By Kim Eun-young and Hahm Hee-eun

Driverless buses will be operated in the Digital Media City (DMC) area of Sangam-dong as early as late 2019 as part of a pilot project for self-driving vehicles. The Seoul Metropolitan City government plans to establish the world’s first 5G driverless vehicle network and to use next-generation tech to support autonomous buses.

On May 13, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport announced that it would build a "cooperative intelligent transportation system" (C-ITS) in downtown Seoul in cooperation with the Seoul Metropolitan Government.

The DMC area in Sangam-dong has a wide range of road types, including tunnels and roundabouts, which makes it an ideal test area for autonomous driving. The test area is also equipped with a wireless LAN-based "WAVE" network and the mobile communication-based "Cellular-V2X Network," both of which allow for stable communications with high-speed driving. In addition, a high-speed 5G mobile communications network can inform on the neighboring traffic situation through text messages or voice alerts. 

The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport said, “Real-time information sent from traffic cameras on roads will enable safer autonomous driving,” and added that, "Once the conditions for autonomous cooperative driving have been established in the city center of Seoul, autonomous navigation technology will be able to make a real leap forward."


eykim86@korea.kr