A panel discussion among security experts at GardaWorld, ECAMSECURE and RAD.
In an effort to maximize the efficiency and productivity of their clients’ security system integrations, GardaWorld collaborates with several leading security companies in manufacturing and monitoring. These companies include ECAMSECURE, a GardaWorld-owned company and a leader in innovative, adaptable surveillance security solutions, and RAD (Robotic Assistance Devices), which delivers artificial intelligence-based solutions focused on workflow automation, via security and concierge services. GardaWorld’s Mr. Scott Young, National Vice President, Security Systems and Technology, sat down with two other subject-matter experts to discuss the latest in AI-driven video surveillance. Read on to hear what Mr. Young and the following other leaders in the field had to say: Mr. Jordan Lippel, CPP, VP Sales at ECAMSECURE, and Mr. Mark Folmer, CPP, PSP, President at RAD.
Mr. Scott Young: AI is everybody’s favourite buzzword in 2023, and GardaWorld is endeavouring to be at the forefront of its impact on the security industry. To bring our Canadian customers the latest solutions in AI-powered video surveillance, we’re very happy to be working with our sister company ECAMSECURE, as well as fantastic industry partners like RAD—both of which offer unique pieces of technology that bolt onto our existing physical security services. There’s a fast-growing need for the new technologies these companies offer, and we’re deploying security solutions with AI-driven video surveillance as quickly as we can for our customers across the country. This includes ECAMSECURE’s Mobile Surveillance Units (MSUs).
Mr. Jordan Lippel: At ECAMSECURE, our goal is to protect our clients’ assets and people. And our MSUs are a big part of this. The cameras, the monitoring, and the AI that’s in the cloud as well as in the cameras are all helping to identify objects before humans need to, which is really the goal. And when an event is verified through the AI and sent to the monitoring station for further verification, a human can then interact with whatever the situation is, whether it’s dispatching police, a guard or a two-way voice talkdown.
Mr. Mark Folmer: At RAD, our focus is taking robotic devices that are powered by AI and solving security issues in a different way. Our ROSA device, which stands for Responsive Observation Security Agent, delivers basic security services that were once reserved for security officers. It includes human recognition, loitering detection, vehicle-detection and firearms-detection. It can audibly and visibly deliver a security message if there’s a potential threat, then push that information in an alert back to a human in a monitoring environment for escalation. ROSA can be friendly too; it can welcome you to a facility during the day, and then put its security hat back on after hours. AVA, which stands for Autonomous Vehicle Access, is a workflow device. So think about a security officer at a gate, and the basic functions of that done by a device—everything from data collection to driver validation to truck validation. Ultimate control is with an operator if required, and if not, it’s just full on autonomous, automated access.
Mr. Young: There’s always going to be a need for that human intervention— that response, that decision-making. But the point of all of this is about anomaly detection as early as possible in a safe manner. From a safety perspective, I would much rather have a ROSA device or an MSU detecting anomalies out in the field than having a security guard by themself patrolling a back alleyway in the dark. It’s really about deploying the right resource in the right place to be as cost-effective as possible to keep people safe. Mr. Lippel: Ultimately, where we see the benefit of the hybrid solution with hardware plus humans is nights and weekends where there’s low activity or no activity, when there’s not a real need to have a guard just in case. What the technology does is help augment the high-peak areas as a backup, but also can help redeploy those critical physical security resources to other parts of the organization to be that force multiplier.
Mr. Young: Let’s talk about the monitoring stations. In our ULC-listed alarm monitoring centre, it’s not one operator looking at a bank of cameras like they did 25 years ago; they need to be given alerts. They need to be given anomalies with some reasoning behind it to investigate further, and that’s where the AI comes in.
Mr. Lippel: Exactly, everything is alert-based. They’re not looking at CCTV; that’s archaic. ECAMSECURE has a UL-Listed, TMA Five Diamond Certified Command Center operated 24/7 by trained agents. Their job is that once the autonomous responses from the device happen, like an audio message and lights from our MSUs, the agent can come on live within seconds to intervene with the suspect. We can then escalate further based on the orders of the customer, whether that’s calling an on-site guard, a patrol service or law enforcement.
Mr. Young: And with police resources stretched as never before, they’re able to prioritize a call from a monitoring station with a video-verified response and incident in progress. Can we talk about some real-life case studies?
I know, for example, a major issue across North America is the theft of catalytic converters. And major advantages with the MSUs are that they’re mobile, and don’t need power or data. They’re self-sufficient and self contained, so can be rolled out on a surface parking lot to detect catalytic converter thefts before they happen and as they happen.
Mr. Lippel: We have a really great recent example working with the Los Angeles Police Department. Essentially, there was repeated cargo theft on the railroads, resulting in millions of dollars in losses. And long story short, ECAMSECURE’s AIdriven surveillance solutions lead to arrests and the recovery of $20M in Los Angeles rail thefts. (You can read about it here.)
Mr. Folmer: I’ll go with a retail example, a multi-location convenience store chain. The issue was nuisance panhandling and loitering, which resulted in customer dissatisfaction and people not going into the store. So we deployed ROSAs and dialed in loitering detection. If somebody was dwelling in a place for X amount of time, the device would tell them they can’t be there.
What this means is no longer relying on a store employee to confront the loiterer, which could result in a potentially unsafe situation, and no longer relying on law enforcement—since they eventually kind of said, “hey, we’re not going to respond anymore, unless there’s really something going on.” So ROSA is a successful and cost-effective solution for them.
Mr. Young: It’s really been quite the year when it comes to artificial intelligence. We’re excited about where the technology is today, where it’s going in the future, and the value it’s bringing to our customers.
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