Seoul City 'Smart Pol' to Enable Charging for Electric Vehicles and Drones

Electric Vehicle Charging and Drone Smart Poles: 10 Units Debut by Year-End... 211 Additional Smart Poles to Be Installed
Expectations to Address Charging Station Shortages with 'Electric Vehicle Charging Smart Poles' in Parking Lots like Olympic Park

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Cheol-young] The so-called smart poles?intelligent streetlights and traffic lights integrated with advanced ICT technologies such as intelligent closed-circuit television (CCTV), public Wi-Fi, and IoT (Internet of Things)?in Seoul are evolving once again.

On the 9th, the Seoul Metropolitan Government announced that it will pilot a total of 10 advanced smart poles, including electric vehicle charging smart poles and drone smart poles, at five locations by the end of this year.

First, smart poles capable of rapid electric vehicle charging will be installed in roadside parking lots, allowing citizens to charge their electric vehicles more quickly and conveniently. In the Banpocheon area, drone smart poles equipped with stations for drone charging and landing will be installed. Various public services utilizing drones, such as real-time traffic volume analysis on nearby roads and guidance against illegal parking, are planned. All smart poles will fundamentally include existing smart pole functions such as intelligent CCTV and public Wi-Fi.

The ‘electric vehicle charging smart pole’ is a smart pole integrated with rapid charging capabilities that can complete electric vehicle charging within one hour on roadside streetlights, along with various smart functions. Seven units will be installed: three in roadside parking lots around Olympic Park in Songpa-gu, two in parking lots along Seongbukdong-gil in Seongbuk-gu, and two in roadside parking lots near Sinyongsan Station in Yongsan-gu.

Previously, Seoul selected parking lots as target sites to facilitate convenient charging for electric vehicle users. On June 25, a demand survey for electric vehicle charging smart poles was conducted across 25 autonomous districts, and seven locations in three districts expected to have high construction effectiveness were selected.

Additionally, the ‘drone smart pole’ is equipped with a station for drone landing and charging at the top of the smart pole, along with customized smart functions for the surrounding environment such as CCTV, Wi-Fi, and pedestrian flow sensors. Three units will be installed: two in the Banpocheon area of Seocho-gu and one in the nearby Ichon Hangang Park.

Seoul plans to implement various pilot services using drone smart poles. These include checking real-time traffic volume on nearby main roads, guiding against illegal parking, improving riverside environments, and supporting safe return home services.

Furthermore, Seoul will install an additional 211 smart poles by the end of this year in Guro-gu, Dongjak-gu, Gangdong-gu, and Jongno-gu. Customized smart poles tailored to the surrounding environment will be built in the Guro-gu and Dongjak-gu areas. Safety smart poles and CCTV smart poles will be installed in school zones and alleys to protect children, and traffic light smart poles will be installed at crosswalks to enhance citizen safety and convenience. In the Gangdong-gu and Jongno-gu areas, streetlight smart poles supporting various smart functions will be installed. These efforts will be linked with pedestrian environment improvement projects to increase citizen benefits and reduce construction costs.

Meanwhile, in May, Seoul held an ‘online briefing session’ for over 100 local government officials nationwide to introduce smart pole construction and operation guidelines and case studies. Additionally, six types of documents, including smart pole construction and operation guidelines and standard model construction manuals, were published on the Smart Seoul portal, allowing anyone to download them and laying the foundation for systematic nationwide expansion of smart poles.

Park Jong-su, Director of Smart City Policy at Seoul City, said, “Smart poles are intelligent urban infrastructure that evolve road facilities such as streetlights, which are closely located in citizens’ living spaces throughout the city. We will develop smart poles as foundational infrastructure for smart cities by integrating smart city functions needed by citizens?such as CCTV, public Wi-Fi, and electric vehicle charging?into smart poles to enhance safety, welfare, and convenience closer to the citizens.”

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