In 2008, Hankyu Nishinomiya Gardens shopping center opened on a vast site of approximately 70,000 square meters on the former site of Hankyu Nishinomiya Stadium in Nishinomiya City, Hyogo Prefecture. An "AI Security System Asilla" has been introduced on a trial basis to some (50) of the surveillance cameras installed inside and outside the building, and operational tests are underway.
For this interview, we spoke with Mr. Naoki Maeda, Deputy General Manager of the Leasing Business Department in the Leasing Business Division at Hankyu Hanshin Real Estate Corporation, and Mr. Hiroshi Kimura, President and Representative Director of Hankyu Hanshin High Security Service Co.
(From right to left)
Hankyu Hanshin Real Estate, Inc.
Deputy General Manager, Leasing Business Department, Leasing Business Division
Mr. Naoki Maeda
Hankyu Hanshin High Security Services, Inc.
President
Mr. Hiroshi Kimura
Hankyu Nishinomiya Gardens attracts many customers from a relatively wide area, primarily the Hanshin and Hokusetsu regions. As a large-scale commercial facility catering to a diverse clientele, we prioritize the "safety and security" of our customers. Our security responsibilities encompass various tasks, including attending to sudden customer illnesses, managing the parking lot, and responding to emergencies such as earthquakes and fires. In all these cases, we recognize the paramount importance of swift initial responses. While security guards patrol the premises, we have believed since the facility's opening that an automated alarm system, triggered by AI or other means based on surveillance camera footage from our disaster prevention center, would greatly facilitate smoother incident management and operation.
To assess the actual capabilities of the AI security system, "Asilla" has been installed on 50 of the most critical surveillance cameras at Hankyu Nishinomiya Gardens for a trial period, conducting a verification experiment.
『アジラ』の試験導入以前、別の��外企業のAI警備システムを実証実験しましたが、ＡＩ学習期間に問題があり、実証実験の結果も思わしくありませんでした。代替案を探していたところ『アジラ』を知り、今まで知らなかった骨格認証という考え方や多くの特許を取得、国内外の賞を多数受賞していること、海外企業とも連携していることを知りました。これは技術面でも期待ができそうだと考え、アジラの木村社長に連絡を取り、情報交換をスタートしました。
その後に、複数の候補物件から阪急西宮ガーデンズを選び、まずは少数のカメラでの実証実験からスタートし、検知性能が一定評価できたため、現場の警備員が監視・アラート発生時の対処を行う運用テストの段階へ進みました。
Looking at the actual images, I have a sense that "we are detecting what we should be detecting." We have come across some unforeseen situations, such as children misbehaving or workers moving around late at night. However, with the system upgrade, we now feel that it has reached a certain level of performance and is ready for practical use. This accomplishment is largely attributed to the optimization of the viewing angle for each surveillance camera. The company has been highly responsive to the on-site security guards' requests, which has been tremendously beneficial.
As is true of Japan as a whole, the labor shortage in the field, especially for security guards, continues to be extremely high, and there is a strong sense of urgency in securing human resources for the future. In this case, facility security at large commercial facilities such as Hankyu Nishinomiya Gardens and at the disaster prevention center of a large office complex requires extremely high skills to deal with customers and to handle emergencies.
Looking at the actual images, I feel that "we are detecting what we should be detecting." We have encountered unexpected situations, such as children misbehaving or workers moving late at night. However, after upgrading the system, we now believe that it has reached a certain level of performance and is ready for practical use. This is mainly due to optimizing the viewing angle of each individual surveillance camera. The company has been highly responsive to the requests of the on-site security guards, which has been immensely helpful.
阪急西宮ガーデンズにおいては、出来るだけ早い時期に全数（約300台）の監視カメラに『アジラ』を導入して、警備対象となる事案をしっかり捕捉していきたいと考えています。人間が監視カメラのモニターを見て異常と考える判断を、AI単独で判断させるとなると、やはり調整は必須です。また、検知���きる画角や画素の範囲を把握して、追加工事としてカメラの配置や台数を最適化させていく予定です。危険な行為や異常事態を細かいものまでより正確に拾うことと、誤検知数を減らすことは相反する場合も多いのですが、AI警備システムの性能向上に加え、アジラ社の高いチューニング技術があれば、最適な閾値（バランス）を設定していけると思っています。
現状ではまだ、オフィスビルでの実証実験は行っていませんが、より実用的な検知が可能になるのではと期待しています。
We believe that utilizing skeletal recognition to locate a "specific person" from multiple surveillance camera images would greatly benefit tasks such as searching for lost children. Additionally, it would be beneficial to incorporate facial recognition functionality to determine the current location even from a handheld photo.
Furthermore, if there were a feature similar to a fire detector that could identify smoke and flames from surveillance camera images and alert about abnormalities in addition to human activity, it would allow for immediate video confirmation of the site's condition, further supporting the initial response of security personnel.
We are also exploring the possibility of introducing security robots. In the future, we envision AI analysis of surveillance cameras mounted on mobile security robots to be capable of detecting abnormalities in the same way as fixed cameras.
Lastly, when it comes to human interactions, it is often easy to discern whether a child is playfully joking or engaged in a fight with a mere glance. This ability stems from perceiving a combination of facial expressions, tone of voice, and surrounding circumstances. We eagerly anticipate a future where "Asilla" can achieve such levels of understanding and capability.
Company name: Hankyu Hanshin Real Estate, Inc.
Location: Hankyu Terminal Building, 1-1-4 Shibata, Kita-ku, Osaka City
Representative: Ryuichi Morotomi (*1)
Established: February 1947
Business activities: Leasing of offices and commercial facilities, real estate development, area management, real estate funds, sales of condominiums, detached houses and residential land, brokerage, renovation, rental management, land utilization, etc.
Official website: https://www.hhp.co.jp/
(*1) Moro and Takashi are old characters.
