AI’s pivotal role in enabling the government’s 100 citizen-friendly, sustainable urban settlements mission

By Atul Rai, Co-Founder & CEO, Staqu

Given the rate at which technology is progressing and the emerging innovations across the world, we can safely say that we live in the golden era of technology and digitisation. The onset of the Covid-19 pandemic can also be included as one of the reasons for this accelerated evolution as technology adoption has dramatically increased over the last two years. With technology trends evolving constantly and our gadgets and lives becoming smarter, it’s time to make our cities more intelligent and convenient to live in, too.

 Over the past few years, the government has been on a mission to make cities smarter by creating citizen-friendly, sustainable urban settlements, having announced its project for developing 100 cities into smart cities in June 2015. And what better way to do this than incorporate one of the crucial new-age technologies, AI? AI adoption, especially since the onset of the pandemic, has been skyrocketing, with businesses across verticals integrating the technology into their operations. Today, AI has made its way into nearly every aspect of our life – be it navigation, security, logistics, retail, manufacturing, or even agriculture. One of the primary tools enabled by AI is video analytics.

 AI-led video analytics in smart city security management

 One of the primary concerns for both citizens and governments worldwide is security. When we think of security, we automatically think of CCTV cameras. However, the days when CCTV cameras merely recorded footage and stored them in computers are long gone. With technology advancing leaps and bounds, AI-enabled video analytics can do much more than simply recording and storing, including facial recognition, real-time analysis, and even predictive analysis.

 Face recognition to identify repetitive offenders, violence detection, crowd analytics, intrusion, vehicle/traffic analytics are some of the top video analytics use cases which are now ubiquitous in almost all the smart cities. So, by providing quick and accurate alerts, video analytics work wonders in helping the government build smart cities. Apart from that, video analytics also detects hazards such as fire and smoke through real-time analysis and allows authorities to manage large crowds efficiently, keeping citizens safe from fire hazards.

 Smart traffic management

 As touched upon earlier, navigation is one of the sectors that has immensely benefitted from AI. Right from the Google and Apple Maps to the GPS (Global Positioning System) fitted in our cars, AI is omnipresent in the navigation space today. Given the rising traffic-related congestions as more and more vehicles are present on the roads, it’s imperative to have an efficient system that will allow seamless navigation and clearing of traffic jams. Video analytics makes the entire process of analysing the daily traffic, studying driving patterns and speeding, and finally offering assistance in controlling the traffic congestions easier and more efficient. The correct application of video analytics can save time and cost and help maintain order by streamlining the traffic, especially during peak hours.

 AI-led video analytics offers immense potential leveraging which cities can become smarter and more efficient, making for convenient living conditions for citizens. For instance, the technology can detect the type of vehicle that passes on the roads, thereby helping to manage traffic issues that occur due to unauthorised/illegal vehicle entry.

 Besides, bringing in AI in the form of video analytics onto the streets will make it safer for pedestrians, cyclists, as well as drivers of bigger vehicles like cars, trucks, etc. As per data from the World Bank, India accounts for 11 per cent of the global deaths that happen due to road accidents – a direct result of unruly, unorganised, heavy traffic conditions. Deploying video analytics in such situations will ensure detection of vehicles, pedestrians, and congestion detection, making the roads safer and accident-free. Even in the instance that an accident happens, the AI technology can identify the vehicle, number plate, the speed at which the vehicle was driving, and even the driver through facial recognition to enable authorities to provide justice to the victims.

 AI in healthcare: Making patient monitoring a seamless, more efficient process

 For every country, one of the fundamental sectors that need to be robust is healthcare. However, as the pandemic struck, global healthcare systems were put under massive strain, causing them to crumble under lack of resources, shortage of healthcare professionals, overload of patients, and the skyrocketing general demand. Given the dearth of healthcare professionals, it becomes nearly impossible for the existing staff to constantly monitor every patient on the hospital premises. This is where AI and video analytics come into the picture. Besides scanning the premises for any inappropriate behavior, unauthorized entry, or violent activities, AI can also help provide patients with adequate care through constant surveillance.

 For instance, elderly patients are at great risk of accidentally slipping and falling from their beds or anywhere else in the hospital due to reduced mobility. In such a scenario, it can be dangerous or even life-threatening since the limited staff at the hospital may not be present at that moment to help the patient. With AI-enabled video analytics, the camera will detect such incidents immediately and alert the staff, allowing them to provide a timely response. Patients can also use AI systems to alert the staff in case of any discomfort through SOS signals, resulting in timely alerts sent to the staff, who can then handle the situation. Apart from this, AI can also detect theft or infant abduction, ensure hygiene and social distancing, and monitor patients’ vital signs, thereby bolstering the entire healthcare system’s workings despite a shortage of human resources.

 Bottomline

 Up until recently, technologies such as AI, ML, Big Data, etc., were referred to as new-age technologies. However, this is no longer the case because today, AI’s presence is prominent in nearly every sector. While we have barely scratched the surface and are yet to discover the true potential it offers, we can be certain the coming months/years will see AI providing a plethora of opportunities for businesses across verticals, making cities and countries smarter. Undeniably, AI will play an integral role and, in fact, be at the core of the government’s mission to make cities smarter. We are well on our way to living in a completely AI-powered world.