Demonstration project conducted by installing air quality monitoring networks in Jeju Island, Changwon City, and Gwangmyeong City

KT announced that it will systematically resolve air pollution issues, such as fine dust, and support the establishment of an efficient national air quality management system through its participation in the Ministry of Science and ICT's 'Big Data Flagship Project'.

The 'Big Data Flagship Project' is a public competition initiative by the National Information Society Agency that aims to resolve social issues by discovering and disseminating leading big data success stories (Flagships) in fields such as environment, safety, and transportation.

The KT and OnKWeather Consortium (hereinafter the KT Consortium), which has been carrying out this project since September of this year, supports the government's scientific management and reduction policy formulation by establishing an IoT-based real-time air quality measurement and fine dust big data platform.

The KT consortium is conducting a demonstration project to analyze data from the IoT-based air quality monitoring network, which is the core of the 'Air Map Korea' project announced last September, as well as various environmental big data such as the national air quality monitoring network established by the government in Jeju Island, Changwon City, and Gwangmyeong City, meteorological observation data, industrial complexes and emission facilities, population density, floating population, and traffic volume.

Through a demonstration project, the KT consortium confirmed that there is a difference of up to 2.5 times in fine dust concentrations even between nearby areas (radius 0.5 km), and that fine dust concentrations near air pollutant emission facilities tend to be higher than in other areas. In addition, big data analysis is underway to confirm that fine dust concentration is influenced by wind direction, wind speed, humidity, precipitation, and the location and altitude of the observation network.

Based on the analysis results of the pilot project, Gwangmyeong City and Changwon City are utilizing the 'location-based SMS warning alert/notification' service for health-sensitive citizens and managers within their jurisdictions to respond to fine dust, as well as for the 'optimization of water truck movement routes and effectiveness analysis.'

In addition, it supports the establishment of the government's fine dust management system by providing customized behavioral guides for vulnerable groups such as children and the elderly, predicting the spatial distribution of fine dust and vulnerable areas without blind spots, and developing big data models for air quality industry standards.

"We hope to contribute, even in a small way, to the government's efforts to identify the causes of air pollution and prevent it through the 'Big Data Flagship Project'," said Kim Hyung-wook, Head of KT's Platform Business Planning Office. "KT will continue to strive to contribute to improving environmental issues as a national company by introducing various innovative technologies for people."