Facial Recognition Technology Installed at Ulsan Bridge Observatory, a Tourist Attraction in Dong-gu, Ulsan

Dongseo University Industry-Academic Research Develops Unmanned Measurement Device with Facial Recognition to Prevent Duplicate Tourist Counts

An observatory overlooking the Dong-gu area of Ulsan and the Ulsan Bridge. It is a popular tourist attraction in Dong-gu.

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Kim Yong-woo] An unmanned facial recognition counting device developed by the Dongseo University Industry-Academic Research Group has been installed at the Ulsan Bridge Observatory, a famous tourist attraction in Dong-gu, Ulsan.

On the 25th, Dongseo University announced that it had completed the installation of the unmanned counting device that recognizes the faces of visitors at tourist sites through industry-academic joint research with the Tourism·MICE Centum Industrial Complex Campus Project Group and Tech Tree Company.

The existing unmanned counting devices installed at tourist sites had the problem of counting tourists redundantly, resulting in unreliable statistics.

Dongseo University and Tech Tree Company signed an industry-academic joint research agreement in 2018 and began research and development of facial recognition technology to solve the long-standing unresolved issue of duplicate counting in the tourism industry.

Through the research, a system linked with the Head Counting method was established to automate tourist counting, and additional facial recognition technology was applied to distinguish duplicate individuals.

This technology can also recognize the gender and age group of visitors, making the accumulated big data highly useful for establishing future marketing strategies.

Currently, the Ulsan Bridge Observatory managed by Dong-gu, Ulsan, attracts more than 4,000 tourists on weekends and has been selected as a ‘Small but Strong Potential Tourist Site’ by the Korea Tourism Organization’s Busan-Ulsan branch, receiving consulting over two years. The installation of the facial recognition unmanned counting device is expected to boost effective management and operation.

Hong Jeong-hwa, head of the Tourism Department at Dongseo University, said, “Accurate real-time measurement of the number of tourists and technology to identify gender and age are important assets for promotional marketing,” adding, “The accumulated big data is expected to become a new stepping stone for creating high added value in the tourism industry.”