Government

Provide information on sightseeing and traffic in Karuizawa Town via live camera (demonstration experiment)

Organization: Karuizawa government office

Location: Karuizawa Town, Kita-Saku-gun, Nagano Prefecture, Japan, Japan

Customer need: Remote monitoring

Karuizawa Town, Kita-Saku-gun, Nagano Prefecture, Japan, Japan, 2022

Hope for easing traffic congestion in Karuizawa Town

Issues

Karuizawa Town is one of Japan’s leading tourist destinations and has long been a popular destination for many visitors. Since around 2014, the town has been working to provide tourist and traffic information by installing live cameras to improve traffic conditions for the town’s many visitors. Karuizawa Town is characterized by a high volume of traffic compared to other towns because of its large number of visiting tourists. However, there were many issues, for example, the camera that was in use had a mere 30-second per access limit for displaying live video. After 30 seconds, the video could not be viewed. To address these issues and improve the situation, CTS Corporation started a demonstration experiment initiative with Karuizawa Town Hall on July 15, 2022, using AXIS cameras.

Solution

In the Karuizawa Town live streaming camera demonstration experiment, live cameras were installed from July 2022 in five locations; Route 18, Shin-Karuizawa West (solar panel + Q1656-LE), Prince Street (solar panel + P1378-LE), Kyuukaruizawa Rotary (P3265-LVE/M3058-PLVE), Kyuukaruizawa Rotary (M3058- PLVE), and Dorokawa River Miyuki-bashi Bridge (P1375-E + TU1001-VE). The problem of server cost, which had been an issue, was made relatively inexpensive by shifting to a cloud-based system, and the problem of the inability to view video after 30 seconds was solved by introducing a new live camera system that uses YouTube. Real-time dynamic masking with AXIS Live Privacy Shield is also used to mask vehicle numbers and persons for privacy protection purposes. Solar power generators are used to provide power for live cameras in areas where there are no power supply facilities. New live cameras were installed in September 2022 in two locations; Kumoba-ike Pond (Q1798-LE/P1468-LE) and Mt. Asama (Q6135-LE). These cameras hold promise for tourism PR purposes as they can provide high-quality video streaming.

Results

Although the demonstration experiment in Karuizawa Town is ongoing, it was found that as of September 2, 2022, the live camera feed from the Kyuukaruizawa rotary had been accessed about 40,000 times and viewed for about 2,500 hours, indicating that it is being used by many people. The live camera feed of the Miyuki-bashi Bridge on Dorokawa river enables the public to check the rising water level with a live camera, eliminating the need for town hall staff and town residents to go to the river to monitor it. The effectiveness of the live camera feeds provided by CTS are starting to be felt through the demonstration experiment. There is a lot of hope for the utilization of these live cameras to promote tourism and ease traffic congestion in the future

We are satisfied with the live camera feed, which gives a clear view of the shopping district and traffic conditions and accurate mosaic processing to hide car number plates and people. We feel that the quality of Axis cameras enables us to see the town beautifully with live cameras.

Hajime Maniwa

Chief, Information Section, Policy Division, Karuizawa Town

Background and details of system introduction

Karuizawa Town is on the eastern edge of Nagano Prefecture, on the border of Gunma Prefecture, and is known as one of Japan’s leading international resort areas. As a summer resort, it is visited by many people from Japan and abroad. Since around 2014, Karuizawa Town has been working to provide tourist and traffic information by installing live cameras for the town’s many visitors. Since many people come and go regardless of the season, the provision of real-time traffic information plays a very important role in limiting congestion in the town. The purpose is to provide tourists with real-time information on traffic conditions so that they can choose less congested roads and modes of transportation

Karuizawa Town’s demonstration experiment was triggered by Karuizawa Town officials. In November 2021, they learned that Komoro City, Nagano Prefecture, had begun a demonstration experiment at Takamine Kogen with Axis partner CTS, and became interested in the use of live cameras in Karuizawa Town. The town’s live camera system in use since 2014 was old and a camera had broken down so it was time to update the system. Thus, the town and CTS decided to proceed with a demonstration experiment using Axis cameras in early 2022.

Until now, the town had been using its own server to stream live cameras on the Karuizawa Town website, but since various municipalities in Japan are using YouTube to stream live video, Karuizawa Town has also started a live camera streaming service on a trial basis using a YouTube channel. The camera used prior to the demonstration experiment utilized its own server, and the delivery camera would stop after about 10 to 30 seconds, which was a serious issue. It was difficult to provide real-time video because of the load on the server when many people accessed the live camera images. There were also requests for improvements, such as demands for higher quality images due to the coarse images from the live cameras.

To address these issues, the demonstration experiment employs a cloud system to enable delivery of high-quality video in real time over long periods without burdening a server. Clear video images protect privacy with mosaic masking of fixed areas such as houses using Axis’ polygon privacy masking function, and real-time mosaic masking of moving objects such as vehicles and people using the AXIS Live Primacy Shield.

Live cameras were installed from July 2022 in five locations; Route 18, Shin-Karuizawa West (solar panel + Q1656-LE), Prince Street (solar panel + P1378-LE), Kyuukaruizawa Rotary (P3265-LVE/M3058-PLVE), Kyuukaruizawa Rotary (M3058- PLVE) and Dorokawa River Miyuki-bashi Bridge (P1375-E + TU1001-VE). In the past, live cameras could only be installed in limited locations where there was a power outlet and a connection to the town network, and there were many inquiries including some about difficulty of finding the locations where video is streamed. To solve these problems, solar panels were installed to enable installation of live cameras even in locations where power outlets are not available.

Although still in the demonstration experiment stage, the fact that the images realized through the demonstration experiment are available in real time and do not stop seems to have led to labor savings compared to the previous situation in which users could only view live camera video for 10 to 30 seconds. Until now, staff had to go directly to the site to check the situation on foot. However, through live camera streaming in the demonstration experiment, Karuizawa Town’s traffic measures have made it possible to disseminate information on real-time traffic congestion and other information on the Karuizawa Town website, Twitter and FM Karuizawa during the annual Bon vacation. As well as the quality of the Axis camera products, another new feature of this demonstration is that CTS can provide detailed customization with its solutions, enabling advertisements and other information to be placed on live camera feeds.

Starting in September 2022, live cameras were installed in two locations, the first at Kumoba-ike Pond with the concept of tourism and scenery. The camera was installed here because it is a tourist spot that attracts many visitors during the autumn foliage season, and as there are many inquiries every year, the live camera can provide real-time information on the state of autumn foliage. At the second location, Mt. Asama, a new camera was installed for comparison with the old camera that was installed.Until now, cameras have been installed just to understand the atmosphere from the perspective of disaster prevention. However, the cameras installed this time show great promise for capturing scenery. The challenge is to see how beautifully Karuizawa Town can capture the landscape for tourism.

The most accessed page on the Karuizawa Town website is the live camera streaming page, which streams images of the town. Since there is a lot of demand for live camera streaming, the town hopes to use this demonstration experiment as an opportunity to focus on providing information via the Web. Karuizawa Town is known as an international tourist destination. We feel the new initiative of the demonstration experiment with live camera feeds is definitely having an effect. We have high expectations for Karuizawa Town’s efforts to utilize live cameras going forward.