SK C&C recruits AI in hunt for lost children

SK C&C, the IT service arm of SK Group, has released a software toolkit that allows companies to create facial recognition software that can recognize a missing child using just one photo.

According to the company, a beta version of its face recognition application programming interface (API) enables programmers to create a service that removes the hassle of examining all relevant CCTV video files to find a missing child.

APIs offer users all the building blocks to create various computer programs. SK C&C combined face recognition technology patented by the country’s National Forensic Service with its own artificial intelligence technologies to come up with the new API.

The basic feature of the new API is recognizing a person’s face based on a single photo. According to SK C&C, the API can create a virtual 3-D image out of a single 2-D picture.

With the API, programmers can create a service that can automatically spot a missing child through CCTV footage, even when the child did not look straight into the camera, as the interface enables a service to recognize a person from various viewpoints.

The company said the API can also be used to expand and improve access control at companies and authentication for financial apps.

In the retail sector, SK C&C claims marketers can use the API to customize promotion events for users visiting retail shops or restaurants. The possible scenario is sending coupons or product recommendations when a certain customer enters a shop.

The company also introduced a beta version of the object recognition API. The concept is similar to face recognition but it can be more widely used, especially in the retail sector, as it recognizes 80 different objects including animals, furniture and cars.

If the API can recognize all the products on sale at a shop, for example, companies could potentially create an automated checkout that can register all the goods in a shopping cart.

The SK unit believes the API can also work with drones. If a drone monitors a construction site or highway, the object-recognizing API could be used to automatically tell whether the construction is going well or how heavy the traffic is, the company said.

BY KIM JEE-HEE [kim.jeehee@joongang.co.kr]