ekin Patrol Police Vehicle Can Scan Plates, Speeds, and Faces

Turkey-based smart city solutions provider ekin Technology has announced a new kind of smart vehicle for law enforcement applications. Called ekin Patrol, it’s a police car equipped with a number of sensors enabling speed, license plate, and even face recognition.

All of this detection occurs in real-time as the car patrols city streets. Together with its license plate recognition, its speed sensors can be used to automatically issue fines for speeding or to record the relevant details for manual investigation; and its biometric capability allows for dynamic facial recognition of any individuals around the car, enabling it to match biometric data against criminal databases.

Advertising the car on its website, ekin Technology posted a video highlighting ekin Patrol’s implementation in an Abu Dhabi Police vehicle. That appears to be a prototype for a larger effort, with the United Arab Emirates’ Ministry of Interior having announced its exploration of smart police cars equipped with facial recognition last autumn.

Meanwhile, researchers in China have been working on similar technology, with real-world trials planned for the G-20 summit in Hangzhou later this year. While such technology is likely to conflict with citizens’ privacy rights in numerous other countries, there may be considerable interest in it from regimes like those of China and the UAE.

–

May 30, 2016 – by Alex Perala