Since 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic has taken a heavy toll on Japan’s tourism industry. Affected by border lockdowns, foreign tourists cannot visit any attractions in Japan; among which, the City of Ise is blessed with both oceanic and mountainous landscapes and has a rich history and renowned attractions. Ise’s tourist spots, like Ise Grand Shrine, and delicious food like Ise Ebi (lobster), oyster, and Matsusaka beef, are all well-known around the world.
To revitalize the City of Ise, local official agencies have planned a series of activities, and the mascot, Hanaterasu-Chan will also help with Ise’s promotion of tourism by activating the development of local commercial districts. Known for the Ise Grand shrine and surrounding streets, the city has dedicated much effort to revitalizing the region and promoting tourism. In collaboration with Ise Machi Zukuri Kabushikigaisha (Ise-Machi Development Corporation), this project has launched a series of activities, and looks forward to recruiting new businesses and stores to set up operations in Ise and facilitate urban development, hoping to regain its pre-pandemic glory.
Challenge
Ise conducts a traffic flow investigation once a year, mainly through manual and visual observations, counting the local flow of people flow in a traditional way. Since the data was collected once a year, it was too insufficient to be used for the purpose of analyzing business and sales. Therefore, the city planned to adopt scientific methods and combine traffic flow data with IP cameras and AI analysis for an around-the-clock investigation. Thus, the city government proactively searched for security and safety solutions that were precise, cost effective, easy to install, and capable of exporting a complete data report, believing that it would help to generate commercial value.
VIVOTEK installed its SC8131 Stereo Counting Network Camera at seven locations in downtown Ise, including shopping streets in various downtown districts, as well as an old restaurant with a history of 150 years, offering comprehensive 3D people flow counting solution.
VIVOTEK has accumulated excellent R&D capabilities over two decades, and this network camera is equipped with deep learning and video surveillance functionalities. It is capable of counting people and tracking traffic dynamics, achieving an accuracy of over 98%.
Through machine learning, the camera’s analytical ability is continually optimized. Video images are converted into data, and provided to shopping street shops and stores as references for store layout and promotion, enabling precise business decision-making and enhancing operation efficiency.
In the past, business owners could only look at customer checkouts to find out how well their businesses were doing. Since installing the SC8131, they can immediately learn about the changing traffic flows outside their shops, and make quicker judgements on whether their sales growths are driven by store promotions or by the people flow in front of the store. Moreover, the sales model of the SC8131 only requires a one-off payment, and compared to other local products, the SC8131 has a competitive edge in terms of affordability.
Result and Customer Feedback
VIVOTEK and Ise-Machi Development Corporation strive for the revitalization of downtown Ise. Through its comprehensive AI security and safety solution, VIVOTEK converts video images into data, and has helped local tourism and commercial activities. In this case, VIVOTEK not only partnered with ForceMedia to ensure seamless integration, but it also cooperated with local company EBILAB to integrate weather conditions, people flow characteristics, and event influences, as well as offer high-efficiency management guidelines.
The SC8131 AI camera has been installed in Ise’s shopping streets, and will measure the traffic flow from December 13, 2021 to March 31, 2024.
According to EBILAB President & CEO Haruki Odajima, “Fortunately, the store has two VIVOTEK cameras installed. The cameras convert the traffic in front of the store into data, which enables us to simultaneously learn the situation and make timely adjustments to our sign displays, maximizing the effect of the cameras.”
“Because of our successful application of VIVOTEK cameras, the local government has also procured more VIVOTEK products, expediting the development of local businesses and communities. In the future, we will continue to use VIVOTEK cameras to promote data-based commercial applications and activities,” said Mr. Odajima.