ARA continuously monitors video surveillance camera footage. The system detects people by their faces, postures, and surrounding objects without identifying individuals in the images. Specialized algorithms have also been added to detect movement and prevent camera flicker. Because ARA processes each frame, each photographed individual can be anonymized with a mask of their choice, such as face blurring or full-body masking. This prevents any form of identification or profiling and complies with privacy regulations. Once anonymized, the footage can be used for further processing without privacy concerns.
The first customer to use the ARA system is Schiphol Airport in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. Schiphol Airport will install the system within its airport-wide video surveillance network. Schiphol is exploring how digital inspectors can be deployed to increase efficiency at a lower cost. Anonymized footage can be used to reduce the number of inspection rounds that human maintenance inspectors must perform. This allows for better management of crowds, queues, and risks. Schiphol will also be able to use anonymized images to recognize suspicious behavior, enabling police and security personnel to prevent incidents. This allows Schiphol and its major contractors to manage asset maintenance more efficiently, save on costs, and mitigate risks.
Raymond Kossen, product manager at Schiphol Group, says: "Thanks to ARA, we can extract added value from our surveillance images. This includes people counting, traffic flow analysis, human behavior analysis, public safety assessments, automated visual inspections, and asset integrity checks. This will allow us to make our airport safer and more efficient, while also meeting legal requirements.".
Jash Bansidhar, Managing Director of Advantech Europe, states, "ARA is the first 'Edge Solution Ready Package' we have developed in collaboration with BrainCreators. The AI-based intelligent inspector consists of a combination of BrainMatter software optimized with our cutting-edge computing technology. Sensitive information from camera images can now be found and anonymized."
“Innovation accelerates when privacy concerns are removed from the picture,” says Glenn Brouwer, co-founder and CRO of BrainCreators. “Thanks to our BrainMatter platform, ARA can identify and anonymize faces, postures, and objects in the environment. Advantech’s cutting-edge technology ensures that ARA’s automation model can be run on-site within the secure video surveillance network. Furthermore, video streams can be encoded and anonymized directly on the device.”.
