Seoul Municipality has launched a major project to create a digital model and management of its city in order to provide improved services in the metaverse. The idea is to be able to improve the daily lives of the residents and allow anyone in the world to benefit from the city’s assets by immersing themselves in this virtual representation of a South Korean city.
Known as “Metaverse Seoul”, the project relates to all areas of municipal administration. It combines the concept of a digital twin, which consists in recreating an existing infrastructure, in digital form, including an entire city, and virtual reality.
The goal is to make the city more “smarter” and its services can be easily accessed by everyone. From 2023, some of the city’s administrative services will be accessed through the metaverse. Users will be able to create an avatar and discover the various services of the Town Hall in virtual form. Ultimately, the goal is for everyone to have access to information about education, tax collection, or complaints. The project aims to make it easier for citizens to connect to government services and not worry about time, location and language restrictions.
Away from the administrative side, “Metaverse Seoul” intends to take advantage of what the digital twin for example allows. The project will also improve the size and layout of various public infrastructures, the safety of local residents as well as real-time fire monitoring. In the future, the project will also provide virtual co-working spaces to allow employees to work remotely as if they were in a real office.
Starting in 2030, the city plans to hold several events in the Metaverse, such as the Lantern Festival, so that anyone anywhere in the world can participate. It also intends to allow visits to certain areas and museums in order to enhance its tourist attractiveness.
With this mega project, Seoul aims to become the first major city to take advantage of the possibilities offered by Metaverse, both those already established and those to come. In fact, the capital of South Korea is already at the forefront of connectivity, with an efficient and broadband 5G network as well as more than 100,000 WiFi hotspots available in the city.
While this is the first time a major city has embarked on a project of this scale, others are already using a digital twin. For example, Las Vegas has developed a type of 3D reproduction of its downtown, designed to simulate different scenarios in order to reduce carbon dioxide emissions and improve the sustainability of transportation and buildings. – AFP relax news
