Honeywell to implement facial recognition in Bengaluru Safe City project

Honeywell Automation, a subsidiary of Honeywell India, has won a contract worth Rs 4.96 billion (about US$66 million) to execute a Safe City project including facial recognition in Bengaluru, the capital of India’s Karnataka state.

According to an article by Economic Times, the project, which had been cancelled thrice in the past, is intended to make the city a safer environment for women and children through the use of biometrics and surveillance technology. It is also one of eight Safe City projects being carried out by the government of India under the Nirbhaya Fund.

Per the report, the contractor will be expected to install 7,000 surveillance cameras in 3,000 locations across the city, and maintain them for five years. The system will have facial recognition and advanced analytics capabilities, and be controlled by an integrated state-of-the-art command and control center. Some of the targeted locations are areas noted for high crime incidents against women, the report mentions.

Bengaluru City Police Commissioner Kamal Pant was quoted as saying the contract was awarded to Honeywell Automation because of its low bid.

“The company won their bid by quoting Rs 120 crore lower than the estimated cost of the project. This is significant saving for us, and we will use it for stepping up the safety and security of women,” said the Commissioner.

Ashish Gaikwad, president of Honeywell India and managing director of Honeywell Automation India Limited, expressed delight over their successful bid.

“For more than 30 years, Honeywell has supported India’s growth with differentiated technologies, working to make our cities safer, smarter and more connected. We are honored to be selected for the Bengaluru Safe City project that works to directly address a key concern to improve the safety of all its citizens,” said Gaikwad.

Economic Times quoted another top police official, Gaurav Gupta, who praised the project and said he was happy it was now taking off.

Honeywell says it has implemented similar projects in other Indian states.

The company announced a partnership with AerVision on artificial intelligence and biometrics in smart buildings last year. Back in 2019, Honeywell integrated facial recognition from Intel with its MAXPRO enterprise security platform.

Article Topics

biometric identification  |  biometrics  |  cctv  |  criminal ID  |  facial recognition  |  Honeywell  |  India  |  police  |  smart cities  |  video analytics  |  video surveillance