Kakao Mobility will supply an integrated parking solution to a Saudi smart city. Kakao Mobility said on Feb. 23 it signed a paid proof-of-concept contract to provide an integrated mobility solution for Saudi Arabia's Diriyah project. It is the first case of a South Korean company exporting and operating mobility technology overseas as a full package.

The Diriyah project has large-scale mixed infrastructure linking the entire 14 square km site. Traffic and parking in Zone 1, which is adjacent to a cultural heritage district, are mainly underground. As a first step toward building a parking solution that will eventually accommodate more than 60,000 vehicles, Kakao Mobility will first build solutions for three key zones with about 5,000 spaces. If the PoC is carried out successfully, it plans to expand and apply the solution across Diriyah's mobility hubs.

The Diriyah project is a large-scale infrastructure city development plan led by Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund, PIF, to develop a 14 square km area around Diriyah in western Riyadh. Diriyah, the birthplace of the Saudi royal dynasty, is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage site. It is developing luxury resorts, villas, hospitals and shopping centres with a total project cost of $63.0 billion (about 90 trillion won).

The contract comes 7 months after a memorandum of understanding signed with Diriyah Company in May last year to jointly develop future mobility services. The company will cover work ranging from digitising local parking infrastructure to providing the Kakao T user interface and operating software.

Based on its know-how in large-scale data analysis and its data-based demand forecasting and management capabilities, Kakao Mobility will digitise existing parking infrastructure in key areas of Diriyah. It will build a user app, indoor navigation, a web solution for tenants and a valet-only solution.

The company will deploy its full-stack parking technology to manage the movement of more than 60,000 vehicles, including in complex underground environments. It will provide nearby parking guidance and remaining-space forecasts through demand forecasting using AI-based space optimisation technology. Through an indoor positioning and parking guidance system, it will provide uninterrupted directions even in large underground car parks where GPS reception is not possible. It has an integrated platform that provides valet service, entry and exit, and payments in a single app.

Kakao Mobility CEO Keung-sun Ryu (류긍선) said, "This contract is meaningful not only for parking management but also as an important bridgehead for Kakao Mobility to move into the future mobility technology domain in the global market." He added, "A sophisticated data-based parking platform is expected to become a key foundation linking the charging and waiting of autonomous vehicles and robot deliveries, so we will showcase our physical AI technology capabilities in the global market by carrying out the PoC successfully."