Seongnam City in Gyeonggi Province announced on the 25th that it will conduct a pilot operation of AI autonomous patrol robots in high-footfall areas such as Pangyo Station until the end of this year.

Currently, one patrol robot—“Neubie,” developed by Neubility—is deployed at each of four locations: Seohyeon Station Plaza, Pangyo Station Plaza, Sanghui Park in Yatap-dong, and Yuldong Park.

These robots are undergoing real-world testing, marking the final stage of technical stability checks before full-scale operation begins next year. While previous demonstrations have taken place in relatively open environments like parks, testing in a dense and complex urban commercial district poses significantly higher technical challenges.

The newly deployed robots feature an “automatic avoidance system” that detects human movement and autonomously adjusts their speed and path. This allows them to move naturally through crowds without obstructing pedestrian flow—one of the key requirements for safe urban deployment.

In May, Seongnam City, Bundang Police Station, and Neubility formed a consortium and were selected for the “2025 Service Robot Demonstration Project” hosted by the Korea Institute for Robot Industry Advancement under the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. Following their selection, the city invested KRW 240 million—KRW 120 million each in national and municipal funding—to systematically prepare for robot deployment and patrol-area design.

The city plans to rigorously verify the robots’ autonomous driving safety, object-recognition accuracy, and suitability of patrol scenarios, while further advancing patrol technology using real urban data such as complex pedestrian flow patterns, nighttime lighting conditions, and various obstacles. Through this, Seongnam aims to provide highly advanced crime-prevention services that citizens can tangibly experience once official operations begin next year and continue for the next three years.

A city official stated, “AI autonomous smart patrol robots create a strong visual deterrent that suppresses potential criminal intent simply by moving on their own. We will do our best to fill security blind spots in existing CCTV coverage and maximize CPTED (Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design) effectiveness.”