Citiverse Standardization Forum launches global standards push

The Citiverse Standardization Forum said it has begun full-scale global standardization work for Citiverse, including holding an international meeting and establishing a new committee inside an international standards body, according to datanet.co.kr.

Citiverse is a next-generation smart city concept that builds a virtual city linked to a real city using virtual convergence and AI technologies, and offers citizen-participatory urban services.

Most of the standards work runs through ITU-T SG20, where forum experts serve as chair group members, rapporteurs and editors. At the ITU-T SG20 meeting in Geneva in May, the forum took part in creating the Focus Group on AI-based Smart Sustainable Cities and Communities (FG-AI4SSC) and secured key chair positions. Lee Jun-seop, head of the forum's standardization division and head of ETRI's Convergence Standards Research Lab, was appointed the group's inaugural co-chair.

The first FG-AI4SSC meeting, held in Tampere, Finland in September, confirmed a structure of 6 working groups and 18 task groups and launched 43 pre-standardization tasks. Forum technology WG chair Lee Chang-gyu of ETRI took the WG2 (domain specialization) chair, service WG chair Hong Yong-geun of Daejeon University took the TG1.3 (AI technology) chair, and standardization division secretary Seon Gyeong-jae of ETRI took the TG3.1 (infrastructure interoperability) chair.

The forum's policy division is also working with OASC on a Citiverse guide, due for distribution in December 2026 to domestic local government smart city officials, forum members and member companies.

In 2023, the EU presented the Citiverse concept in its 'Web 4.0 and Virtual Worlds Strategy', after which the UN and ITU launched global initiatives.