"Gaeko's fingerprint"... UNIST Startup Company Launches Pet 'ID Card' Issuance Service

Pairico Issues 'Gaeminjeung' When Uploading Dog Nose Photos

Research and Development Special Zone Demonstration Exception, Biometric-Based Registration Project

First Pet ID Dog Is UNIST Therapy Dog 'Bree'

A service that allows companion dogs to have an official "ID card" has been launched.

It is neither a so-called "dog collar" nor an embedded chip method. It is even easier because you just upload a photo to an app without having to visit the community service center. While a resident registration card has a "fingerprint" for personal identification, a companion dog uses a "noseprint."

You simply take and upload a photo of your dog's nose to register your pet. Just like a resident registration card stamped with a fingerprint, a "Gaeminjeung" (dog ID card) with the dog's nose wrinkles (noseprint) firmly imprinted can now be issued. This is because Pairico's noseprint-based individual identification technology has been designated as a regulatory sandbox for research and development special zones.

Pyriko's 'Gaeminjeung'. Like a person's resident registration card, the back side is stamped with a 'bi-mun'.

The first dog, Bri, issued with a 'Gaeminjeung' based on a sentence.

UNIST (President Yong-Hoon Lee) announced on the 25th that Pairico, a student startup, has had its noseprint-based companion dog individual identification method designated as a regulatory sandbox under the research and development special zone regulatory sandbox system.

Under current law, companion animal registration is only possible through embedded chips or external collars, but with this special regulatory sandbox designation, registration based on noseprints has become possible.

Accordingly, Pairico released the IDico app on the App Store on the 19th and officially launched the mobile noseprint recognition service. By taking and registering a photo of the dog's nose in the app, an ID card can be issued.

The first dog to receive a noseprint-based ID card is "Bree," a Border Collie serving as a therapy dog at UNIST. Bree is the first companion dog to have a noseprint-registered "Gaeminjeung."

Even if a dog has already been registered via embedded chip or collar, noseprint registration can be added. Especially for external collars, which have a high risk of loss, adding noseprint registration is expected to reduce the risk of losing companion dogs. Currently, 53.8% of registered companion animals are registered with external collars.

However, until the relevant laws are amended, unregistered companion dogs must continue to be registered using both external collars and embedded chips.

Pairico CEO Yibin Yang said, "Thanks to the research and development special zone regulatory sandbox, we were able to start the business proactively," adding, "We plan to expand the noseprint recognition animal registration business not only domestically but also overseas."

Pairico is a company that provides companion animal registration solutions based on biometric information such as noseprints. Founded in 2018 by UNIST graduates, it demonstrated advanced technology in the field last year by jointly establishing international standards for noseprint-based companion animal individual identification technology with KISA (Korea Internet & Security Agency).

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