Vidooly Moves Beyond Video Analytics To AI-Based Video Monitoring For The Post-Covid World

As the economy limps back on track and with businesses opening offices, there’s a new world order out there and even businesses in sectors that have a bright future are having to pivot and reshape their approach to tackle the new reality. From hyperlocal deliveries to manufacturing of medical devices, companies and startups have adapted to the market changes in the past few months. And for Delhi-based video analytics and marketing platform Vidooly, it means a whole new product.

Vidooly, which offers analytics to content creators, brands and networks, has launched a new smart surveillance product COVIDSHIELD, which leverages its expertise in AI-based video analytics to allow enterprises and institutions to detect any violations in the Covid-19 preventive measures.

Founded in 2014 by Subrat Kar, Ajay Mishra, and Nishant Radia, Vidooly is offering a suite of five AI-enabled surveillance solutions. It offers face mask detection, oversees social distancing norms, does thermal scanning and zone monitoring. It also provides a contact-free access control to institutions, businesses and organisations that are looking to get back to work without fear.

From Video Analytics To Managing Offices

Though COVIDSHIELD focuses on optimising in-office preventive measures to fight Covid-19, the idea is not to launch a product to fill a temporary gap. The use-cases extend beyond Covid-19 as well, according to Gagan Bhatla, Vidooly’s AVP for revenue. Speaking to Inc42, Bhatla said that the boundary protection feature, zone monitoring system to monitor unauthorised movements in restricted zones can be put to effective use for other cordoned areas or sensitive locations.

Besides this, the system can also be used as an effective employee management system as it can record a person’s movement, take automatic attendance. Bhatla, who heads the project, added that the technology can be used to keep a tab on how much time an employee spends on their desk and more. Since the system works completely contactless, it will prove to be beneficial in organisation management during the pandemic.

The idea for COVIDSHIELD came up while Vidooly was working on a smart parking system based on CCTV cameras for Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited (HPCL). The company believes that COVIDSHIELD actually showcases Vidooly’s progression from online to offline video analytics. Bhatla added that Vidooly was primarily focused on providing online analytics solutions for videos across social media platforms.

However, COVIDSHIELD works on a hybrid model, where the analytics is handled by the AI module which powers a regular CCTV camera. It also consists of radio-frequency identification (RFID) and mechanised doors to create a foolproof solution in ensuring contactless entry and exit of personnel within the organisation. The surveillance solution can also be incorporated into drones and thermal cameras to detect the body temperature of people entering the office.

Commenting on the technology, Nishant Radia, cofounder and CMO of Vidooly, said  “Vidooly has always been committed to developing technology that is innovative and drives change. We have been paving the way for the online video ecosystem using AI and machine learning in the country. COVIDSHIELD is built on the foundation of using our expertise to develop AI-based solutions to detect and monitor Covid related anomalies.”

Vidooly’s clients include TVF, OML, VideoGyan, GroupM, Mindshare. It claims to have measured more than 3 Bn videos with over 25 Mn content creators and 700 Mn audience.

According to a report on video analytics market, it is expected to grow from $3.23 Bn in 2018 to $ 8.55 Bn by 2023, at a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 21.5% during the forecast period. With an increasing adoption rate of Internet of Things (IoT) and big data among enterprises, the Video Analytics Market is expected to gain major traction. Some of the competitors of Vidooly include IntelliVision, Duranc, Staqu, Emza Visual Sense, Uncanny Vision, Cognitifai London, Delhi-based Corseco and San Francisco-based 3VR.

Data Privacy Concerns

During the nationwide lockdown, several companies decided to manage their operations virtually and implemented work-from-home. However, companies had to reduce their geofencing to allow employees to enter their servers from home and this made them more vulnerable to cyberattacks. During the lockdown, data of millions of users were breached as cyber attackers hit companies like Reliance Jio, crowdfunding platform ImpactGuru, edtech startup Unacademy and even state-run defence unit Bharat Earth Movers Limited (BEML).

Talking about its own data management, Bhatla specified that the company has been working across data for years and has processed huge chunks of data as well. Therefore, the company has set up a privacy policy for data handling and only a few employees have access to it. He also emphasised that the data is stored in a secured server, but did not elaborate on it further when pressed on the encryption details.