Do not go gentle into that good night, old age should burn and rave at close of day; Rage, rage against the dying of the light, though wise men at their end know dark is right, because their words had forked no lightning they, do not go gentle into that good night.
Seoul to deploy AI technology to monitor expressways, crowded stadiums
A rendered image of Seoul Facilities Corporation's artificial intelligence-based safety systems, using LiDAR sensors, at Seoul World Cup Stadium. Courtesy of the Seoul Facilities Corporation
By Jhoo Dong-chan
The municipal agency responsible for overseeing the capital’s major public infrastructure will deploy a sweeping network of artificial intelligence (AI) safety systems this year, transitioning from manual surveillance to automated, real-time hazard detection.
The initiative, announced Friday by the Seoul Facilities Corporation, will introduce specialized algorithmic monitoring across the city's critical transit corridors, sports arenas and public grounds to eliminate blind spots.
At the Seoul World Cup Stadium, the agency will introduce an automated crowd management system utilizing LiDAR sensors, which emit laser pulses to map physical spaces in three dimensions. Operating alongside intelligent closed-circuit television cameras, the system will analyze crowd density in real time, classifying risk across four distinct alert tiers. If dangerous bottlenecks occur, the platform will automatically trigger evacuation warnings across the stadium's electronic scoreboards and public address systems.
The city’s high-speed thoroughfares will see a similar digital overhaul.
On five stretches of urban expressways notorious for collisions, including the Olympic Expressway, the agency is deploying generative AI software known as Vision Language Models. Unlike traditional motion sensors, these models can interpret video feeds with the nuance of a human observer. The system is designed to instantly flag multicar collisions, vehicle fires, road debris and stray pedestrians, transmitting immediate alerts to control room operators to prevent secondary pileups during late-night hours.
Beginning in July, 14 patrol vehicles outfitted with specialized AI scanners will begin traversing the city's expressways to map and detect potholes. To combat winter hazards, a smart de-icing system will be installed along a 700-meter corridor at Jongam Junction on the Northern Beltway, an area highly susceptible to black ice. The system will pair automated brine-spraying devices with eight acoustic sensors that detect the distinct micro-sounds of freezing roads, entirely replacing manual patrols.
Further out, at Yongmi Cemetery No. 1, 12 specialized pan-tilt cameras will feed an AI wildfire detection platform. The system will automatically notify forestries and transmit precise geographic data to local fire stations the moment smoke or embers are detected.
Agency officials framed the upgrade as an essential evolution in municipal governance, asserting that the technology will move the city from a reactive posture to predictive public safety.
This article was published with the assistance of generative AI and edited by The Korea Times.