▲ Seminar discussion on building a national road network digital twin in preparation for the future mobility era (Photo: Capture from the Korean Road Society YouTube channel)


Advantages of virtual testing, such as signal optimization and autonomous driving system response
Expected investment of 20-30 billion won per local government… Urgent need for discussion on non-urban areas

At a seminar on the topic of building a digital twin for the national road network, experts argued that while digital twins have the unique advantage of being able to conduct tests that are impossible in reality, there are also many issues that need to be discussed, such as budgetary issues and data sharing.

On the 31st, Rep. Kang Dae-sik and the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport held a seminar and discussion at the National Assembly Museum on the topic of ‘Establishing a National Road Network Digital Twin to Prepare for the Future Mobility Era.’

The discussion, moderated by former Korea Transportation Safety Authority Chairman Oh Young-tae, included in-depth discussions on the national road network digital twin.

Professor Park Shin-hyung of Seoul City University, who participated as a panelist, emphasized, “Although there was a lot of noise in the early days of the NGIS (National Geographic Information System) project that started in the 1990s, the digital maps built through it have brought convenience to our lives, such as navigation,” and “We must definitely consider how much added value we can create in the future.”

He said he couldn't test signal optimization on real roads, and he couldn't test how autonomous vehicles would react when there were jaywalkers.Although this is impossible in reality, it is possible through simulation using a digital twin.

Building a digital twin will cost a significant amount of money and time, but we need to examine and predict how much it will change society in the future and gain consensus on its necessity.

Considering trends such as smart mobility and autonomous driving, the future value of roads is quite significant.

The roads that contributed to the country's development during the industrial growth period are aging.

He said that as we see this as a time when physical aging and the value of advanced infrastructure coexist, we need to have an in-depth discussion on how to manage roads, which are important assets.

Professor Park continued, “The value of data shines when it is utilized, but it is regrettable that there are many restrictions on sharing data, and I hope that there will be discussion on the utilization of data.”

They pointed out the problem that the data was not received even after 6 months of requesting it due to the complicated process and time required for data built through taxes, and they also expressed their hope that a virtuous cycle would be created in which the private sector, if it creates data using public assets, returns it to the public, excluding sensitive parts.

Park Dong-yeop, Director of the Gyeongsangbuk-do Construction and Urban Development Bureau, expressed his opinion on the construction of digital twins for roads and the limitations of non-urban areas, and emphasized that digital twins that can be used nationwide should be created.

He said, “There is a lot of research being done on building digital twins to prepare for future mobility, but most of it is about cities with high traffic volumes.” He added, “More than 80% of our country’s land area is non-urban, and there are questions about how to proceed with building a digital twin in Gyeongbuk Province.”

Pointing out the problems of building digital twins in road management situations by road management agencyHe added that there is a need to think deeply about how to operate roads suitable for the era of autonomous driving.

When talking about building a digital road ledger, he also mentioned budgetary issues.

Gyeongbuk invested 12 billion won in computerizing road registers about 10 years ago, and spends 60 million won annually on system maintenance, with 5 to 30 million won invested in update costs.

Despite this investment of budget, if an emergency situation such as heavy rain or a landslide occurs, the data that has been built cannot be used and the survey must be started over.

Park, the director of the Construction and Urban Development Bureau, said, “If we move toward digital twins, it seems that 20 to 30 billion won will need to be invested per local government,” and added, “Research by experts is urgently needed regarding construction in non-urban areas.”

Cho Wan-hyung, CEO of Dasan Consultants, who participated in the discussion, said, “Korea Expressway Corporation has been ordering all highway designs using BIM design since last year,” and insisted, “We need to make sure that it can help not only with design but also with maintenance.”

On the other hand, there are problems that arise in BIM design, such as confusion caused by different programs used by each company even when carrying out the same project.

He also expressed his hope that measures would be put in place to ensure that construction workers and public officials can effectively utilize BIM.

He then strongly agreed with the idea that all roads across the country should be integrated, managed, and operated with standardized information, and that they should be built in a unified form for the era of autonomous driving.

It was also suggested that the digital twin national road network should prioritize providing precise maps and road information to users and autonomous vehicles rather than managers.

The last debater is Sangmin Kim The head of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport's digital road team has stepped forward.

Team Leader Kim talked about the necessity and direction of the national road network digital twin, and said that according to the results of a survey conducted last summer, 60% of local government road ledgers were managed on paper, and 40% were managed in PDF format.

They also shared the results of a survey that showed that it is difficult to grasp the status of roads because they are managed on paper, cannot be used immediately, and there are difficulties in administrative processing.

The use of digitized information can bring benefits in road management and safety.

He went on to say that if information such as aging, safety ratings, and safety inspection dates are digitized and standardized, it can also solve safety issues, such as being used to prevent accidents.

Last year, the digitalization of road registers began as a national task and is underway with the goal of completion in 2027. Some local governments have already begun digitalization of roads under their jurisdiction with the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport.

Uljin, which conducted a digital twin pilot project in 2021, also introduced a case of flooding and inundation simulation on a coastal road through the construction of a digital twin.

Team leader Kim said, “The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport is currently trying to actively provide real-time information on road construction and other issues by introducing a system for frequent updates,” adding, “The revision of the Road Act is currently under discussion and we plan to promote various related policies.”