Gurugram startup Staqu equips cops with AI trained to sniff out missing persons

Gurugram-based artificial intelligence startup Staqu Technologies Pvt. Ltd has built an AI-driven app for the Indian police to find missing citizens.

The development gains significance in view of the fact that around 60,000 children alone go missing last year, according to data from the National Crime Records Bureau, with almost 50% from 2016 still remaining untraced. The solution by Staqu, which uses AI to digitise records, deploys facial recognition, geo-fencing and hotspot analysis. Hotspot analysis searches records, which could include the missing child’s most-frequented areas or child traffickers or kidnappers’ hideouts. In geo-fencing analysis, the AI solution considers data from nearby areas such as railway stations and bus stops where the child could have wandered to within six hours of going missing. The real-time analysis provides instant notifications for the cops, helping them to trace the missing individual.

Staqu said that it has deployed the app for the police of Rajasthan, Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh. Presently, the app’s database has been loaded with information of close to 12,000 individuals who have gone missing. The company plans to launch the application for the Punjab police after the general election results, followed by integrations with a few more state police departments.

Atul Rai, chief executive and co-founder of Staqu, said, “India has been suffering at the hands of child traffickers, kidnappers, and other miscreants. While we have been assisting police to leverage AI in their fight against crime, we felt the need to create a dedicated solution for finding the missing Indians.”

In the next phase of the project, Staqu plans to connect the AI-based solution to real-time CCTV footage to search missing citizens. The company said that the police have solved over 1,100 cases utilising a database of over one million criminals. Staqu also stated that it is using smart glasses, GAIT technology and GANG analysis to enhance criminal identification.