Researchers from government-funded research institutes, companies, and universities in the Daejeon Daedeok Research and Development Special Zone are collaborating to build a 'future city-type digital twin farm' and strive to establish a new industrial ecosystem within the region.

The Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute (ETRI) announced that it will lead technology development for Daejeon Metropolitan City's "Digital Twin Demonstration Farm and Roadmap Planning for Urban Problem Solving" project. This initiative is being promoted by the Daejeon Institute of Science and Technology Promotion (DISTEP) to identify new convergent future industries in Daejeon and to solve urban problems.

ETRI announced that it plans to pursue the development of 'urban digital twin farm technology' that enables the application of smart farms even in urban areas, based on smart farm and digital twin technologies possessed by its researchers.

For this project, six organizations in the Daejeon region, including the lead organization ETRI, will form a consortium. In November of this year, a public hearing will be held to unveil the roadmap for the digital twin urban future farm.

ETRI provides platforms for the latest intelligent technologies, such as AI, digital twins, and the metaverse, to apply the 'smart farm' technologies it has researched and promote business.

The Korea Research Institute of Bioscience and Biotechnology analyzes the current status of high-value plant biomaterial production through the Digital Twin Farm and is responsible for customized genetic models and systems for the production of biomaterials and pharmaceuticals. Additionally, the Korea Institute of Mechanical Engineering supports the field of self-reliant urban and building energy systems. Chungnam National University focuses on systems and applications of plant factories and horticultural technology, while related companies such as Han Technology Co., Ltd. focus on equipment, parts, and services within the city.

In the future, the six organizations will establish a mid-to-long-term roadmap with the goal of an urban future farm by discussing and gathering opinions on the city's various current status, problems, and directions, while simultaneously planning a demonstration project with Daejeon City.

The research team can utilize urban digital twin farm technology to cultivate high-value crops even in urban areas and to utilize aging or abandoned buildings in the city in various ways, such as connecting them to cafes, restaurants, and educational spaces.

In addition, they explained that by building data on the growth conditions and environments of various crops and incorporating digital twin technology, various variables of crop cultivation can be adjusted through cloud remote monitoring, autonomous monitoring, and growth learning.

The research team stated that their ultimate goal is to establish a 'Meta Farm' capable of remote and planned agriculture in deserts, polar regions, and even space, by utilizing crop growth data generated through a digital twin farm.

They explained that by further developing this technology in the future, they will also explore various solutions to address issues such as food security, climate change response, energy, education, tourism, medical health, urban hollowing, and population decline.

Oh Dae-gon, a research specialist at ETRI, stated, “By proactively establishing a digital twin platform covering the entire cycle of crop growth data generation, storage, distribution, and utilization, we will respond to social issues such as urban hollowing, climate change, carbon neutrality, and environmental pollution, and strive for the digital transformation of the agricultural sector.”