Cisco’s smart city digital solutions to help Gurugram monitor traffic, crime

Gurugram is trying to become a smarter city. The city’s metropolitan development authority (GMDA) has partnered with San Jose, California headquartered networking giant Cisco Systems to launch an Integrated Command and Control Center (ICCC). An integrated video surveillance system is also in the works. 

The ICCC is part of a series of initiatives implemented by the Haryana government to transform the state digitally. 

Cisco’s smart city digital solutions powered state-of-the-art command centre will be a nodal point for traffic management and city surveillance, Cisco and GMDA said in a joint statement.

The solution, according to a statement, will also lay the foundation for an integrated video surveillance system. The system will be deployed across all 115 sectors of Gurugram and Manesar, falling under the GMDA. 

Cisco claims its analytics engine enables safe data exchange across community infrastructures, while its Firewall and Stealthwatch will deliver advanced threat detection and more in-depth forensics. 

According to Cisco, this range of solutions is integrated with a layer of artificial intelligence (AI) that will allow the city’s law enforcement to monitor and detect criminal activity more easily.

“60% of India’s population is expected to live in our cities by 2050, a significant statistic for a country of 1.3 billion people. The only way to achieve sustainable growth at scale is through digitization, and Gurugram’s ICCC is a leap in the right direction,” said Ashish Wattal, director, Cisco India, and SAARC.

Honeywell, the North Carolina, US-based conglomerate, also recently said it is working with Aurangabad Industrial Township and Faridabad Smart City to provide solutions to fight crime and manage traffic. 

In October, Cisco had partnered Value Point Systems to launch a state-of-the-art cybersecurity experience centre in Bengaluru. 

In September, it had partnered with Directorate General of Training (DGT) to provide digital support to government-run National Skill Training Institutes (NSTIs) and Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs).

Back in 2018, Data analytics firm Teradata partnered with Cisco to help authorities detect hotspots like security incidents and traffic bottlenecks. 

AI in public video surveillance 

At least 75 out of 176 countries across the world are actively using AI for surveillance. This includes smart city platforms, facial recognition system and smart policing, according to the non-profit think tank The Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. China is currently the frontrunner when it comes to AI surveillance.

India’s National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), which is part of the Ministry of Home Affairs, was recently in the news for inviting bids for setting up a centralised Automated Facial Recognition System (AFRS). The system will reportedly help police identify people using available data. The deadline for submissions has been extended four times, with the latest being January 2020. The proposal has raised several questions around privacy. 

Increase in traffic, rate of crimes as well as terrorist threats have been cited as reasons for the rise in the need for public video surveillance, The country’s video surveillance analytics software market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 32.4% for the period of 2019-25, according to research firm ResearchAndMarkets.