[Solution Report] Their Startup and Future
⑥ Park Jaeseung, CEO of VisualCamp
Developed Eye-Tracking Technology to Detect Cheating and Wake Drowsy Drivers
Selected as ‘Baby Unicorn’ by the Ministry of SMEs, Leading the Market with Technology
Jae-seung Park, CEO of the eye-tracking technology startup VisualCamp, explained, "By analyzing users' gaze information through eye-tracking technology, it can be applied to various markets such as education, marketing, and automotive."
[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Heeyoon] “The eyes are a treasure trove of information reflecting a person’s mind. Therefore, eye-tracking technology is an excellent tool to understand consumer interest and concentration.”
On the 24th, at the office in Gongdeok-dong, Mapo-gu, Seoul, Jae-seung Park, CEO of the eye-tracking technology startup VisualCamp, explained, “By analyzing users’ gaze information through eye-tracking technology, it can be applied to various markets such as education, marketing, and automotive.”
After retiring as an executive at a telecommunications company, CEO Park founded a network equipment company and an internet legal site before establishing VisualCamp in 2014. Initially starting with eye-tracking control technology for people with disabilities, the market was too small, so the target was expanded to the general public, and the direction shifted to a service analyzing gaze data.
VisualCamp’s eye-tracking service, commercialized successfully this year, is based on artificial intelligence (AI) and detects users’ eye movements through cameras embedded in various devices (smartphones/tablets) to determine where they are looking. CEO Park said, “Based on the convenience of inputting with the eyes instead of hands, it can be used as a new UI (user interface) or UX (user experience). Additionally, the analysis results of gaze data input through pupil movement have great scalability applicable to various industries.”
Demand Surges in Education and E-commerce Fields Triggered by COVID-19
The novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) accelerated the market introduction of eye-tracking technology. The first sector was education. The normalization of online classes raised concerns about students’ declining concentration. CEO Park said, “Existing online education had the limitation of being a one-way service, but applying eye-tracking technology can transform it into a two-way service. Educational services that check students’ learning concentration through eye tracking and deliver various reminder messages are about to be launched.”
They are also developing technology to prevent cheating using this. CEO Park, who was saddened by the mass cheating incidents in universities a few months ago, said, “Cheating in remote exams can also be detected with eye-tracking technology. When solutions incorporating our technology are applied, it can standardize exam supervision and also instill awareness in examinees.”
Eye-tracking technology also provides effective user analysis results in the e-commerce sector. VisualCamp conducted an experiment last October with Coupang, collecting gaze data from 100 users after accessing the mobile application. Data analysis after the experiment showed that the purchase rate of products where the gaze lingered was over 75%.
CEO Park explained that eye-tracking technology can also be applied to develop safety systems preventing driver drowsiness. “By analyzing the driver’s gaze, it is possible to prevent risky situations such as sharp curves or sudden stops as well as drowsy driving,” he said. “Discussions on applying safety systems are underway with domestic and international automakers.”
"$2 Trillion Global Eye-Tracking Market, Our Technology is the World’s Best in Mobile"
According to a forecast report by U.S. market research firm Zion Market Research, the global eye-tracking market size will reach $1.657 billion (approximately 1.96 trillion KRW) in 2024. Acquisitions of eye-tracking companies by global corporations are also actively underway. Google acquired eye-tracking company iMotions in October 2016, Facebook acquired EyeTribe in December of the same year, and Apple acquired SMI in June 2017, accelerating eye-tracking technology development. CEO Park emphasized, “While global companies’ technologies are web-centered software, VisualCamp’s technology is optimized for mobile. Our mobile eye-tracking technology, which converges to an error angle of less than 1 degree at a distance of 40 cm, is the most advanced in the world.”
VisualCamp, aiming to become a unicorn (a private company valued at over 1 trillion KRW), was recognized for its technological prowess by being selected as a ‘Baby Unicorn’ by the Ministry of SMEs and Startups in June this year. CEO Park said, “We will continue to develop so that eye-tracking technology can be applied across various industries. Since our founding, we have aimed to be the world’s best company, and we will continue efforts to secure global technological capabilities beyond mobile technology to web and various device platforms.”
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