Understands Dialects... Gyeongnam Fire Headquarters Begins AI-Based 119 Emergency Call Reception

Digital-based artificial intelligence (AI) voice recognition 119 emergency call reception system screen. [Image source=Gyeongnam Fire Headquarters]

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Lee Seryeong] Starting December 1, the Gyeongnam Fire Headquarters' 119 call reception service will fully implement digital-based artificial intelligence (AI) voice recognition technology.

According to the Gyeongnam Headquarters, the AI-based 119 call reception system is a technology that converts 119 emergency calls made by voice into text through voice recognition.

This project is not uniformly promoted by the National Fire Agency but is independently carried out with budgets from each city and province. Gyeongnam will be the third region nationwide to implement this service, following Jeonbuk and Gwangju Fire Stations.

The headquarters stated that to increase the voice recognition rate of residents' emergency calls, the AI was trained using 119 call recordings reflecting the local dialects and intonations of the Gyeongnam area.

Based on the trained data, the system provides disaster information to operators considering regional characteristics and dialects.

If chemical substances are mentioned in the call, the system automatically searches the relevant items in the 119 Chemical Accident On-site Response Guidebook, delivering initial response instructions to the caller and providing suppression methods to the dispatched personnel.

The headquarters plans to further improve recognition rates by conducting additional voice recognition training and enhance the system so that data such as national point numbers, elevator and utility pole numbers are immediately displayed on electronic maps.

They also intend to strengthen on-site support functions by providing emergency treatment methods through analysis of call contents when emergency patients occur, and to advance the system to improve survival rates.

A staff member A at the 119 comprehensive situation room said, “There were many cases where we repeatedly asked the caller to clarify the address because we could not accurately understand it, but with AI recognizing the address, we were able to dispatch fire vehicles quickly,” adding, “We expect to actively utilize the system in the future to reduce dispatch command time by more than 10 seconds.”

Kim Jonggeun, the head of the headquarters, said, “We expect faster and more accurate initial responses when understanding disaster situations or when emergency patients occur,” and added, “We will continuously advance the system to utilize digital technology in various fields and contribute to realizing a safe Gyeongnam.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.