Incheon Metropolitan City plans to significantly strengthen its urban safety management system by introducing AI, the Internet of Things and other advanced technologies.
The city aims to build a round-the-clock disaster monitoring environment that identifies and neutralizes hazards before they materialize, securing public safety.
Incheon announced Thursday that it will use its 365-day, 24-hour disaster safety operations center as the core hub of the initiative, with plans to sharply expand AI-powered CCTV coverage and IoT-based disaster detection infrastructure by 2029.
Eliminating surveillance blind spots is central to the plan. The city will concentrate AI-enabled CCTV cameras and infrared cameras in disaster-prone areas such as traditional markets and coastal zones.
Alongside new installations, existing equipment will be upgraded to intelligent systems, with the city set to add about 900 advanced surveillance cameras per year.
Measures to prevent flooding caused by rising sea levels are also included. The city will install tidal monitoring systems at four major coastal sites at high risk of inundation during spring tides — including Sorae Port — to track water levels in real time.
Alongside this, safety management of aging and vulnerable structures such as bridges will shift to digital methods.
IoT sensors will be attached to 27 key facilities, including bridges along Incheon-daero, to detect anomalies such as cracks or deformation in real time and prevent accidents before they occur.
"The essence of disaster response lies in detecting danger early and acting quickly," said Shim Yeon-sam, head of Incheon Metropolitan City's Citizen Safety Headquarters. "We will apply advanced information and communications technology from multiple angles to make Incheon a safe city with no blind spots."
gilbert@heraldcorp.com
