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Face Recognition System 'K-Eye' Presented by KAIST
Artificial intelligence (AI) is one of the key emerging technologies. Global IT companies are competitively launching the newest technologies and competition is heating up more than ever. However, most AI technologies focus on software and their operating speeds are low, making them a poor fit for mobile devices. Therefore, many big companies are investing to develop semiconductor chips for running AI programs with low power requirements but at high speeds.
A research team led by Professor Hoi-Jun Yoo of the Department of Electrical Engineering has developed a semiconductor chip, CNNP (CNN Processor), that runs AI algorithms with ultra-low power, and K-Eye, a face recognition system using CNNP. The system was made in collaboration with a start-up company, UX Factory Co.
The K-Eye series consists of two types: a wearable type and a dongle type. The wearable type device can be used with a smartphone via Bluetooth, and it can operate for more than 24 hours with its internal battery. Users hanging K-Eye around their necks can conveniently check information about people by using their smartphone or smart watch, which connects K-Eye and allows users to access a database via their smart devices. A smartphone with K-EyeQ, the dongle type device, can recognize and share information about users at any time.
When recognizing that an authorized user is looking at its screen, the smartphone automatically turns on without a passcode, fingerprint, or iris authentication. Since it can distinguish whether an input face is coming from a saved photograph versus a real person, the smartphone cannot be tricked by the user’s photograph.
The K-Eye series carries other distinct features. It can detect a face at first and then recognize it, and it is possible to maintain “Always-on” status with low power consumption of less than 1mW. To accomplish this, the research team proposed two key technologies: an image sensor with “Always-on” face detection and the CNNP face recognition chip.
The first key technology, the “Always-on” image sensor, can determine if there is a face in its camera range. Then, it can capture frames and set the device to operate only when a face exists, reducing the standby power significantly. The face detection sensor combines analog and digital processing to reduce power consumption. With this approach, the analog processor, combined with the CMOS Image Sensor array, distinguishes the background area from the area likely to include a face, and the digital processor then detects the face only in the selected area. Hence, it becomes effective in terms of frame capture, face detection processing, and memory usage.
The second key technology, CNNP, achieved incredibly low power consumption by optimizing a convolutional neural network (CNN) in the areas of circuitry, architecture, and algorithms. First, the on-chip memory integrated in CNNP is specially designed to enable data to be read in a vertical direction as well as in a horizontal direction. Second, it has immense computational power with 1024 multipliers and accumulators operating in parallel and is capable of directly transferring the temporal results to each other without accessing to the external memory or on-chip communication network. Third, convolution calculations with a two-dimensional filter in the CNN algorithm are approximated into two sequential calculations of one-dimensional filters to achieve higher speeds and lower power consumption.
With these new technologies, CNNP achieved 97% high accuracy but consumed only 1/5000 power of the GPU. Face recognition can be performed with only 0.62mW of power consumption, and the chip can show higher performance than the GPU by using more power.
These chips were developed by Kyeongryeol Bong, a Ph. D. student under Professor Yoo and presented at the International Solid-State Circuit Conference (ISSCC) held in San Francisco in February. CNNP, which has the lowest reported power consumption in the world, has achieved a great deal of attention and has led to the development of the present K-Eye series for face recognition.
Professor Yoo said “AI - processors will lead the era of the Fourth Industrial Revolution. With the development of this AI chip, we expect Korea to take the lead in global AI technology.”
The research team and UX Factory Co. are preparing to commercialize the K-Eye series by the end of this year. According to a market researcher IDC, the market scale of the AI industry will grow from $127 billion last year to $165 billion in this year.
(Photo caption: Schematic diagram of K-Eye system)
2017.06.14 View 15331 -
Leon Chua, the founder of the circuit theory called "memristor," gave a talk at KAIST
Dr. Leon Ong Chua is a circuit theorist and professor in the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences at the University of California, Berkeley. He visited KAIST on April 16, 2014 and gave a talk entitled “Memristor: New Device with Intelligence.”
Dr. Chua contributed to the development of nonlinear circuit theory and cellular neural networks (CNN). He was also the first to conceive of memristor which combines the characteristics of memory and resistor. Memristor is a type of resistor, remembering the direction and charge of electrical current that has previously flowed through the resistor. In other words, memristor can retain memory without power. Today, memristor is regarded as the fourth fundamental circuit element, together with capacitors, inductors, and resistors.
In 2008, researchers at Hewlett-Packard (HP) Labs developed the first working model of memristor, which was reported in Nature (May 1st , 2008).
In addition, Dr. Chua is an IEEE fellow and has received numerous awards including the IEEE Kirchhoff Award, the IEEE Neural Network Pioneer Award, the IEEE Third Millennium Medal, and the Top 15 Most Cited Author in Engineering Award.
2014.04.21 View 8685 -
KAIST Online Electirc Vehicle Introduced by CNN
CNN aired KAIST’s Online Electric Vehicle (OLEV) on August 29, 2011 in its program called “Eco Solutions” that reports on meeting people with innovative solutions to preserve the planet. The reporter went to Seoul Grand Park, an amusement park and introduced an online electric tram developed by KAIST and operated on a daily basis for park visitors since July 29, 2011. KAIST has designed different types of OLEVs including bus, SUV, and tram. The reporter said that “the online electric tram” at the park provides visitors with a “cleaner, greener, and convenience since it charges as you go.” Currently, three OLEVs are running inside the park, and KAIST plans to replace the rest of existing diesel trams with OLEVs in the near future.
CNN Link: http://edition.cnn.com/CNNI/Programs/eco.solutions/index.html
Youtube Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QLzmFFqPJfo
2011.09.09 View 9236 -
National Green Growth Project, Online Electric Vehicle, Showcased on CNN
KAIST"s green growth technologies were broadcast live on U.S. cable news network CNN from 8 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. Oct. 21.
The program was part of CNN"s week-long series, titled "Eye on South Korea," focusing on how Korea is working to become a brand leader on an international scale and how the nation is recovering from the global economic recession.
During the broadcast, award-winning CNN anchor and correspondent Kristie Lu Stout interviewed KAIST President Nam-Pyo Suh to hear about KAIST-developed two green-growth projects, On-Line Electric Car and Mobile Harbor. KAIST"s humanoid robot Hubo was also showcased.
Live broadcasts of "Eye on South Korea" aired from Oct. 21 through 23.
2009.10.21 View 12564