Hong Kong University graduates engage in initial research on artificial intelligence technology to help government departments solve the problem of rat infestation

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Written by: Kuang Yueting

2021-06-07 07:30

The last update date: 2021-06-07 07:30

There are many black spots in Hong Kong. In addition to causing health problems, rats also cause nuisance to the residents.

The start-up Datax Limited uses thermal detection cameras and artificial intelligence analysis technology to automatically identify and monitor the range and activity of rats in multiple black spots, and assist government departments in selecting suitable locations. Place rodenticides and traps to perform more targeted deratization work.

Feng Zhaoxuan, the account director of Jizhifang, who is in charge of the project, revealed that the company has placed thermal detection cameras in the back alleys of dozens of restaurants in Mong Kok and Kowloon City. A bunch of mice will come out of Li, and I have tried 1 monitoring point and there are 20 to 30 mice!"

Jizhifang was established by 5 graduates of the University of Hong Kong at the end of 2017. The company provides video speech recognition system, automatic document data recognition and extraction system, automatic labeling system for objects and actions, automatic text labeling system and other technologies. 30 to 40 customers, including: different government departments, local banks, property management companies and manufacturing companies, because the company continues to invest in research and development, so far has not yet reached a balance of payments.

Co-founder and technical director Long Yuqian said that the automatic labeling system for objects and actions is more popular with customers. The system can monitor the movements of people and animals. In addition to automatically identifying mice, it can also provide quality for manufacturers. Control, screen out defective or damaged products, and even take pictures of people dumping garbage illegally in those areas, and photograph the license plates of speeding vehicles.

The automatic labeling system for objects and actions of Jizhifang is more popular with customers, and the basic charge is 50,000 to 100,000 yuan.

(Screenshot of Datax Limited webpage)

The basic charge for the automatic labeling system for objects and actions starts at 50,000

Generally speaking, the basic fee for the automatic labeling system of objects and actions of Jizhifang is 50,000 to 100,000 yuan. If the project is more complicated, the fee can be as high as 1 million yuan.

Long Yuqian said that the negotiation, research and development, testing and signing of the project usually take several months. After the company collects the data, it will provide an analysis report within one month.

He gave an example that a manufacturing company would install 3 lenses on the production line to take photos of the top, left and right of the product, and then change the position of the product and take a photo of the bottom of the product to find out if the product is defective. "Customers generally want to reduce changes. The less you change the hardware, the better. I'm worried that more changes will cost a lot of money. It's best to just install a lens and do it well."

At the beginning of this year, Jizhifang’s artificial intelligence analysis technology was used in assisting government agencies to eliminate rodents. This technology can detect the entry point, path and frequent range of rat activities, and help implement more targeted eradication. Rat works.

In order to prevent rats from biting the wires and preventing the device from getting wet, Long Yuqian pointed out that the company used a large waterproof plastic box to store electronic components and a large battery weighing 20 kilograms, and then installed the lens on a long pillar. One inspection point was shot for about a week, and then the device was moved to the next inspection point. "Each project has 50 to 100 locations, and we have done it 2 to 3 times on the left. All of them are in cooperation with the government’s actions, so There is no specific timetable, there will be many times a year."

This technology allows government departments to install video cameras before and after the anti-rodent operation to analyze, quantify and review the effectiveness of the operation.

(Photo by Zhang Haowei)

Protect the privacy and seal the video lens with vinyl paper

Installing a camera lens in a busy city may involve the privacy of the citizens. Long Yuqian said that most of the market lenses will be equipped with both a video lens and a heat-sensitive lens. In order to protect the privacy of the citizens, the company will seal the video with vinyl paper The lens ensures that the faces of citizens are not captured, and only heat-sensitive lenses are used to view the activities of rats.

"There are some situations where a video lens is inevitable. We will implant a program to permanently adjust the image of the person to a blur, and then process the data."

In addition to rodent infestation, can this technology identify the two major pests of cockroaches and mosquitoes?

Feng Zhaoxuan admitted that mice are thermostatic animals, while cockroaches and mosquitoes are cold-blooded animals. In addition to their small size, it is difficult to photograph them with ordinary video lenses and thermal lenses. A laser lens is required, but the cost of using a thermal lens is only 3,000. The cost of this lens is 10 to 20 times higher than that of a heat-sensitive lens. The hardware cost is much more expensive and the technology is not too mature. If you really want to use it, the development time will be longer.

Long Yuqian was determined to do scientific research when he was in middle school. He believes that there are many resources and channels online for young people to learn AI knowledge by themselves, and it is not necessary to rely on formal courses to learn.

(Photo by Zhang Haowei)

After graduation, many young people in Hong Kong choose to work in industries with better starting salaries and prospects, such as healthcare and banking. However, Long Yuqian found that he likes to do scientific research when he was studying at Queen's College in middle school, and he eventually got promoted in college. After studying a double degree program in Business Administration (Information Systems) of the University of Hong Kong, he founded Jizhifang with his classmates before graduation.

He said that he did not deliberately think about when to start a business, but just wanted to continue to do what he likes to do, such as researching artificial intelligence technology and developing applications. "We all have very different funding, and we all have investors inject capital. It’s okay to do it or not, so after I graduated, I told my company to do it.” He believes that if the Hong Kong government wants to promote the development of start-ups, it should encourage companies to try to adopt innovative technologies, because many companies see other companies doing it. Only then will they "follow the house and do it." On the other hand, Taiwanese companies are willing to actively invest to try out the solutions of start-ups. This will help promote the widespread application of innovative technologies.

Huo Luming admitted that the technology of many start-ups is difficult to explain to potential end users. The STP Platform allows them to pre-interpret related technologies and greatly improve the matching success rate.

(Photo by Kwong Yueting)

Science Park launches "STP Platform" to help start-ups expand business

Recently, the Science and Technology Park launched the technology verification service platform "STP Platform", and currently 30-40 start-up companies have participated.

The platform provides virtual and physical field testing functions, allowing government departments and companies to see in advance the effects that can be achieved if they adopt the technologies of these start-ups, greatly reducing their costs and risks when adopting new technologies, and speeding up the achievement of proof of concept ( PoC), and start-up companies will design solutions in the form of projects according to the needs of different customers.

Jizhifang is also a participant in the AI ​​pilot project of the platform. The company provides automatic rodent identification technology for government departments, and monitors the track and area of ​​rodents through infrared heat-sensing lenses, so as to more effectively place rodenticides and trap rodents. Analyze and review the effectiveness of the anti-rodent operation.

Huo Luming, director of artificial intelligence, robotics technology platform and precision engineering at the Science Park, believes that Jizhifang focuses on artificial intelligence technology and knows how to use and analyze the collected data, so it can win government contracts among Yunyun participants. Many start-ups don’t know what they are doing and don’t know how to apply their own technology, but in fact, the same technology can be applied to different areas!” She continued that the platform will test startups through a virtual sandbox environment. After evaluating which startup company has the highest score, let the customer decide whether to adopt the startup’s solution based on the effectiveness of each solution under the condition of anonymity.

"Using a fair method to observe the actual results, the final use or not is determined by the customer. Start-up companies will know their strengths and then improve their existing research and development methods, such as improving accuracy or reducing costs."

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