"Renting Robots"... Service Expanded and Results Followed

Psychological Testing Using AI for Child Abuse Prevention
Applying AI and Robot Technology, Changing Public Services

Jung-gu, Seoul is utilizing five social robots rented from the Seoul Metropolitan Government as assistant teachers by placing them in daycare centers. (Photo by Jung-gu)

Advanced technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), robotics, and software are increasingly penetrating the public service sector. The scope of application is expanding from installing companion robots and AI-based recycling devices to solving urban problems using smart technologies.

Gwanak-gu recently launched the ‘AI Child Drawing Psychological Test Service,’ an AI system utilizing big data to develop preventive measures against child abuse. This service analyzes drawings created by children and monitors signs of potential child abuse by assessing parental stress, providing expert feedback.

Children aged 3 to 12 submit their drawings via smartphones, and experts diagnose stress levels and parenting attitudes of both parents and children. If the AI system identifies a household as ‘at risk’ or ‘caution level’ for child abuse, a local community center officer visits the home to provide parenting counseling.

Gwanak-gu introduced this service in response to the steadily increasing incidence of child abuse cases, emphasizing the need for proactive measures. According to the Ministry of Health and Welfare’s ‘2022 Annual Report on Child Abuse,’ out of 46,103 reported cases, 27,971 were confirmed as child abuse, with parents accounting for 82.7% of all abusers.

Last week, Seocho-gu held an exhibition of prototypes integrating smart technologies. The prototypes include AI-based smoking motion recognition and guidance devices, IoT (Internet of Things)-based Yangjaecheon smart park development, AI chatbot services, parking lot rainwater level risk detection, pothole automatic detection algorithms, and autonomous street-cleaning trash bin robots. Seocho-gu plans to review these 10 prototypes with relevant departments and apply them to actual district administration.

Jung-gu, selected last July for the ‘Seoul Social Robot Rental Service Project,’ has deployed five social robots borrowed from Seoul City to local daycare centers as assistant teachers. Social robots combine AI, IoT, and computing technologies to interact emotionally with people. These robots can tell stories to children, provide safety education, and engage in conversations.

By the end of next month, Jung-gu plans to establish a map guidance system providing location-based disaster shelter information and details on major local convenience facilities (such as unmanned civil service kiosks, libraries, visible fire extinguishers, and heatwave/cold wave facilities). The system will later be linked with an AI civil service system to offer content services.

Dongdaemun-gu, having received approval from the Ministry of Science and ICT for an ICT regulatory sandbox, is promoting the ‘Visiting Robot Rehabilitation Service,’ which rents out one of the Public Procurement Service’s innovative products?a robot rehabilitation device?to homes and provides remote rehabilitation training and counseling services. Last month, this service won a commendation at the ‘Public Procurement (Innovative Procurement) Best Practice Competition,’ hosted by the Public Procurement Service, marking the first time a public health center nationwide received such an award.

Since last year, Dongdaemun-gu has been implementing the ‘Robot Rehabilitation Pilot Project,’ consisting of programs such as smart exercise rehabilitation classes for residents with brain lesions and physical disabilities, equipment rental services at welfare centers for the disabled, and home rental of robot rehabilitation devices. Among these, the ‘Visiting Robot Rehabilitation Service,’ launched earlier this year, rents robot rehabilitation devices to disabled individuals’ homes for two months, providing customized upper and lower limb rehabilitation exercises and remote rehabilitation counseling.