Thales new approach to security
To better cope with evolving security scenarios Thales has totally renewed its digital platform. An example of the new offer was visible at Milipol, the case study being the Stade de France, the major sports infrastructure located in Saint-Denis, in the northern suburbs of Paris. The new platform acts as a digital command centre that ties together physical and virtual sensors in order to provide the decision makers with the best possible situational awareness. Cameras, both fix and installed on first responders vehicles, or even images provided by mobile phones, contribute to generating the picture, social media, mobile apps, cyber surveillance, being all inputs taken in count by the system, not to mention higher-end systems such as UAVs and other sensors such as acoustic ones used to detect firearms shots, etc.
The platform is able to cope with high volumes of data, that are processed automatically, to automatically detect an event, and to show the operators only true alerts, thus increasing effectiveness. It thus assists the decision makers in incident management, a first contract with Singapore having already been signed while in France Thales has a contract with the Ministry of Defence to constantly upgrade security solutions. The Thales system includes Artificial Intelligence at two different levels, data analytics and facial recognition, the latter being forbidden in France. The number of cameras capable of facial ID is usually around 10%, a first level of analysis being carried out within the camera system, metadata being then transferred to the platform. Smart cameras are used not only to cope with facial recognition but also to carry out crowd behaviour analysis. Thales aims at using the platform for predictive analysis, the system has machine-learning features that allow it to become more and more “smart” along time.
The Thales platform is capable to connect to any kind of different sensor; beside case studies based on stadium security, another example was that of a higher pollution level in on part of Paris, data being provided by pollution control units spread in the town, the alarm leading to a redirection of traffic in some areas. The platform can be used also for road traffic management, traffic incident management, and other situation, providing not only decision-making support but also recording data that will be used for forensic applications when applicable.
Photos courtesy Thales and by Paolo Valpolini
