Police in England installed an AI camera on a highway. In the first 3 days, one camera “caught” almost 300 offending drivers
Police in England installed an AI camera on one of the main highways in Cornwall. After 72 hours, it detected almost 300 drivers who broke the law. In 5 days, this number increased to 1000, writes Business Insider.
A separate camera manufactured by Acusensus, based on a mini-trailer, was deployed on the side of the A30 highway, which runs from London to the northwest of the country. The system checks for vehicles in traffic and records clear photos using an infrared flash, as well as a system of lenses and filters. Artificial intelligence then reviews the images, flagging those that may contain potential offending drivers. The AI-marked photos are sent to a human for verification. If the offense is correctly identified, a warning or prosecution notice is sent to the driver, depending on the severity of the violation.
This is not the first time AI cameras have been used on the road, but the number of violations detected this time is impressive. Although most of them seem to be minor, such as 180 cases of not wearing seat belts and 117 cases of using a smartphone while driving, according to Adrian Leisk, head of road safety at Devon and Cornwall Police, the number of drivers who disregard safety rules is disappointing.
“We’re using this new technology to send a clear message to anyone who continues to use their phone while driving. You will get caught,” said Leisk.