- The following is content from the press release -
(Headquarters: Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo; CEO: Yasuyuki Toki; hereafter "Unifa"), a company that uses technology to solve social issues related to childcare and child rearing, has renewed its face recognition system, making it more accurate than ever (compared to our company).
About Face Recognition Technology
This system is offered to parents through "Lukmi-Photo. When a parent or guardian pre-registers a photo of his or her child's face with Lukmi-Photo, the system automatically detects photos of the child from among the vast number of photos for sale, and displays them with priority.
Background and future development of the face recognition system renewal
In general, the faces of infants and toddlers are difficult to distinguish from those of their siblings, etc., and their faces change quickly with age, making this an area of high authentication difficulty. The face recognition system in Lukmi-Photo utilized a third party (third-party organization). In order to further improve the accuracy of authentication and to continue pursuing age-appropriate facial changes for each individual as well as siblings, we have decided to develop our own system in-house, taking advantage of our experience in using advanced technology to solve social issues*2.
In the future, we intend to expand the development of face recognition and other analysis technologies in Lukmi-Photo to make the system even easier to use for the childcare providers and parents who currently use the system. In addition, by utilizing the photo data we have accumulated on children aged 0 to 6, we aim to provide education and educational opportunities that are individually optimized according to each child's interests and developmental stage.
*2: Received a special award at the 1st Deep Learning Business Application Awards, sponsored by the Japan Deep Learning Association (2019)
About Lukumi
Lukumi is a service for childcare facilities that utilizes the latest technologies such as AI and IoT. The company offers a total of 12 services in three categories: healthcare, photo, and ICT, and has been introduced in more than 33 municipalities to date, with a cumulative total of more than 13,000 installations (*as of November 2021).
Lukumi brand site:https://lookmee.jp/
About Unifa
Unifa is a startup in the "Childcare-Tech" domain that aims to solve social issues related to childcare and childcare. With the company's purpose of "creating new social infrastructures that create happiness for families around the world," Unifa develops and provides "Rukumi," a childcare support service that utilizes IoT and AI. Through the development of the Smart Nursery School®, Smart Kindergarten®, and Smart Childcare Center® concept, we are contributing to the creation of an affluent society in which it is easy to work while raising children.
Smart Nursery received the Good Design Best 100 of 2021 and the Good Focus Award (New Business Design), a special award, as well as the Advanced Technology Award in the social industry-specific ASP and SaaS category of the ASPIC IoT, AI, Cloud Award 2021, which is given to cloud services that are beneficial to society. In addition, Lukumi received the Advanced Technology Award in the social industry-specific ASP and SaaS category of the ASPIC IoT, AI, and Cloud Award 2021, which is given to cloud services beneficial to society. Unifa was also selected as a J-Startup.
Company Profile
Company name: Unifa Corporation
Representative Director & CEO: Yasuyuki Toki
Established: 2013
Location: Sumitomo Fudosan Chiyoda Fujimi Building 2F, 1-8-19 Fujimi, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo
Business Overview: Planning, development, sales, and operation of the "Rukumi" series of childcare support services. Development and promotion of "Smart Nursery School, Smart Kindergarten, and Smart Childcare Center".
Company URL:https://unifa-e.com/
Unifa's childcare ICT service, Lukumi, has received numerous awards, including the BTAJ 2019 Childcare ICT category. One of its founding businesses, Lukmie Photo, has revamped the face recognition technology used to sort children's photos from a third-party system to a proprietary system that specializes in infant and toddler faces. The improved accuracy and smoother data management will make it more convenient not only for photo sharing but also for use in childcare documentation.
Let's take a look at the details from the press release.