Released AI Water Quality Monitoring Service

　iXs Co., Ltd. (Co-CEOs: Fuminori Yamasaki and Takashi Karino; “iXs”) is pleased to announce the official release of our AI Water Quality Monitoring Service (the “Service”) on July 20, 2023.

■ Issues to be solved with this Service
　Until now, water quality monitoring (“oil film monitoring”) has been basically conducted by human eyes, which has faced challenges in terms of thoroughness and productivity. To address this issue, we have automated regular monitoring by using infrastructure-oriented AI to analyze images acquired by IoT cameras, thereby improving both thoroughness and productivity.

■ Overview of this Service
　iXs has AI-based image inspection technology and has been engaged in automating visual inspections for the construction and maintenance in the field of infrastructure. In response to the increasing need associated with environmental preservation at industrial facilities in recent years, we have developed and started providing this service, specialized in water quality monitoring, to general business enterprises. This service aims to detect abnormalities of water quality (floating objects, bubble-up, color changes, etc.) in real time by placing a fixed-point camera (iXs GENBA-Monitor), and as of July 2023, we have succeeded in practical implementation of oil film detection on the water surface.

■ Features of this Service
・Automation of regular water quality assessment – Labor and management cost saving – With this service, water quality can be assessed almost in real time from a fixed-point camera at rivers and facilities that require regular water quality assessment, saving time and effort at the site. When detecting abnormalities, notifications are sent to a registered e-mail address, making it possible to quickly grasp what is going on. ・Usable in Outdoor Environments – AI Resistant to Weather Changes – Conditions on the water surface constantly change depending on each season and time of the day. iXs AI for infrastructure has been developed to cope with such changes in outdoor circumstances and designed to only detect water quality abnormalities (oil film detection). This service is also applicable to newly installed sites with a short learning period of the AI. ・Easy installation and implementation – IoT cameras with established track record in the infrastructure industry are used – To install this water quality monitoring system, all you need is to have a camera set up onsite. As for the cameras, iXs has been providing them for the infrastructure industry for many years. GENBA-Monitor, already well established, is used. Only a single pipe is needed for setup, and solar power is available as well as AC100V power supply. No server installation on site is required, since AI analysis is performed with images periodically sent to our server from GENBA-Monitor.

■ iXs’ Priority Areas
　iXs is working to promote digital transformation* for social and industrial infrastructure in the face of environmental changes, including aging personnel for industrial safety and deteriorating facilities, as well as the urgent need to respond to natural environmental considerations. With the aim of promoting digital transformation, iXs is providing a variety of services as 3D linked solutions to realize “Social Implementation of ‘Any Site within Reach'”. This service streamlines operations to monitor water quality and records the results of AI analysis into cyberspace, realizing a digital twin*. We will continue to promote digital transformation in both social and industrial infrastructure by further accelerating the initiatives for implementing our services into society by combining robots, AI, and 3D linked solutions, to improve productivity, quality, and safety in the field.

※ Digital transformation: A value revolution in lifestyles and business styles through the utilization of digital technology that overturns existing business frameworks and transforms them into something better. In the construction field, it is expected that the use of digital technologies such as robots, artificial intelligence (AI), augmented reality (AR), and BIM will improve productivity, quality, and safety.

※ BIM Building Information Modeling/ Construction Information Modeling(Management) By introducing 3D models from the planning, research, and design stages, 3D models can be linked and developed in the following stages such as construction and maintenance, to facilitate information sharing among the parties involved throughout the project, and to improve the efficiency and functionality of a series of construction production and management systems.

※Digital Twin： Technology to copy real space into cyberspace for simulation forecasting, etc.

※3D Point Cloud： Technology to acquire 3D point cloud data with a 3D scanner, etc.

※ XR： Collective term for cross reality, VR (virtual reality), AR (augmented reality), and MR (mixed reality)

For inquiries, please contact,
iXs Co., Ltd. Kawasaki Business Incubation Center AIRBIC 2F Room A32
7-7 Shinkawasaki, Saiwai-ku, Kawasaki-City, Kanagawa 212-0032 Japan
TEL：+81-44-589-1500
Inquiry Form：https://www.ixs.co.jp/inquiry_en