Japan's police eye AI to control crowds at Tokyo Games
Japan's police eye AI to control crowds at Tokyo Games
The Japan News Published 8:27 am CDT, Monday, July 30,
2018
TOKYO - An experiment using an artificial intelligence
system to estimate the number of spectators and their movements was conducted
during the annual Sumida River Fireworks Festival in Tokyo by the Metropolitan
Police Department and Panasonic.
The MPD and the major electronics maker will analyze the
data collected on Sunday at the festival's venues, and examine whether the
system could be utilized at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics.
MPD vehicles equipped with Panasonic cameras were
stationed at two major crossings near the venues, and monitors nearby counted
the number of people in designated areas and made estimations about which
direction they would take.
The MPD and Panasonic will continue operating the system
at major events and other occasions to equip the AI with more data. They are
hoping to utilize the system for crowd control at the Tokyo Games.
They are also considering using it to prevent terrorism
at the Games, by detecting suspicious individuals moving differently from other
people and suspicious objects left abandoned.
"There are many venues at the Tokyo Olympics, so
efficient security management is a task we need to deal with," said a
senior MPD official. "We want to proactively utilize the latest
technologies by joining hands with the private sector."
Better late than never
Fireworks lit up the Tokyo sky on Sunday night during the
Sumida River Fireworks Festival, which was held at two venues in the capital's
Taito and Sumida wards.
The annual event, which marked its 41st year, attracted
about 874,000 people according to the organizer. A light summer breeze kept
spectators cool as they watched the roughly 20,000 fireworks fill the night
sky.
The event was originally scheduled for the previous day
but was postponed to Sunday due to Typhoon No. 12, which passed off Tokyo on
Saturday.
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