IISER Bhopal uses AI-supported cameras to ensure masking, social distancing

The high definition cameras are attached to a microchip computer that uses artificial intelligence to assess crowds and alert with a pre-recorded message whenever it spots people not following the distancing or masking norms

With schools and colleges reopening, the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER)-Bhopal has implemented a camera-based monitoring system to ensure that students follow social distancing and masking practices.

Representational Image. (HT file)

The high definition cameras are attached to a microchip computer that uses artificial intelligence to assess crowds and alert with a pre-recorded message whenever it spots people not following the distancing or masking norms. As a result of the system, people are following the safety protocol with more caution, said the institute in a release on Monday.

The researchers deployed the system at the institute in October last year and are planning to make the system open source along with a tutorial to help others install it. The system can replicate manual policing in crowded places. “We wanted a simple advisory system to warn students against breaching social distancing norms at selected locations. This device can be deployed at crowded public places to ensure that the basic safety rules are not violated ,” said Dr PB Sujit, associate professor at the department of electrical engineering and computer science at IISER, Bhopal.

Wearing masks and maintaining social distance can significantly cut risk of contracting Covid-19, which mainly spreads through respiratory droplets expelled by infected individuals when they talk, scream, sneeze or cough.

Others involved in the project were Dr Mitradip Bhattacharjee and Dr Santanu Talukdar, assistant professors from the same department, Dr Venkateshwar Rao, assistant professor in the department of chemical engineering, and student Kasi Viswanath.