TEAM NAVER Initiates Digital Twin Project in Saudi Arabia

TEAM NAVER Initiates Digital Twin Project in Saudi Arabia

- After securing the contract in October last year, infrastructure setup and phased planning followed

- On July 21 (local time), a launch ceremony with key Saudi officials took place

- TEAM NAVER started building digital twin platforms and services in major Saudi cities, aiming to discover use cases and create long-term value by expanding partnerships in phases

July 22, 2024

TEAM NAVER has officially commenced a digital twin project in partnership with the Saudi Arabian government.

NAVER Corporation (CEO Choi Soo-yeon) held a launch ceremony on July 21 (local time) in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, together with the Saudi Ministry of Municipal, Rural Affairs and Housing (MOMRAH) and the National Housing Company (NHC), to officially kick off the Saudi digital twin platform project.

On behalf of NAVER, Chae Seon-ju, President of ESG and External Policy of NAVER; Kim Yu-won, CEO of NAVER CLOUD; and Seok Sang-ok, CEO of NAVER LABS were present. From the Saudi side, attendees included Minister Majed Al-Hogail, Deputy Ministers Ihab Alhashani and Fahad Al-Mutlaq of MOMRAH, and Ryan Al-Aql, Chief of the Solutions Sector of NHC.

[Photo] On July 21 (local time), TEAM NAVER, Saudi MOMRAH, and NHC announced the official launch of their digital twin platform project. Pictured from top left, clockwise: Ihab Alhashani, Deputy Minister of MOMRAH; Majed Al-Hogail, Minister of MOMRAH; Chae Seon-ju, President of ESG and External Policy of NAVER; Seok Sang-ok, CEO of NAVER LABS; Ryan Al-Aql, Chief of the Solutions Sector of NHC; and Kim Yu-won, CEO of NAVER CLOUD.

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TEAM NAVER secured a contract for a digital twin project with MOMRAH in October last year. Since obtaining the contract, they have meticulously analyzed local conditions and engaged in thorough discussions with partners to devise a step-by-step strategy.

As the project progresses, TEAM NAVER will create a digital twin platform by mapping and performing detailed 3D modeling of key Saudi cities and develop essential services such as urban planning and flood simulations, in partnership with Korea Water Resources Corporation (K-water) and Korea Land and Geospatial InformatiX Corporation (LX). Their objective includes gradually expanding partnerships, discovering practical applications, and actively searching for opportunities to generate added value.

NAVER has created proprietary technologies that accurately create and replicate both indoor and outdoor environments. This includes "ALIKE," a technology that utilizes aerial photography and AI to construct digital twins of entire cities with a precision of approximately 10 cm. They also have highly scalable technologies for indoor mapping. Furthermore, NAVER is equipped with robust cloud technology to handle these processes efficiently. Saudi Arabia, which is actively developing smart cities and buildings at a national level, has chosen NAVER as its partner to create the fastest and most scalable digital twin solutions based on technological evaluations of leading global firms.

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[Image] NAVER's digital twin solution

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In late 2022, NAVER began establishing connections with Saudi Arabia as a member of "One Team Korea." This relationship was strengthened by visits from significant Saudi officials, including Minister Majed Al-Hogail of MOMRAH and Minister Abdullah Alsawah of the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology (MCIT), to NAVER 1784. These interactions led to the signing of an MOU with MOMRAH in March of the following year, aimed at supporting Saudi Arabia's national digital transformation (DX).