How Busan’s Smart City is Revolutionizing Urban Life with Autonomous Buses and Robots

Translation result.

Busan announced on March 29 that it will kick off a full-scale smart-city rollout with an “Autonomous Mobility Service” opening ceremony at the Eco-Delta City Smart City Lab in Gangseo District at 10:30 a.m. on March 30.

According to the city, a pilot self-driving bus will begin operating in April on a roughly 10 km round-trip route (nine stops) linking Eco-Delta City’s residential areas and the Smart Village Urban Tech Houses — about 6.2 miles in total. The bus integrates LiDAR, cameras and other advanced sensors to detect pedestrians and traffic signals in real time.

At the opening, officials will announce the start of bus operations and demonstrate service robots designed for everyday tasks — patrolling complexes, cleaning, carrying luggage and even acting as baristas. The city will also unveil an integrated control platform that manages those robots in real time.

City officials said they will use the driving data collected and resident feedback from the pilot to expand autonomous-vehicle and robotic services across Eco-Delta City’s main neighborhoods.

Mayor Park Hyung-joon described the Eco-Delta Smart City national pilot as a living lab where a rich everyday life and innovative technology coexist. He said the city will safely integrate advanced technologies like autonomous vehicles and service robots into residents’ daily routines and strengthen a data-driven urban management system to create a smart city that people can actually experience.