Gwanak-gu introduces IoT-based real-time tracking system for missing children

[Smart City Today]

According to the National Police Agency, the number of reported missing children in Korea is 20,000 each year, and preschoolers are less likely to find them if they are not found within three hours of Golden Time after their disappearance.

Gwanak-gu (Mayor Park Joon-hee) developed the nation's first real-time tracking and control service for missing children by combining the functions of CCTV, which had mainly played a role as a crime prevention function, with the search for missing children.

‘Real-time Tracking and Control Service for Missing Children’ is an application developed by the district (hereinafter referred to as app), a wireless communication device beacon capable of communicating within a certain range, and an Internet of Things (IoT) system that tracks the location of missing children by linking CCTV to be.

The way the system operates is simple. The "Smart Protector (prevention of missing child notification)" app is installed on the smartphone of childcare teachers at daycare centers and provides children with beacons and bags to carry them. Beacons containing information about each child can be registered in the "Smart Protector" app to know if there are children in the short distance, and if a child is missing, it is automatically reported to the "Gwanak-gu CCTV Control Center" through the app.

The CCTV control center, which received the report, confirms the information and impressions reported through the app and immediately searches for missing children. In fact, the district conducted 12 simulations from October to December, and the average discovery time of missing children is only 10 minutes, which is much faster than the golden time of 3 hours.

Gwanak-gu has provided more than 1,900 beacons to 38 daycare centers so far, linking them with 5,300 CCTVs in all areas of Gwanak-gu. It plans to provide additional beacons to 1,000 people in 25 daycare centers next year. In addition, 340 beacon detectors will be installed in blind spots that are difficult to search with CCTV to upgrade the system so that they can be searched.

Gwanak-gu plans to proactively use the "real-time tracking control service for missing children" to prevent and search for missing children during outdoor field trips for children at daycare centers in the jurisdiction.

In addition, the district strives to create a safe city for all vulnerable groups, such as providing GPS to prevent the disappearance of 350 disabled and elderly people with dementia as of 2022 and providing 150 additional GPS to 1,000 people by 2026.

An official of Gwanak-gu said, "We expect that the nation's first 'real-time tracking control service for missing children' will have a great effect on not only preventing the disappearance of children but also protecting the vulnerable citizens." "We will introduce 'smart' administration to create a safe living place for residents by promoting projects that reflect various digital technologies and creative ideas," he said.