Naju City Installs 12 Voice Recognition Emergency Bells in Public Restrooms

Published 28 Nov.2022 16:37(KST)

[Naju=Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Kim Yukbong] Naju City in Jeollanam-do has installed and completed 12 voice recognition emergency bells in public restrooms frequently used by the public to ensure citizens can use them safely.

According to the city on the 28th, the emergency bells were installed at six male and female public restrooms including ‘Geumseonggwan’, ‘Hansuje Parking Lot’, ‘Yeongsanpo Honggeo Street’, ‘Bitgaram Observatory’, and ‘Bitgaram-dong Management Office·Park Golf Course’.

The newly installed voice recognition emergency bells are expected to be a convenience and functionally enhanced emergency device compared to the existing push-button type emergency bells.

The existing button-type emergency bells required users to move to the installation location, which reduced accessibility in urgent situations.

Even when the emergency bell was pressed, only the external warning light operated, and it took some time for the police who received the report to arrive, which was a drawback for prompt response.

On the other hand, the new voice recognition emergency bells have a newly added function to recognize specific keywords.

The system automatically connects a voice call to the designated emergency number (112 Situation Room) by recognizing the initial consonants of help request words such as ‘Saram Sallyeo’ (Help me), ‘Sallyeojuseyo’ (Please save me), and ‘Dowajuseyo’ (Please help).

Also, as the warning light and alarm sound simultaneously, the exact location information of the place where the emergency bell is installed is sent to the nearest police substation, enabling immediate on-site dispatch.

A city official said, “We expect that the emergency bells with added voice recognition function, compared to the existing button emergency bells, will greatly help alleviate citizens’ anxiety when using public restrooms and prevent crimes.”

He added, “We ask for mature civic consciousness when using the system so that users in actual emergency situations do not suffer inconvenience due to false or prank reports.”