Johannesburg’s drive to create a smart city is rolling out

Vumatel is deploying 15 000 CCTV security cameras over the next five years to make Joburg's streets safer.

Ever wondered what the street poles with a UFO-like object are across many suburbs in Johannesburg are?

They are being deployed by a subsidiary of Vumatel which hopes to roll out 15 000 CCTV security cameras over the next 5 years.

The platform will empower communities and security companies to make suburbs safer and is part of Johannesburg’s drive to create a smart city.

The LPR cameras have License Plate Recognition (LPR) functionality. Every vehicle passing an LPR camera is checked against multiple databases of verified VOI, including SAPS listed stolen vehicles, forged plates, and perpetrators on the run. Security professionals monitor feed, overlay analytics and access the LPR solution from a centralised video management system.

To read more about Vumatel CCTV cameras click here

The suspects in a home invasion last October wore gloves, dressed in black, and covered their faces with masks. But despite their efforts to remain unseen, a trail of evidence was left behind — not at the crime scene, but with Google.

Knowing the Silicon Valley giant held a trove of consumer mobile phone location data, investigators got a Hennepin County judge to sign a "reverse location" search warrant ordering Google to identify the locations of cellphones that had been near the crime scene.

A reverse location search warrant differs from a traditional search warrant in that it doesn't identify a suspect and establish probable cause to ask for evidence of a suspect's crimes. Instead, it asks for information about everyone in an area at a certain time, working backward to identify a suspect.

Read more on Google reverse location

China’s top search engine company Baidu made a smart cat shelter in Beijing that uses AI to verify when a cat is approaching and open its door.

The cat shelter is heated and also offers cats food and water.

While scanning a cat’s face at the door, the cameras are also apparently capable of checking the cat for diseases and also to see if the cat has been neutered by trying to spot an ear tag.

If a sick or non-neutered cat is discovered, the system will ping a nearby volunteer group to provide aid to the cat. The AI system is apparently capable of recognizing 174 different kinds of cats.

The cameras also are equipped with night vision so that if any cats wander around at night, they can still enter or exit the shelters. The system can recognize four common kinds of cat disease, including stomatitis, skin disease, and external injuries.

Read more about the AI cat shelter

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