What is this?
By Heather Lee Whitley
Cameras are everywhere — embedded in our phones, installed in workplaces and schools, even hidden in our doorbells. In law enforcement, cameras can provide crucial data.
“The purpose of in-car dashcams is really to capture everything that’s seen from an evidence aspect,” said Mark Griffin, vice president of sales at Coban Technologies. “About 90 percent of law enforcement today is working out of a car. The hardest thing is to involve technology without impeding what [the police] are doing.”
Griffin and Houston-based Coban Technologies are helping to solve the problem with an intelligent in-car video system called FOCUS H1. Currently in beta testing with the Los Angeles Police Department and Delaware State Police, this new dashcam technology uses up to six cameras to cover a 360-degree view of officers’ surroundings. Coban, which plans to roll out the first production units by mid-2018, has built artificial intelligence (AI) into dashcams to help officers quickly and efficiently identify or read objects such as the license plate number of a vehicle being pursued.
Staying Safe With Smart Tech
Police officers have been using in-car dashcams for decades. Although the technology has advanced to include newer formats and higher-quality cameras, the overall workflow of capturing, transmitting and archiving the video remains tedious, according to David Kirsch, director of product management at Coban.
“What sets the H1 apart is it embeds within it an AI-processing capable supercomputer,” said Kirsch. This allows the camera to deliver relevant data in real time while eliminating many of the back-office processes required with traditional dashcam systems.
H1 also helps keep officers safe, he said. For example, when a car is pulled over, the system automatically reads the license plate, checks it against wanted lists and notifies the officer if the suspect is a threat.
If there is a threat, Kirsch explained, “the officer — instead of getting out of the vehicle — puts it in reverse and calls in backup.”
The system also looks for weapons. If the H1 sees an object that might be a weapon, it honks the squad car’s horn or buzzes the officer’s bodycam. “It’s a second set of eyes to help identify what’s going on,” Griffin said. The system doesn’t “make a decision for the officer,” he emphasized. “It alerts the officer [to developing situations] so the officer makes the decision sensibly.”
The Future In Focus
Introducing high-tech tools can often come at a high cost. To keep costs down, Coban Technologies built the FOCUS H1 system using existing infrastructure and as an open platform to allow future applications and technologies to be added easily.
“Next year, if someone comes up with another idea and says, ‘Can you put this sensor in here?’ we can say, ‘Yes, the engine is there,’” Kirsch said.
In the future, the in-car system could include audio sensors embedded in wearables such as bodycams or smartwatches. These devices could detect key verbal phrases such as “shots fired,” Coban said. In such an instance, the system might be programmed to immediately send for help.
The core technology might even be embedded in drones to help map out the distances, spatial relationships and angles of a car accident. This airborne system might communicate with the one in the police car to help officers clear accident scenes.
“Our job is to not add responsibilities in using technology, but the reverse,” Kirsch said. “We’re going to provide officers [with] awareness capabilities so they can do what they need to do.”
Heather Whitley is a senior-level writer and producer with a passion for storytelling.