A city in Georgia’s Gwinnett County has announced it will use camera technology to monitor compliance to coronavirus (COVID-19) guidelines. Peachtree Corners says it will be deploying artificial intelligence camera technology to monitor compliance to COVID-19 guidelines at its city hall. 11 Alive News posted information about the metro Atlanta camera surveillance via twitter @11AliveNews. Brandon Branham, Peachtree Corners assistant city manager and chief technology officer said the system “will help us maintain important public safety protocols as we work to slow the spread of the virus.”
The Gwinnett County city is using technology from Cawamo, a security firm that specializes in artificial intelligence applications. Cawamo, founded in Israel, maintains a U.S. headquarters in Atlanta, according to the 11alive.com report. Cawamo’s CEO, David Yakov, said they were “thrilled to be helping the city of Peachtree Corners keep its citizens safe using the already-installed security cameras around the city.” Peachtree Corners is the first city to utilize their system.
Cawamo is upgrading the city’s existing cameras surveillance system to be able to “monitor gatherings and alert city personnel” of noncompliance if COVID-19 guidelines are not being followed. A photo of how the program might detect noncompliance shows a group standing too close to each other. It identifies when “someone is not wearing a mask or a group of people are not observing social distancing guidelines, immediately alerting city personnel”.
The city’s upgraded cameras system and artificial intelligence surveillance technology has the capability to perform facial recognition. City officials say their upgrade could be deployed “without facial recognition” and “no personal identifiable information used.” The city did not disclose the actual cost of the cameras upgraded system. Peachtree Corners city officials said the city purchased “onsite equipment” but that monitoring by Cawamo is provided free.
