AI healthcare, and physical AI-based smart housing services will also be rolled out in phases.

The consortium consists of seven organizations, including the lead firm, STraffic Co., Ltd., as well as HyundaiMotor, Seoul Robotics, NHN Cloud, SALTLUX Inc., the Wonju Future Industry Promotion Agency, and Kangwon National University’s Wonju Campus.

Seoul Robotics is responsible for the “Master Digital Twin” and “Physical AI” domains—two of the project’s four major software areas, which include digital twins, AI models, multi-agent systems, and physical AI. In the physical AI domain, the company will perform integrated control of heterogeneous robots—from different manufacturers and domains—on a city-wide scale.

Seoul Robotics’ core approach is to make the space itself autonomous, rather than individual vehicles. Instead of equipping each vehicle with sensors and computing devices, it perceives the space using sensors installed on urban infrastructure such as roads and buildings.

Data is reflected in the Master Digital Twin in real time. This allows city operators to grasp traffic flow, pedestrian density, and signs of accidents at a glance and take preemptive action based on simulations. The company plans to implement this as the “Urban Intelligence Center,” a city operations dashboard.

The Physical AI Platform provides integrated control over a wide range of robots, including autonomous shuttles and robot buses, as well as robots used for delivery, cleaning, security, patient transport, and patrols. It preemptively shares information on blind spots detected by the infrastructure with the vehicles and robots of each operator, enabling the city to address even hazards that are difficult to detect with individual sensors alone.

RoboRobo Co., Ltd. explained that the system can operate stably even during severe weather conditions, such as heavy snow and torrential rain, thanks to its multi-sensor system, and can achieve recognition accuracy down to the centimeter level.

Seoul Robotics has previously applied its infrastructure-based autonomous operation technology at global manufacturing plants, including those of Nissan and Honda. Through this project, the company aims to expand the application of its autonomous operation software—which has traditionally focused on factories and logistics—to public urban infrastructure.

Lee Han-bin, CEO of Seoul Robotics, said, “Participating in this national project will allow us to broaden our business scope from factories and logistics to public urban infrastructure, and it will serve as a turning point for us to transform from a provider of industrial autonomous driving solutions into a comprehensive provider of autonomous operation solutions encompassing smart cities.”