Abu Dhabi police upgrade patrol cars with live biometric facial recognition

Abu Dhabi police will start using live biometric facial recognition technology, embedded in smart bars on top of their patrol cars, to optimize criminal investigations and operations, writes Khaleej Times.

The smart bar will communicate with a server located in the central operations department, while the software can instantly cross-match an image against the police watch list. When matched, the police are notified to act.

“We call this the ‘smart bar,’ which will be deployed for smart patrol. It will be able to do facial recognition. We will get a notification if a wanted person is on the streets,” an Abu Dhabi Police officer told Khaleej Times. “This will be launched in the coming months. Not all vehicles will be changed together but it will be upgraded in phases, around five to 10 vehicles at a time.”

The system features multiple advanced technologies and can be used in different scenarios. As explained by the officer, it can also identify plate numbers of wanted cars and the surveillance cameras can recognize speeding vehicles or those associated with other violations.

Abu Dhabi Police have introduced a number of smart technologies to improve operations, including drones to oversee traffic and better guide patrols, smart towers to send electronic messages to drivers, surveillance technology and monitoring software, and augmented virtual reality glasses to scan faces and detect suspects.

SenseTime announced plans last year to build a regional headquarters for research and development of AI technologies, including facial recognition, in Abu Dhabi.

Article Topics

biometrics  |  criminal ID  |  facial recognition  |  licence plate readers  |  police  |  UAE  |  video surveillance