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TTD to use AI, facial recognition to enhance devotees' experience at Tirumala temple
A TTD official said that the temple body will deploy these technologies to verify genuine pilgrims and to ensure a hassle-free darshan of the deity.
Just a day after the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) Trust Board decided to deploy anti-drone technology to strengthen security at the Tirumala temple, the official custodian body is now looking to adopt artificial intelligence (AI) and facial recognition system to enhance the pilgrimage experience.
TTD executive officer J Syamala Rao said that the temple body will deploy these technologies to verify genuine pilgrims and to ensure a hassle-free darshan of the deity. Rao added that this will also ensure prevention of impersonation or fraudulent activities, ease accommodation, access control and other operations.
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“TTD envisioned adopting the latest technological solutions available in the market including Artificial Intelligence to improve the overall pilgrimage,” Rao said in a statement.
How will facial recognition tech work?
EO Rao said that to implement these initiatives, pilgrims will be provided with time-slotted darshan tokens, which will capture their face's features using facial recognition technology, news agency PTI reported.
Once a pilgrim's image is captured, it will be cross-checked with the past 30 days' data or with about 10 lakh images to eliminate any duplicate bookings, thereby making space for more devotees.
This will make the token issuing and verification process quick and hassle-free, while simultaneously preventing impersonation and fraudulent activities.
AI and facial recognition technology are also used to track the number of pilgrims at various spots across the premises, such as devotees' queue, compartments and inside the Tirumala temple, among others.
TTD's EO said that the installation of AI-powered facial recognition cameras are expected to power this range of facial detection.
“This solution leverages TTD management to exactly assess the probable darshan time expected for the pilgrims who are waiting and also can assess the darshan time for pilgrims joining queue lines,” he added.
Such technology will also enable the temple body to notify pilgrims about their expected time of darshan so that they can plan their pilgrimages accordingly.
This technology will be installed across the darshan paths in the temple, helping TTD to estimate the time taken to complete the darshan under various categories. The temple trust will also be able to bridge the gaps in the operations.
AI and facial recognition cameras will reportedly be useful for tracking and identifying intruders across Tirumala at their exact locations.
Subsequently, EO Rao said, this facial recognition technology will be extended to all possible TTD services.
The TTD trust board on Wednesday also approved the implementation of anti-drone technology around the Tirumala temple to tighten security measures.
The board meeting, which took place the day before at Annamaiah Bhavan, decided to increase the green cover on Tirumala Hills, develop the temple development master plan, rename the guest houses in Tirumala, and license canteens. The board also decided on developing the Akash Ganga and Papavinasam areas, supporting SVIMS superspeciality hospital, and establishing a transfer and retirement policy for non-Hindu employees.
