ⓒ Deepixel

Now it’s time to take a look at a Korean business bringing about changes in the global economy with some new ideas. 

The company we’re going to introduce today is Deepixel, a provider of virtual try-on service based on advanced computer vision technology. Here is company CEO Lee Je-hun (이제훈) to explain. 

Deepixel is a startup that develops technology that identifies and analyzes human faces and hands based on computer vision and machine learning. The purpose is to change the way people interact with the digital world. Established in 2016, the company has developed virtual try-on technology for augmented reality or AR commerce firms selling jewelry or accessories. When getting fashion items like jewelry, consumers take their tastes and styles into consideration. But in online shopping, they cannot actually try them on, so it is rather difficult to choose the products that are the right fit. We focused on this area. We hoped to ease their inconvenience and provide a better and differentiated customer experience. 

In virtual fitting technology, trying on jewels is considered particularly challenging. That is because it is necessary to precisely analyze body parts such as ears and fingers. Lee earned a Ph.D. in object tracking at Georgia Tech in the U.S. and worked on image processing algorithms at a research institute of a large company in Korea. Deepixel secured technology designed to figuring out the detailed contours of the human body or objects. By developing that technology further, it created a virtual try-on solution capable of identifying the exact position of ears, even when covered with hair, to provide customers with a more immersive try-on experience. 

Previously, virtual try-on services were rather ineffective as the images generated by them weren’t realistic. We thought we could make it if we manage to use advanced technology and provide a new service that would be clearly different from existing ones. 

Let’s suppose that a customer wants to try on a pair of earrings virtually. Her face appears on a screen in 2D, but we presume a 3D image of her face. For that purpose, it is necessary to detect various angles and poses of the face accurately. Then we identify the exact position of the ears on the head—the earlobes, to be more specific. We can figure out whether the ears are hidden or not, in line with certain facial expressions. It sounds like a complicated process, but customers can use the virtual try-on service by simply having their faces in front of the camera. 

Armed with solid technology, Deepixel has drawn investment from Korea’s largest portal site operator Naver and Korea Technology Finance Corporation to attract special attention in the industry. 

In May this year, the company unveiled its AI-based virtual jewelry-fitting service called “StyleAR.” Using this service, customers can virtually try on jewelry products before buying them online. Visitors of online shopping malls can wear different jewels one after another virtually. That way, they can see if the jewels go well with their face shape or skin tones and can measure how big they actually are. Using the previous purchase data, customers can receive recommendations on products that may look good on them. Customers can enjoy a satisfactory and personalized shopping experience, while shopping mall operators can confidently encourage consumers to but their products and lower the return rate as well. The win-win service is highly favored in this COVID-19 era, where people refrain from face-to-face consumption. 

ⓒ Deepixel

The service has drawn an enthusiastic response from customers. They say that they found this service both amazing and interesting. They also said it is very convenient to browse through various products. StyleAR analyzes face shape, skin color or lipstick color of customers and recommends products that match well with them. It also shows the products purchased by other customers who share similar features. These days, consumers are discouraged from going to offline stores to buy earrings. But they can check their preferred size or style of jewelry online conveniently and therefore reduce the costs of changing or returning the products. Many customers tell us about various benefits of the service. 

Another good point of StyleAR is that it works smoothly both on the computer and mobile devices. Smartphone users can use this virtual fitting service in real time without phone lags or delays. 

It wasn’t easy at all to develop the technology, though. It was challenging to collect photos of faces and hands with different poses and make data from them. Also, the company faced high entry barriers to the conservative domestic jewelry market. 

We found that there were many small business owners in the Korean jewelry market. Many of them didn’t bother to adopt high-tech for long-term marketing effects and focused on short-term sales instead. In the beginning, we had great difficulty in persuading them to introduce our product. Fortunately, our tech gradually spread through word of mouth, and some famous dealers used it, prompting many small businesses to contact us. They are in the process of introducing it little by little. 

In addition to rings and earrings, we’re also developing virtual try-on technology for nail art. 

With nail art, people remove gel nails by using chemicals. But that process may damage nails. Our technology is expected to dispel worries about this and offer more benefits to customers.

Deepixel plans on expanding its virtual fitting service from jewelry into nail art and wristwatches. Consumers may try on as many products as they want without caring about sales staff at offline stores. We could experience a shopping environment like this in the not-so-distant future. 

As a tech startup, Deepixel hopes that many people will enjoy their lives in a more convenient and valuable way through our technology and services. At present, the offline jewelry market is far bigger than the online one. But teens and 20-somethings are increasingly turning to the online market, so our StyleAR service can grow even faster. We believe it can appeal greatly to much larger jewelry markets overseas, including those in Southeast Asia, the Americas and Europe. After strengthening our base in Korea, we consider exploring foreign markets as well. We’ve formed various networks through exhibitions and seminars. 

With the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic accelerating non-face-to-face forms of consumption, Deepixel provides virtual try-on services that are becoming increasingly important for consumers. We hope the company will continue to play a leading role in promoting the industry so that many more people will benefit from visual intelligence technology even in the post-COVID-19 era.