[Editor's Note] ITS aims to scientifically and automatically operate and manage the transportation system, and ultimately improve the efficiency and safety of transportation. Professor Park Shin-hyung of the Department of Transportation Engineering at Seoul City University, who serves as the planning director of the Korean ITS Society, said that the role and contribution of ITS, the physical foundation for implementing smart mobility, will continue as new transportation methods and systems continue to emerge. He then mentioned the issue of government budget cuts in the ITS sector and emphasized the need to seek directions for continuous investment from a long-term perspective. To advance the safety and convenience of 'mobility', our magazine invited Professor Shinhyung Park, who is actively working in academia, as a speaker at the '
2023 e4ds Automotive Conference ' and had a conversation ahead of the event.
■ Please tell us why ITS is receiving attention and what the ultimate goal of the system is. The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport defines an intelligent transportation system as an environment-friendly, future-oriented transportation system that applies cutting-edge technologies in transportation, electronics, communications and control to transportation system components such as roads, railways and airports and transportation means such as automobiles and trains to manage and control transportation facilities and means in real time and collect and utilize traffic information in real time, while maximizing the use of transportation facilities and increasing the transport efficiency of transportation means and promoting transportation convenience and transportation safety for the public.
Since its introduction in Korea in the early 1990s, large-scale infrastructure construction projects have been implemented, and over the past 30 years, with the advancement of cutting-edge technology, more accurate and useful services have been developed and provided. The ultimate goal of ITS is to improve the efficiency and safety of the transportation system from the operator's perspective, and to make the transportation system safe and convenient for users.
■ I am curious about what issues are currently being actively discussed in academia in relation to ITS and what is being discussed about them. Currently, the development and commercialization of autonomous driving technology and the implementation of smart mobility are the biggest concerns in the transportation field. In the autonomous driving field, various ITS technology elements are being utilized to realize autonomous cooperative driving based on V2X.
In fact, the term ITS has been used for a long time to represent advanced transportation systems, but since the C-ITS Basic Plan was established in 2013 and pilot projects have been conducted since 2014, services have been defined and developed centered on C-ITS (Cooperative-ITS, next-generation ITS), a next-generation system differentiated from the existing ITS. This system aims to greatly improve the efficiency and safety of transportation by connecting objects on the road through vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) communication and vehicle-to-road infrastructure (V2I) communication and enabling the exchange of useful information for transportation. Therefore, this is a key technology field that can maximize system-level efficiency in the autonomous driving field, where research and development is currently actively underway.
The following is the implementation of smart mobility. Smart mobility aims to provide customized travel services by focusing on individual travel characteristics. In order to implement such services, there must be a collection system that collects extensive data, analysis technology that analyzes the collected big data to derive an optimized trip plan for each individual, and this must be provided to users in a timely manner. ITS is a system that encompasses the entire process from collecting, processing, and providing information, so it can be said to be the physical foundation for implementing smart mobility.
■ You are the planning director at the Korea ITS Society. Please tell us about your activities at the society and your ideals and goals. The Korean ITS Society was established with the goal of promoting technological development and nurturing talent through smooth information exchange among ITS-related disciplines, and of providing comprehensive and objective opinions on government policies and technology proposals. The main projects carried out by the society include publishing academic journals, holding seminars and academic conferences, establishing a government-industry-academia-research cooperation system, and conducting international exchanges and surveys and research projects related to ITS.
The planning director assists the president and senior vice president in planning and promoting these various projects. Rather than performing specific tasks, it can be said that it is a position that is involved in the overall work of the society. I first started my activities in the ITS Society when I was a graduate student, through participating in academic conferences and publishing academic papers. After being appointed as a professor, I gradually expanded my scope of activities within the society. In particular, over the past three years, I have served as the academic committee chairman, general affairs director, and planning director, and have broadened my understanding of the role and function of the society by overseeing not only academic conferences and society events, but also various projects of the society.
The field of ITS is a drawing paper, paint, and brush that draws the future transportation system. Future transportation has no final destination. As long as humanity exists, new technologies will continue to be developed, and accordingly, new transportation methods and systems will continuously appear, so the role of ITS will continue.
Personally, I don't have any clear ideals or goals. However, in the process of developing human movement to be safer, more convenient, and more comfortable, I am trying to find my role as a transportation and ITS expert and contribute to its development.
■ What are the key issues that need to be discussed in relation to ITS? The biggest issue right now is the government budget cut for the ITS sector next year. Because the country’s finances are not good, not only the ITS sector but also the R&D budget and other socially necessary sectors are being significantly cut. The academic society has been continuously trying to minimize budget cuts by emphasizing the great social contribution of ITS, but it seems difficult to solve it easily.
Nationally, advanced mobility has been selected as one of the 12 national strategic technologies, and its importance has been recognized to the extent that it has been selected as a 'National Strategic Technology Mission-Centered Strategy Roadmap (Ⅰ) - Technology Hegemony Competition Field' along with secondary batteries, semiconductors, and displays. Therefore, cutting the budget for the ITS field, which is responsible for the technology foundation, could be a decision that does not fit with the government's science and technology policy direction. From a long-term perspective, it is necessary to seek directions in which continuous investment is possible.
■ Please give a brief introduction of what you will present at the 2023 e4ds Automotive Conference. Considering other topics presented at the conference, we plan to cover content that can be easily understood by the general public who are not familiar with ITS, such as the concept, history, current status, application cases, and future prospects of ITS.
■ Please give a word to your readers. The three major elements of human life are often referred to as clothing, food, and shelter. Many transportation experts, including myself, add movement to this. Since human life itself is made up of activities, not just clothing, eating, and shelter, 'movement' is an inseparable element of daily life.
ITS is a technology and technical system that improves the quality of 'movement'. The electronic maps, navigation, taxis, parking lots, public transportation, and other traffic information-providing apps that you are familiar with are services created based on ITS. As this is a field that is very closely related to our daily lives, we would appreciate it if you would pay much attention to its future development.
