The Nakdonggang River Basin Headquarters of the Korea Water Resources Corporation (K-water) is working with XR company VIRNECT on smart-glasses technology for dam facility inspection and remote collaboration. According to VIRNECT's October 2026 announcement, the aim is to help field inspectors carry out precise inspections by giving them site-specific information directly through the glasses.
The work is part of the 2026 Public-Private Cooperation Open Innovation (Everyone's Challenge Climate Tech) support project, organized by the Ministry of SMEs and Startups and Incheon Techno Park.
How it is planned to work
The key is to link digital twin and building information modeling (BIM) data from the smart dam safety management system K-water has built for 37 national dams, in real time, with the smart glasses worn by the site inspector. Once development is complete, inspectors are to receive guidance tailored to the exact location in the facility and the inspection items. Past damage history and the inspection checklist can be checked immediately on site, so that less experienced inspectors can follow standardized procedures.
WebRTC-based real-time video and voice sharing is also planned, letting inspectors share field conditions at once and receive coaching from remote experts in the office.
Pilot and next steps
The project is planned to run for eight months. VIRNECT plans to pilot the technology at one dam facility under the Nakdonggang River Basin Headquarters to verify its usefulness on site. K-water then plans to expand coverage to its dam sites nationwide.
