THIRUVANANTHAPURAM : The Election Commission (EC) has gone high-tech with Artificial Intelligence-based webcasting set to monitor the poll process and spot malpractices. AI-powered cameras will be strategically positioned in polling booths to capture audio-visual data. The software analyses the data to find unusual crowding or commotion and sends alerts to the authorities.
These cameras are fixed at a certain height (above 7 ft) in polling stations and can cover the entire activity. It is also capable of providing AI-based alerts for queue monitoring, said Sanjay Kaul, chief electoral officer.
This is the first time the state is using these technologies based on the guidelines issued by the EC. The decision to transition from previous methods, which utilised laptop web cameras from Akshaya centres, stemmed from their inadequate quality and failure to meet EC standards for webcasting. “Laptop webcams capture videos of poor quality. They do not comply with the EC guidelines for webcasting. The laptop, being moved here and there, could not cover the entire booth activity. Besides the laptop and internet could be misused by the operator for other activities,” said Kaul.
Instead of manually selecting visuals of poll booths, the auto-selection by AI helps the election officers to respond to the alerts and verify it with the ground staff. The cameras can sense if there is any slackness from the poll officers or if the voters stay for a longer time at the voting cubicle.
A Chennai-based digital company, I-Net Secure Labs, has been enlisted for the job. The webcasting will be done using internet protocol-based 3 Megapixel HD cameras which can provide better visuals. The camera makers also provide intelligent software to perform the analysis. The cameras are supported by WiFi/4G/wired connectivity. These IP cameras also support Internet of Things-based connectivity among machines. Its advantage is that the video can be streamed only to a particular Ministry of Electronics and IT- empanelled cloud service provider, said Kaul.
As many as 800 surveillance vehicles deployed by the EC use PTZ (Pan, Tilt, and Zoom) cameras with 20x zoom facility and can rotate 360 degrees. These cameras serve to monitor crowd behaviour and identify any electoral violations, with their locations tracked via GPS and footage accessible through the VMS portal.
Going with the trend
IP-based 3 mega pixel HD IP cameras instead of laptop cameras
Offers better clarity
AI-based alerts for queue monitoring
Supports IoT-based machine-to-machine connectivity for secure storage
Videos hosted with an SSL encrypted web portal with a secured login
Video securely stored to ensure there is no data leakage
Around 800 election squad vehicles use PTZ cameras with 20x zoom facility and can rotate at 360 degrees
Why the transition?
The decision to transition from previous methods, which utilised laptop web cameras from Akshaya centres, stemmed from their inadequate quality and failure to meet EC standards for webcasting.