Smart AI-based systems can now listen to gunshots

Atul Rai, the co-founder and chief executive of Gurugram-based Staqu Technologies, is eyeing the tender for a Lucknow smart city project for audio and video surveillance to improve security.

Rai already has a product called Jarvis that is used by Uttar Pradesh Police and other state police forces, featuring closed circuit cameras (CCTVs) and artificial intelligence (AI)-based facial recognition. In its new edition, Jarvis doesn’t just use cameras to watch crimes happen, it also employs microphones to listen to what’s going on in the city. “We have used audio analytics to detect incidents such as prison fights in Uttar Pradesh. Our target is to implement it in smart cities, » said Rai.

The audio analytics tool is also being used by organizations in retail and manufacturing to detect distress sounds and accidents. Staqu is one of the few companies in India that offer AI-based audio analytics tools. These systems can identify sounds like gunshots, a person’s scream or specific words that indicate distress. They use ‘convolutional neural networks’ (CNNs) to identify sound types. CNNs are typically used for image and video recognition, but here, they’re being used to discern patterns in sounds. Potentially, an audio surveillance system should be able to alert the nearest hospital if an accident occurs, or contact the police if a group of people are planning a crime. “Every camera is capable of sending audio data using a mic. If a crime is being committed out of the field of view of this camera, audio can help in identifying if someone is in distress and needs help, » explained Rai.

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