▲ Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport

[Korea Education Newspaper] Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport Kim Yun-duk visited the Naver 1784 building on the afternoon of May 27 to observe a mobile robot demonstration inside the building, and

We listened to the future vision of robot-friendly buildings incorporating technologies such as digital twins and autonomous driving, as well as suggestions for institutional improvements to commercialize mobile robots.

The Naver 1784 building is currently being utilized as a demonstration and testbed for mobile robots by applying robot-friendly architectural design, such as architectural design considering robot movement, as well as digital twins and cloud-based control systems; it is a building that incorporates various land, infrastructure, and transport technologies.

The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport is pursuing support measures, including establishing various policy frameworks, to ensure that mobile robots can be safely utilized in urban, residential, and architectural spaces.

First, the National Geographic Information Institute under the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport has been constructing mobility pedestrian maps since 2024 to ensure that outdoor mobile robots can operate smoothly and safely on sidewalks and side streets. This year, through technological collaboration with Naver Labs, a subsidiary of Naver, the institute plans to build a pedestrian map around the Naver headquarters and verify the operational stability of outdoor mobile robots. Furthermore, it intends to jointly establish pedestrian map standardization and data utilization models to enable the future application of various types of robots in outdoor environments.

Meanwhile, to establish an institutional framework for parking robots, the 'Safety Standards for Mechanical Parking Devices' will be revised to include regulations on vehicle weight, entry and exit times, and safety standards (such as devices to prevent deviation during movement and obstacle detection). Additionally, the 'Rules on Housing Construction Standards, etc.' are scheduled to be amended (currently under legislative notice, May 21–June 30) to allow the installation of parking robots in multi-unit housing. It is expected that starting in the second half of this year, when these amendments come into effect, the efficiency of urban parking spaces and the expansion of smart parking services through parking robots will accelerate.

Furthermore, with the recent proposal of the 'Innovative Buildings Act,' an institutional foundation is expected to be established to organically integrate new technologies such as robots, autonomous driving, and digital twins with buildings. Moving forward, along with the certification of robot-friendly buildings, regulatory exemptions, and public seed funding, the widespread adoption of architectural designs, facilities, and control systems that enable the safe operation of mobile robots within buildings is anticipated.

Minister Kim Yun-duk pointed out, “While the mobile robot industry is currently rapidly expanding into our daily lives for delivery, parking, charging, construction sites, and security, the reality is that there is a lack of policies and institutional support for the commercialization of these technologies.” He added, “Moving forward, we plan to strongly push forward land and transport policies, such as building spatial information infrastructure, promoting autonomous driving technology, and boldly rationalizing regulations, through the safe use and activation of mobile robots.”

[News Source: Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport]