[AI Revolution](84) Challenging to Become the No.1 in Smart City Infrastructure Construction... Atori Search

Development of 'AITS' Solution Applying AI to Solve Traffic Issues Based on SW Technology for Various Infrastructure and Cloud Construction
Promoting Entry into Medical AI Sector through Collaboration with Startups and Others

By 2050, the urban population ratio is expected to reach 68%, indicating rapid urbanization worldwide. When populations concentrate in one place, various problems arise. Issues such as safety, traffic, and the environment in cities must be addressed through innovative technologies. For this, the creation of 'Smart Cities' is essential.

To operate a smart city, it is necessary to effectively process the vast amount of data within the city, and what is needed for this is 'Software Defined Infrastructure (SDI).' SDI provides optimal infrastructure by applying new technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI) and cloud computing based on software development capabilities. Founded in 2012, Atoresearch has supplied the technologies required for smart city projects in Bucheon City, Sejong City, and others, based on accumulated SDI technology and know-how.

Jae-woong Jeong, CEO of Atoresearch

Since 2020, Atoresearch has focused on creating a smart traffic system for Bucheon City over the past three years. Video data from more than 1,500 CCTV cameras throughout the city is transmitted to the main center, where a cloud system is built to efficiently process the data. They also implemented a traffic video analysis service using deep learning technology.

In particular, to solve Bucheon City's traffic problems, they developed an AI-based solution called 'AITS.' AITS is a compound word combining Artificial Intelligence and Intelligent Transportation System. Co-developed with KAIST, AITS can accurately monitor traffic conditions at large intersections with heavy daytime vehicle movement as well as in sparsely populated nighttime environments. Through video analysis, it recognizes vehicles and pedestrians and can automatically detect various unexpected situations such as traffic accidents, wrong-way driving, and jaywalking. In preparation for the government's cloud transition policy, Atoresearch was also responsible for designing the 'Bucheon City AI Data Center,' which will gradually transfer public service infrastructure resources from Bucheon City and its affiliated organizations.

Recently, they have been promoting a project to enhance medical services using their technology and AI. Collaborating with 'AskulAI,' they aim to achieve everything from organizing patient medical records using generative AI to accurate diagnosis, early disease detection, and ultimately personalized treatment. AskulAI is a startup developing large language models (LLM) specialized for the medical field. The two companies are creating medical-specialized smart infrastructure to develop various AI services for hospitals and clinics.

With the advent of the generative AI era, the hardware aspect, which requires high costs and power consumption, cannot be overlooked. Considering the current market situation relying on foreign AI chips such as NVIDIA GPUs, there is a high possibility of future issues like cost increases and quality degradation. In response, Atoresearch is attempting to apply a new AI chip that can replace NVIDIA GPUs in data centers by collaborating with 'HyperExcel,' a member company of the Korea Generative AI Foundation (KGAF), to domestically produce the core AI chip for data centers. CEO Jeong Jae-woong of Atoresearch said, "We are upgrading existing technologies to build capabilities that can establish cloud infrastructure for the development and operation of cutting-edge AI technologies."

Atoresearch's annual sales have grown from 15.5 billion KRW in 2020 to 31.3 billion KRW in 2021, and 41.8 billion KRW last year. In 2019, they secured 6.5 billion KRW in investment from Samsung Venture Investment and others, and are currently promoting global market entry with a backup solution that combines Samsung Electronics' SSD (semiconductor-based storage device) and Atoresearch's cloud technology. CEO Jeong stated, "Our goal is to expand the market into social infrastructure industries and leap forward as a global unicorn venture."