Ahead of the Halloween festival at the end of this month, the Seoul Metropolitan Government has decided to prepare for accidents by installing an ‘AI (artificial intelligence) crowd detection system’ in crowded areas such as Itaewon, Hongdae, and Gangnam. The plan is to have a system where high-definition CCTV and video analysis servers automatically calculate the number of people on the street and inform the district office, Seoul City Hall, police, and fire departments in real time.
Until now, CCTV control center staff had checked the crowd by directly looking at the screen and taken action, but the plan is to speed up response with an advanced AI system. A Seoul city official said, “We are trying to automatically identify and disseminate the situation before people report it or patrol, so that we can respond in advance before an accident occurs.”
Graphics = Kim Hyun-guk
According to the Seoul Metropolitan Government on the 12th, this system consists of high-definition CCTV with over 2 million pixels that can distinguish people and a video analysis server. Street video captured by CCTV 24 hours a day is transmitted in real time to the CCTV control center of the district office, and the crowd density video analysis server located at this center automatically analyzes the video and counts the number of people. When the density reaches about 6 people per 1㎡, the video footage and analysis results are immediately distributed to the Seoul Metropolitan Government, police, and fire department situation rooms. An official from the Seoul Metropolitan Government said, “Videos from a total of five locations in the area will be displayed simultaneously so that you can understand the overall size and flow of the crowd,” and added, “Sirens and warning lights will be installed in each situation room to sound a loud alarm.”
We plan to install an electronic sign on the CCTV installed at the street entrance to show density and risk information to citizens. Announcements are also made through speakers.
It was decided to set different density standards depending on the location where CCTV is installed. Since the level of risk varies depending on the width and slope of the street at each point, a warning is issued on narrow and steep roads even when relatively few people gather.
The city of Seoul decided to divide the crowd density into four levels: concern, caution, caution, and serious. For example, in Itaewon, 1-2 people per 1 m2 were considered attention, 2-4 people were considered caution, and 4-6 people were considered alert. If more than 6 people gather, the level is serious and the Seoul Metropolitan Government, police, and fire departments are planned to be alerted.
The Seoul Metropolitan Government plans to install this system in all 25 districts of Seoul by the end of this year. The plan is to install a total of 909 CCTVs in 71 regions and 296 branches. Of these, 572 units will be installed first before the Halloween festival at the end of October. The areas to be installed first before the Halloween festival are Itaewon in Yongsan-gu, Hongdae in Mapo-gu, Ikseon-dong in Jongno-gu, Seongsu-dong Cafe Street in Seongdong-gu, Hanyang University in Wangsimni Station, Konkuk University Station in Gwangjin-gu, Yonsei-ro in Seodaemun-gu, Balsan Station in Gangseo-gu, Mullae-dong Restaurant Street in Yeongdeungpo-gu, Sharosu-gil and Sillim Station in Gwanak-gu, and Gangnam-gu. Gangnam Station, Nonhyeon Station, Apgujeong Rodeo Street, etc. A total of 47 CCTVs will be installed in Itaewon, where last year’s Halloween disaster occurred.
Seoul City will invest 7.8 billion won in its budget to introduce an ‘AI crowd detection system’. An official from the Seoul Metropolitan Government said, “In areas where CCTVs with more than 2 million pixels have already been installed, it is easy to install additional servers.” He added, “The video analysis technology of domestic IT companies is already at a high level, so there are no technical difficulties.”
This system has already been piloted in Songpa-gu, Seocho-gu, and Seodaemun-gu since last month. An official from Songpa-gu said, “Because the situation is automatically spread without the need to rely on human judgment or action, the response of relevant agencies is much faster.”
The city of Seoul has also established a ‘mirroring system’ that allows the video recorded by firefighters dispatched to the scene with a ‘body cam’ to be viewed in real time in the city’s situation room. Until now, on-site videos were only transmitted to the 119 situation room. A Seoul city official said, “We have created a linkage system that 100% synchronizes the 119 situation room and the Seoul city situation room,” and added, “This is a measure to respond even a little faster.”
Halloween Day falls on the 31st of this month, but various festivals and events are held throughout Seoul around this day. In preparation for this, 25 district offices in Seoul have also established a ‘disaster and safety situation room’ that monitors disaster situations such as crowd accidents 24 hours a day. An official from the Seoul Metropolitan Government said, “Until now, each district office situation room had to respond not only to disasters but also to citizen complaints such as parking enforcement, but by separating only the disaster function, we increased expertise and response speed.”
2023-10-12 13:29:05
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