Environment ministry to pilot AI wildlife detection system on Cheongju highway

The environment ministry said Tuesday it will begin trial operations on Oct. 28 of an artificial intelligence-based system designed to prevent vehicle collisions with wild animals on a stretch of National Route 17 in Cheongju, North Chungcheong Province.

The system uses closed-circuit television to detect when wildlife approaches the roadway. The AI identifies people, objects and animals in the footage, then displays a warning message on an LED billboard and flashes warning lights ahead of the animals' location, prompting drivers to slow down.

The ministry said intersections and highway on- and off-ramps are difficult places to install conventional preventive measures such as wildlife crossings or guide fences, which is why the new system is needed.

The Cheongju site extends the pilot program to the Chungcheong region, following installations in three locations in Gyeonggi Province and Gangwon Province last year — Yangpyeong County and the counties of Hoengseong and Pyeongchang. The ministry ran the system at those sites with Posco DX, which developed and installed the detection technology.

The project is being carried out under a public-private agreement signed in July 2024. The ministry oversees the project and provides administrative support, Posco DX develops and installs the AI detection system, and the National Institute of Ecology handles technical work including analysis of accident-prone stretches and selection of installation sites. The Korea National Park Service also participates.

The ministry plans to install the system at one more location with a high frequency of wildlife-vehicle collisions by 2027 and to analyze how effective it is in preventing accidents.

"It is important to actively use artificial intelligence technology to protect both wildlife and drivers," said Lee Chae-eun, director general of the ministry's nature conservation bureau. "We will link companies' technology with the expertise of public institutions to reduce wildlife-vehicle collisions and expand programs through which companies can take part in biodiversity conservation."

Animal collisions threaten the lives of wild animals and can cause injury, property damage and secondary traffic accidents for drivers.