DOMESTIC AI FACE APPLICATION TECHNOLOGY

[Anchor Lead]

Many people would have used augmented reality applications that found celebrity look-alikes or created face composites. Oftentimes, foreign firms have patents on such app source technologies, making it hard for Korean companies to utilize them. But now Korea's Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute has provided this key AI technology for free.

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Artificial intelligence restores damaged photographs back to its original images in no time. AI can also change the hairstyles or add earrings to the picture. As soon as the picture is taken and saved on the computer, different features can be easily added or removed from the original picture. This is the visual intelligence technology, which can automatically recognize an object and incorporate various features. Visual intelligence has been led by foreign IT giants like Microsoft, making it hard for Korean enterprises to make use of the technology. Korea's Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute has made public the artificial neural networks, editing technology, and 200,000 pieces of data for free. When this technology was applied to public CCTVs, vehicle and human movements as well as their behavioral characteristics were analyzed automatically. This means when a child goes missing or an emergency patient needs help, artificial intelligence can analyze physical appearances and behaviors to locate them immediately. It could also come in handy in the crack down of illegal littering.

[Soundbite] PARK JONG-YOUL(ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE RESEARCH LAB, ETRI) : "Video-related technologies in Korea all come from foreign sources. We made this locally-developed technology public so that Korean companies can make use of it."

Now it has become possible for local companies and researchers to build super servers for AI or utilize visual intelligence without collecting a huge amount of information.