August 18, 2017

Functional interfaces of the security solution

Hitachi Asia’s Phase 1 Test At Sentosa For Urban Safety & Security Solutions A Success

Singapore, August 18, 2017 — Hitachi Asia Ltd. today announced that it has successfully completed the phase 1 test bed to develop urban safety and security solutions. The test, conducted at Sentosa Island, achieved a high accuracy rate of over 90% in detecting object approach shore on wavy water at sea and in identifying unattended items on crowded concourse of station. This project is under the Safety & Security Industry Programme 2020 (SSIP) led by the Singapore Economic Development Board (EDB) and Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), which aims to grow Singapore into ASEAN’s leading incubator for safety and security businesses.

The project was conducted over a period of 11 months. Hitachi Asia utilized its intelligent video analytics solutions and Multi Perspective Search Technology in real environment at the test-site, Sentosa Island, to address two of the innovation challenges identified by the SSIP office. The first challenge was to detect objects at sea with Hitachi’s high sensitivity camera in day and night from the Sentosa shoreline before providing alerts to ensure safety in our waters. The second challenge was to detect and track persons and unattended objects as well as to develop a mass broadcast and outreach mechanism to reach out to the public.

Hitachi Asia applied its advanced video analytics software to Sentosa’s existing infrastructure to detect intruding person from sea and to locate unattended objects in public through real-time monitoring and alert the relevant parties upon detection. For instance, an automatic alert will be sent to the command centre and security guards to verify the threat. The alert can also be sent to the public should the need arise. This system minimises response time and the reduction in manual surveillance also increases productivity. The data collected enables both analytics for investigation support since a person’s history can be traced, as well as business operation given that human flow is tracked.

While Singapore is one of the safest cities in the world, continuous improvement is crucial with heightened threat levels regionally and globally. Against this backdrop, the Singapore government is promoting development and innovation to safety and security industries. One example is the call for collaboration (CFC) in 2015 for this project by the Safety and Security Industry Programme Office (SSIPO) to develop safety and security solutions for other government agencies such as the Singapore Police Force and Singapore Civil Defence Force.

“Our safety and security agencies are continuously seeking to make use of new technologies and innovation to keep up with challenges and maintain our operational excellence. Testing innovative solutions through the SSIP provides a useful platform to do so, and we look forward to more collaboration with solutions providers to address safety and security challenges, and to serve the public better,” said Mr Ng Yeow Boon, Senior Director of MHA’s Ops-Tech Group.

“Security solution is one of the most important aspect of Hitachi’s Social Innovation Business, and we provide a wide range of security solutions, from cyber security to physical security. We believe that our cutting-edge technology and advanced IT system can further increase Singapore’s security levels and we are very excited to collaborate with the Singapore government to make the country a safer place to live in,” said Mr. Kosuke Horiuchi, Managing Director of Hitachi Asia Ltd.

“As Asia’s leading leisure destination, our priority is to ensure a safe and secure environment for all guests to have fun, with robust security measures in place. We are therefore pleased to partner MHA, EDB and Hitachi Asia to test-bed intelligent video analytics in Sentosa. The initiative has complemented our collaborations with various partners to enhance guest experience and security across the island through innovative technologies, and we welcome the trial of more solutions to help grow Singapore’s safety and security industry,” said Mr Koh Piak Huat, Divisional Director for Island Operations, Sentosa Development Corporation.

Following the success of phase 1, Hitachi Asia aims to expand their security business to further strengthen Singapore’s security and preparedness in a crisis.