In face-recognition first, Delhi Police personnel to wear AI smart glasses in R-Day crime fight

The glasses will function like mobile CCTV cameras, while smartphones carried by police personnel will act as screens displaying the footage, allowing officers to monitor alerts while moving through crowds.

How the glasses work

The headsets function like mini CCTV cameras, with each officer equipped with one. The devices are black-coloured, with movable lenses that can be flipped up or down. The FRS system is integrated into the headsets.

Following a Delhi High Court order, Automated Facial Recognition Software (AFRS) was acquired by police in March 2018 to identify missing children by matching photographs. Since then, it has been used to scan crowds for suspects during high-profile events.

In a traditional FRS-CCTV set-up, an FRS van equipped with mounted cameras is stationed in a specific area. Inside the van, screens display live feeds from the cameras as they scan people passing by. Individuals captured on camera appear with green squares around their faces, along with text showing estimated age and height.

The screen is split into two sections: one displaying possible suspect matches, and the other showing the criminal database.

The smart glasses replace the cameras, and officers’ smartphones replace the screens inside FRS vans. The entire scanning process now happens on the move, as police personnel circulate through the crowd.

When the project with Azna started

“Last year, we realised that instead of deploying vans to monitor multiple cameras, we could enable police personnel to use FRS in real time, especially in crowded areas,” said Additional Commissioner of Police Devesh Mahla.

Delhi Police then collaborated with AznaLens, an Indian tech company and an XR (Extended Reality) brand known for producing advanced mixed-reality headsets.

Police acquired more than a dozen indigenously developed headsets with FRS technology pre-installed in their algorithms.

“Even if our system has a picture of someone from 1990, the headset will use AI to generate an updated facial image after 35 years and produce a likeness that resembles the person’s current appearance,” Mahla said.

Apart from AznaLens headsets, advanced AI-based analytics and drone monitoring will also be used to bolster security during the Republic Day celebrations in the Capital.