Friendly 'Clerk' Appears in Fashion Mall, Identity Revealed as AI 'Smart Mirror'
Metaverse-Based '3D Animation' Project Utilizing Local Content Also Underway
The 'AI Fashion Smart Mirror' installed at the entrance of the fashion mall is capturing the clothes customers are currently wearing and analyzing consumer preferences. / Photo by Hwang Du-yeol bsb03296@
[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters reporters Kim Yong-woo and Hwang Doo-yeol] On the afternoon of the 27th, I met a smart ‘sales clerk’ on the 7th floor of ‘Art Malling,’ a complex fashion shopping mall in Hadan-dong, Saha-gu, Busan.
My attention was drawn to the clothing item he recommended, saying, “This suits you well!” He proposed a style with colors and outfit that perfectly matched the customer’s taste, as if he had read the customer’s preferences.
In a large building with a total of 25 floors above and below ground, the fashion section alone occupies 8 floors, so it was ‘luck’ for busy consumers running around the stores to meet this friendly clerk.
He scanned the shopper’s entire body at once, analyzed their body shape and taste, then immediately provided price information and recommended the store on the 4th floor where the item was available.
This clerk was not a person but artificial intelligence (AI). The kiosk greeting customers at the entrance of the fashion section is called the ‘AI Fashion Smart Mirror.’
After reflecting your image in the mirror labeled “Mirror, mirror, tell me my fashion style” and answering a few questions by touch, this smart mirror finds the items stocked in the fashion shops and informs you of the store location.
If the consumer wishes, it even identifies stock items from other stores not in this fashion mall and helps purchase them online through Naver Store.
Artmalling customers are entering personal information to use the 'AI Fashion Smart Mirror.' / Photo by Hwang Du-yeol bsb03296@
Who is the ‘mother’ that gave birth to this smart clerk? A win-win collaboration project among universities, AI startups, and fashion distribution companies created this ‘Smart Mirror.’
The LINC 3.0 project group of Dongseo University and its family of startup companies launched this smart ‘fashion coordinator’ through industry-academic cooperation. Dongseo University family companies Samatdi Co., Ltd., Seoreu Co., Ltd., and Fashion Group Hyungji participated in this project, which has been in operation for over a year.
Professor Kim Hyung-sook, head of Dongseo University’s Corporate Support Office, said, “This challenging convergence project between different industries has contributed to customer interest and sales growth at this fashion mall, yielding results beyond expectations,” adding, “The fusion and collaboration of technology and know-how are heralding success.”
The Corporate Support Office of the university’s LINC 3.0 project group oversees the overall planning, collaboration, and commercialization of such projects. Professors and students at Dongseo University participate in this project to manage and practice, accumulating various solutions and experiences.
Also, Purple Box Co., Ltd., a startup established in 2020 and the region’s largest 3D animation production company, has been writing a history of metaverse-based digital content production in connection with Dongseo University since its inception.
This year, they are planning the first metaverse-based 3D animation production by implementing ‘Gamcheon Culture Village’ on a game engine and are collaborating with XR Content ICC.
Samatdi Co., Ltd., a startup developing AI-based design platforms, operates fashion services based on artificial intelligence. They are also progressing their business by receiving prototype production orders in connection with major domestic companies, raising expectations for future growth.
Seoreu Co., Ltd., an AI consulting startup, is responsible for data design, processing, and verification in the project. These two startups are joining forces to promote AI technology application and development.
Fashion Group Hyungji is also participating, conducting field tests and monitoring at the shopping mall Art Malling operated by the company.
The university’s LINC 3.0 project group serves as the command center accelerating startup growth and corporate digital transformation. Seoreu, a fashion AI startup established in 2019, began with an AI fashion project but has expanded innovation into other industries through collaboration with Dongseo University. It has evolved into interior design, medical fields, and recycling sectors.
Seoreu has collaborated with over 20 hospitals in Korea, including Seoul National University Hospital and Pusan National University Hospital. Products developed through such collaborations are actively assisting doctors through pilot services. A product that automatically sorts recyclable household waste for recycling is also expected to be released soon.
The collaboration project between the university and startups has led to the creation of over 150 jobs within four years of startup establishment.
Hwang Ki-hyun, head of the LINC 3.0 project group, introduced the ‘4Co’ corporate support program?Connection → Collaboration → Competitiveness → Co-prosperity?which is achieving innovations such as the ‘Smart Mirror’ and ‘medical surgery data labeling.’
Hwang said, “It is no longer an era where individual companies or schools survive on their own,” adding, “Our project group plans to build a virtuous cycle ecosystem based on 4Co corporate support among members of the industry-academia-research network, finding ways for all to coexist.”
Dongseo University’s family companies now number over 1,600. To match companies and professors, 100 companies are selected annually and operated as a membership. Several startups like Seoreu and Samatdi are predicting big hits, stirring toward industrial and human prosperity.
Dongseo University has established Corporate Collaboration Centers (ICC) on its main and Centum campuses to promote such projects.
The ‘CV Design ICC,’ aimed at creative design innovation, and the ‘XR Content ICC,’ which builds virtual convergence immersive content production and infrastructure, operate on the main campus. The ‘DX Tourism ICC,’ which converges digital transformation-based tourism content, is located on the Centum campus to foster talent and infrastructure.
Companies gather on the creative and innovation platforms built by the university, creating new technologies and jobs?truly, the era of convergence has fully opened.
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
