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As incidents such as major disasters and urban flooding repeatedly emerge as social issues, the need for technology that can detect risks in real-time and assist in early response is growing. Sigma-K, utilizing AI-based computer vision technology, addresses these social issues through video analysis technology. This includes monitoring whether workers in CCTV footage are wearing safety equipment, detecting abnormal behavior, identifying flood risks in rivers, and monitoring security situations in alleyways. It not only stops at monitoring but also provides guidance on how to respond. Park Gu-man, CEO of Sigma-K, provided a detailed introduction to the solution.
Inducing Safety Equipment Use at Construction Sites and Detecting River Flood Risks… Aiding Early Response Based on RAG

Park Gu-man is a professor at the Department of Smart ICT Convergence Engineering at Seoul National University of Science and Technology. He founded Sigma-K in 2023, a company dealing with AI-based computer vision technology, through faculty entrepreneurship.

Park stated, “As a professor, the motivation to contribute to society arose during the process of conducting various development projects based on advanced technology. I particularly judged that utilizing computer vision technology, my main research area, could help address social issues like major disasters and flood responses, which are difficult to solve.” He added, “I started the business to realize the dream of entrepreneurship with students who have been involved in research and development for a long time.”

The computer vision technology owned by Sigma-K enables the detection and analysis of various events occurring within the screen. For example, it checks whether workers in CCTV footage have all safety equipment on and detects and analyzes abnormal behavior, such as falling at the worksite.
When applied to river CCTV, the technology can detect flood risks based on augmented reality and immediately alert the danger. In alleyway CCTV, it helps secure safety by notifying the control center upon detecting abnormal behavior, such as someone climbing over a wall.

Park stated, “Our solution, thanks to the integration of large language models (LLM) and visual language models (VLM) into the intelligent integrated control system, not only stops at monitoring but also assists in analyzing after detecting dangerous situations. For instance, it can present statistics on detected events by time, channel, day, week, and month, and compare weekly and monthly event statistics with other times. Such analysis can be performed while conversing with a natural language-based AI chatbot.” He added, “We also attempted differentiation by applying Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) technology. RAG is a technology that helps provide responses by searching for relevant information from a wide range of documents before generating answers or text in LLM. For example, it suggests how and where to evacuate in case of river flooding by pre-learning the information. Thus, Sigma-K has advanced its technology by not only sending flood risk alerts but also suggesting how and where people should evacuate after the alert.”

He continued, “With the ‘integrated control’ function, which manages all installed cameras in groups and controls them based on location on a map, a wide range can be covered. It also aids intuitive management by displaying different colors for groups.” He emphasized, “Our technology is highly versatile, allowing for collaboration in various ways, such as developing a vehicle number recognition and charger linkage system for automatic payment at charging stations.”

What are the urgent technical improvements needed for Sigma-K?

Park stated, “Since the technology operates based on CCTV footage, there are cases where analysis or detection is difficult due to obscured screens on days with severe weather or fog.” He added, “We are attempting to advance the technology by improving video based on the context before and after severe weather and extracting and removing fog components. We are also accelerating the advancement of AI chatbots through the development of server modules related to VLM and LLM to answer more diverse questions specifically.”
Expanding Business in Video Generation Using Computer Vision Technology… Selected for AI Content Support Project

Sigma-K is also expanding its business in the video generation sector by applying computer vision technology.

Park stated, “We assist in content production using generative AI models. We produce various content such as movies, animations, documentaries, and advertisements, using both commercial tools and self-fine-tuned models.” He added, “It is useful as it can automatically produce videos or content by learning existing styles. For example, a terrestrial broadcasting station requested automatic production of CG for news in its unique style, and we are conducting a PoC based on prior data.”

He continued, “We also achieved significant results in animation production. A student from SeoulTech produced an animation using the Sigma-K solution and won an award. Additionally, this month, we were selected for the AI Content Support Project by the Korea Creative Content Agency. We plan to submit a work produced with the Sigma-K solution to the Busan International Film Festival in September.”
There is a strong partner supporting Sigma-K's rapid growth based on computer vision technology. It is the Startup Support Group of Seoul National University of Science and Technology.

Park stated, “We received seed investment from SeoulTech’s technology holding company and regularly receive opportunities for infrastructure support and technology promotion for startups. They also created opportunities for business cooperation among resident companies.” He added, “The technology holding company and the startup support group understand the difficulties of startup companies well and know what support measures are needed at each stage, providing timely assistance.”

Sigma-K plans to target overseas markets in the future.

Park stated, “The members of Sigma-K prioritize the public value of contributing to humanity through technology. Therefore, we aim to contribute to humanity by supplying our technology to places with poor infrastructure for security or where CCTV-based control is essential, such as developing countries.” He added, “In the process, we aim to generate revenue through a stable subscription service and establish overseas branches to grow into a global company. We will focus on technology development to achieve both technological advancement and overseas market penetration.”

IT Donga Reporter Kim Dong-jin (kdj@itdonga.com)

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