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NEXTLab Successfully Develops AI-based Highway Drone Compliance Automation Technology with Solder

2022.11.08

NEXTLab finally succeeded in developing AI-based highway drone compliance automation technology. We cooperated with Solder Co., Ltd., which is well known for manufacturing and operating drones, to receive a joint patent on real-time highway lane compliance and automatically filing reports.

 With this solution, NEXTLab hopes to reduce traffic police officers’ work effectively and save their time on monitoring highway lanes manually.

 

<Picture of highway drone compliance automation solution>


After showcasing a demo of the solution to Korea Expressway Corporation and military officials at Cheonan rest area in December 2021, NEXTLab has passed KOLAS test certificate after 6 months of development period. The project had been selected as AI voucher support project in 2022 by the National IT Industry Promotion Agency, and since then has been verified of its business feasibility.

 

What is AI-based highway drone compliance automation technology? Well, it utilizes drones to record images of highway lanes, then analyzes them real-time to monitor vehicles that violate traffic laws and automatically files reports on them. This solution encourages traffic law compliance to drivers and aims to reduce workload of traffic law enforcers. 


 

<Picture taken after demo in December, 2021>

NEXTLab has already proved the efficiency of its vehicle detection, vehicle type recognition, and license plate recognition technology by introducing them to gas stations and used car dealers in Korea. As vehicle license plates may differ by country, many clients were pleased to use an automatic license plate recognition solution optimized for Korean vehicles.

 

The drone model used for the solution is SD810, specially manufactured by Solder for expressway monitoring. This model is best appropriate for compliance automation solution because standard DSLR cameras can be attached to it, and it also displays stable flight performance. 


Furthermore, during the development period, NEXTLab succeeded in developing a lane recognition algorithm dedicated to drone-filmed images even when the drones are under the influence of bad weather, so that highway lanes can be smoothly recognized. This was one of the key features reflected in the patent.

 

Solder Co., Ltd. is the first company to produce industrial drones in Gangwon Province of Korea directly. Founded in 2001, it not only manufactures drones but goes on to make various equipment in the broadcasting and telecommunications field, educational field, and audiovisual ones as well. 


NEXTLab specializes in test automation solution and inspection measurement that combines vision AI technology with device hardware. We provide solutions that cater to our clients’ needs and seek ways to grow together by automating their repetitive tasks and saving their money and time. Currently, our solutions are focused on 3 business fields: set-top box performance measurement, network/pay-tv quality measurement, and automatic license plate recognition.