NTT Docomo, NTT Communications Corporation and NTT Comware Corporation will begin providing a trial version of an AI-based system for monitoring the water levels of rivers and reservoirs to companies and local governments nationwide, effective immediately. Through the trial, the companies expect to improve the system's AI functions and usability, aiming at a commercial launch by March 2024.
Notably, the system eliminates the need for physical water-level gauges and instead uses virtual gauges and AI technology to visualize real-time images and time-series data of water levels on a screen. Also, the system can automatically notify authorities if a predetermined water level is exceeded.
The system uses cameras and other dedicated equipment installed near a river or reservoir to capture video images of the water. A virtual gauge is overlaid on the video and AI video-recognition technology accurately determines the water level in real time. Specifically, the system uses a unique algorithm and AI image-segmentation technology to analyze the ratio of the water surface to the land area displayed on the virtual gauge. Accuracy can be improved by using multiple virtual gauges.
Personnel in charge of monitoring rivers and reservoirs for municipalities, etc., can check water levels and configure AI settings using video and graphs on a management screen in the cloud. In addition, the system can be live-streamed to local residents to keep them alert and informed.
In addition to the technology for determining water levels, the system incorporates two other key technologies:
EDGEMATRIX
NTT Com's video analytics platform (video edge AI platform) processes high-volume video data in an Edge AI Box (edge computer), enabling rapid video analysis, water-level determination and streaming.
SmartMainTech
Docomo, as part of its SmartMainTech series of solutions for infrastructure maintenance, has developed an AI for determining water levels, which combines Docomo's AI technology and a video-analysis AI in Edge AI Box, to analyze video of rivers and reservoirs and link the results to the SmartMainTech cloud. The solution incorporates industry-specific AI, data-analysis and visualization technologies.