▲ Smart Life Week 2024 Event Scene
An Information and Communications Technology (ICT) expo, under the vision of a ‘city that accompanies the vulnerable with AI’, will be held to introduce Korea’s innovative companies to the world and foresee future technology trends.
The Seoul Metropolitan Government announced today (31st) that the ‘2nd Smart Life Week (SLW 2025)’ will be held at COEX in Samseong-dong for three days from September 30.
SLW 2025 will not just display exhibits, but also encapsulate the essence of inclusive technology aimed by Seoul, under the slogan ‘AI for People, Opening the Future of Smart City’ this year.
Compared to last year, the event has significantly increased in scale, aiming to expand from 109 cities, 147 companies, and 30,000 participants to 200 cities, 300 companies, and 60,000 participants.
The exhibition space has also been enlarged to 12,572㎡, which is 1.7 times the size of last year’s 7,290㎡.
The event is divided into exhibitions, conferences, and the Seoul Smart City Prize award ceremony.
First, an exhibition hall where future city experiences through ubiquitous AI will be operated.
The ‘SLW showroom’ will be set up with nine scenario-based spaces, starting with AI healthcare, commuting via AI mobility, learning with an AI tutor, managing assets with AI in the afternoon, and ending the day with AI caregiving.
Representatives like Amorepacific, LG U+, Doosan Robotics, and Shinhan Bank are participating in realizing these scenarios to enhance technical reality and immersion.
Also, participatory experience elements have been strengthened to make the exhibition an experience of ‘living’ rather than just ‘watching’.
The main event of the exhibition is the ‘1st Seoul AI Robot Show’ themed ‘Extreme Robots’.
It includes a sports competition between humanoid robots, a competition for overcoming extreme environments like obstacles and firefighting, and various robot experience programs and exhibitions integrating with daily life.
Additionally, a ‘Corporate Pavilion’ featuring companies like Saudi Arabian state-owned oil company Aramco, IBM, and Alibaba is included, along with a ‘Global Pavilion’ with participants like DeepRobotics and MIT, and a ‘Theme Pavilion’ showcasing innovative startup technologies including climate technology.
Aramco will operate an independent 300㎡ pavilion introducing smart city solutions, and IBM will showcase quantum computing robots. DeepRobotics will focus on their currently available robot products.
Conferences will also be held where leading global companies and academic leaders diagnose technological trends and share directions for urban development.
Speakers this year include Petra Fflorison, IBM Executive, Akshay Krishnamoorthy, Palantir’s Chief Design Officer, MIT urban scientist Carlo Ratti, UCLA professor Dennis Hong, Cambridge Maxwell Centre’s Aga Babnik, and global VP Deepak Ramanathan.
On the first day, Lee Se-young, founder of the domestic generative AI startup ‘Luiten’, will be a keynote speaker, delivering a message about technology and human-social coexistence.
Additionally, a K-Virtual Idol is scheduled to perform at the opening ceremony.
Digital artists bridging the real and virtual worlds will express SLW’s philosophy that ‘AI is technology connecting humans and emotions’ in a sensory manner.
Another major program is the Seoul Smart City Awards, initiated to present and spread Seoul’s smart city vision worldwide since 2023.
Selecting the best smart city innovation policies, the award ceremony will take place on September 30, targeting global city governments, institutions, companies, and individuals.
A total of 21 awards will be given, including 16 project awards (8 people-centric and 8 technology innovation), 2 leadership awards, and 3 special awards.
So far, 220 entries have been received from cities, institutions, and companies worldwide.
Additionally, several participatory programs have been newly established this year, including the SLW Citizen Innovation Award and Youth AI Hackathon.
The ‘PYC (Present for Your City)’ program offers a stage where domestic innovative companies can directly present their technologies to high-level officials, such as overseas city mayors.
Kang Ok-hyun, Seoul’s Director of Digital City, stated, “The goal is to attract over 100 billion Korean Won in investments, more than twice the 2023 investment amount of 45.4 billion Korean Won.” They also plan to gradually start charging for booths from next year to become financially self-sufficient within three years.
(Photo provided by Seoul Metropolitan Government, Yonhap News)