Seoul boosts EV charging and smartens security lighting
Seoul Metropolitan Government is testing two new models of electric vehicle chargers as well as replacing 2,941 old security lights with IoT-embedded LED lighting.
Seoul Metropolitan Government is testing two new models of electric vehicle (EV) chargers to support its pledge of supplying 270,000 EVs and installing 200,000 EV charging stations by 2025.
In a separate announcement, SMG said it is also replacing 2,941 old security lights with smart security lights embedded with an internet of things (IoT) signalling device by the end of this year to make alleyways safer.
EV chargers
The streetlight-shaped charger is a 50kW rapid charger, which can fully charged EVs in an hour while the bollard-shaped model is slower to charge but only occupies 0.06 of a square metre.
The streetlight-shaped chargers are also equipped with streetlights, CCTVs for crime prevention, and LCDs. Since slow-speed chargers are set up in most residential areas in the city, the installation of the bollard charger is expected to present a new model for residential areas.
Both are new types of EV chargers for Seoul and can be set up anywhere in alleys and roads, making it convenient for citizens who use electric vehicles to charge their EVs when using restaurants or other commercial facilities or to charge them near their homes when commuting.
“Seoul will continue to hear the citizens’ voices to create the EV charging infrastructure in every corner of their residential areas so that the citizens are able to use them conveniently with an ease”
The city plans to complete the installation of a total of these new chargers: six streetlight-shaped chargers and four bollard-shaped chargers by the end of December this year. They will be located in residents’ priority parking areas, roadsides, and road parking lots near taxi garages in six autonomous districts, including Mapo-gu.
After the test operations in those areas, the city plans to expand the chargers to more than 100 by 2025. Seoul will also install at least two more eco-friendly EV charging complexes by 2022 in addition to the current two complexes, which can produce and supply the electricity in one place. The city also seeks to attract private companies to increase the number of public and private charging stations by 2025 to more than 100.
“The city decided to test-operate the streetlight-shaped and bollard-shaped EV chargers based on EV-driving citizens,” said Yoo Yeon-sik, deputy mayor for climate and environment, SMG. “They prefer to charge their EVs near their homes, but the multihousehold and multifamily row house areas have relatively poorer EV charging equipment than the apartment complexes have.
“Seoul will continue to hear the citizens’ voices to create the EV charging infrastructure in every corner of their residential areas so that the citizens are able to use them conveniently with an ease.”
Smart security lights
The aim of the new smart security lights is to better protect citizens living nearby dark and isolated alleyways, especially on their way back home late at night. The LED lights are embedded with an IoT signalling device based on wireless local area network (WLan) and operate with the Ansimi app.
Ansimi is a 24/7 citizen safety network that connects some 40,000 CCTVs across the capital with a smartphone application and provides rescue services. Seoul developed and distributed the application in 2018, across all of its municipal districts. Ansimi has a feature called “Safe Return to Home Monitoring,” and once activated, enables district officials monitor a citizen’s safety until she/he returns home.
The app also has an emergency call feature that automatically contacts the police when users in danger shake their smartphones or press the emergency button.
When users launch Ansimi, start the Safe Return to Home Monitoring feature, and walk down the alleys where smart security lights are installed, the lights automatically get brighter as users approach around 25-30 metres from the pole.
In addition, by changing the old light bulbs into LED bulbs, citizens can now identify their surroundings and objects nearby more clearly.
“The lights will brighten dark streets and allow us to respond to emergencies promptly. We will do our best to create a safer environment where not only those who live alone but also others can feel safer after dark”
The SMG plans to create an integrated regional safety network and will embark on a project maximising the safety of residential areas where the smart security lights are installed. Other projects, such as the expansion of CCTVs, area patrols by Safe Village Sheriff, and application of the Design Against Crime, will be implemented.
“We installed the smart security lights using IoT technologies for citizens who have felt unsafe walking down dark and secluded alleys at night,” said Lee Hae-Sun, head of the task force for Seoul’s single-person households. “The lights will brighten dark streets and allow us to respond to emergencies promptly. We will do our best to create a safer environment where not only those who live alone but also others can feel safer after dark.”
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