Deeply: "We Aim to Make a Positive Impact on the World by Analyzing Sound"

[Digital Future Innovation Awards: KCA Director's Award] Deeply’s 'ListenAI'

“We want to be a company that contributes meaningfully to the world by creating better technology and products”, Suji Lee, CEO of Deeply, a sound analysis AI startup, made a remark after receiving the KCA President's Award at the 8th Korea Digital Future Innovation Awards, hosted by the Ministry of Science and ICT and organized by the Korea Software Industry Association (KOSA).

Founded in 2017 with the mission of "adding meaning to sound," Deeply has built a reputation as a technology-driven startup specializing in sound analysis. Starting with a service that could analyze baby cries to determine their cause, Deeply has evolved to focus on detecting abnormal sounds from machinery in manufacturing facilities and analyzing emergency-related sounds for enhanced safety.

ListenAI Installed at the Government Sejong Complex Sports Center (Photo by Deeply)

The award-winning production, "ListenAI," goes beyond the traditional CCTV monitoring by analyzing sounds within the scene to immediately alert control rooms of potentially dangerous incidents. While multiple CCTV cameras record footage across facilities, they are generally used only in post-incident reviews. ListenAI, however, provides real-time detection of collision sounds, explosions, screams (distinguished by gender), and noises indicating fights or disturbances, directly notifying facility managers of ongoing threats.

This AI solution helps prevent incidents that might otherwise go unnoticed due to limited personnel. It also allows for quick coordination with police and medical services, covering areas not visible to cameras, low-light situations, and locations difficult to monitor with video alone.

Sound analysis technology, which includes real-time analysis of audio sources, is in its early stages domestically and is known to be complex due to factors like noise and location variability. Deeply has overcome these challenges to commercialize a solution robust enough for field use, making it possible to analyze sound patterns and detect incidents in environments with mixed and overlapping sounds.

This year, Deeply’s contributions have also been recognized at ICASSP 2024 with a published paper showcasing their advanced sound recognition technology, which analyzes sounds from multiple microphones to assess situations at one of the highest levels globally. Additionally, they hold a versatile deep-learning patent titled “Real-Time Sound Analysis Method and System.”

— Heejung Ahn, ZDNet Korea

https://zdnet.co.kr/view/?no=20241007130920