Artificial intelligence is being used to help detect and prevent suicidal people jumping from bridges, beginning with Rama VIII Bridge over the Chao Phraya River in Bangkok.
The Bangkok Metropolitan Police Bureau said the National Research Council of Thailand sponsored the project,
It launched in March last year, the purpose being to apply artificial intelligence (AI) to help curb suicides from bridges. AI-linked equipment was first installed on Rama VIII Bridge in Bang Phlat district, Bangkok.
Pol Maj Gen Pitak Uthaitham said Rama VIII Bridge was chosen for the pilot project because data showed it was the most popular for people with sucidal tendencies.
He said the AI monitored activity on the bridge. It would send an alarm to police when it detected people whose behaviour suggested they were thinking of jumping into the river. Police would rush to the scene and hopefully stop them.
If they were too late, the system could still locate the person in the river and direct rescuers to the scene to save them.
Pre-suicidal behaviour included people pacing back and forth, standing stock still, and trying to clamber over the guard rail.
The project could be expanded to other bridges nationwide popular for suicides, Pol Maj Gen Pitak said.
The Metropolitan Police Bureau organised a meeting on the pilot project at a hotel in Bangkok on Friday. While they were busy talking, two bodies were found under Rama VIII Bridge.