Sci-fi concepts come alive at technology conference

Three decades after cyberpunk science fiction superhero RoboCop first hit the silver screen, computer technology that will help police to be a step or two ahead of criminals has come on stream.

Delegates attending the State Information Technology Agency (SITA) Govtech 2017 conference in Durban witnessed concepts from science fiction materialising in real-life when they were treated to a demonstration of how just one kind of disruptive technology can help fight crime.

During a breakaway session on Crime Prevention and Justice, a Robocop-like figure showed how police will be able to identify a suspect and assess the threat level within seconds.

In the 2016/2017 financial year, the South African Police Service lost 57 police officers killed in the line of duty.

This year Govtech – the State IT Agency committed to providing ICT thought leadership platform and the latest technologies, solutions and trends – is converging on disruptive technology which embraces technological innovations geared to disrupt and displace established conventions.

Nicolo Cazzavillan of aiThenticate Computervision Labs, an initiative by the University of Johannesburg to develop disruptive technology innovations, donned a suit rigged with a smart phone, camera and virtual reality screen.

The identity of a suspect stopped at a roadblock, for example, can be verified almost immediately by using biometrics and communicating with the Home Affairs National Identification System (HANIS).

Representing a quantum leap over conventional facial recognition methods, neural cognition is employed and is reputed to yield results that are not only far more reliable and far more robust.

Neural cognition is, in fact, supposed to be impervious to the factors that tend to interfere with conventional facial recognition systems such as ageing, make-up/facial hair, spectacles, weight loss/gain and changes in features.

The camera also records the suspect’s movements and using neural technology which ‘thinks’; the police officer will be able to assess whether the suspect is about to pull out a gun or pounce on him.

Neural networks are an artificial intelligence data analysis technique – or brain function – that identifies patterns from historical data and uses those patterns to predict new outcomes when presented with current partial data.

Artificial neural networks represent an approach to problem solving that is nothing short of revolutionary – while the technology has been around for a while already, recent scientific advances have made things like ‘self-driving’ cars, a real possibility.

About the state information technology agency (SITA) 

SITA was established in 1999 to consolidate and coordinate the State’s information technology resources in order to achieve cost savings through scale, increase delivery capabilities and enhance interoperability. SITA is committed to leveraging Information Technology (IT) as a strategic resource for government, managing the IT procurement and delivery process to ensure that the Government gets value for money, and using IT to support the delivery of e-Government services to all citizens.

In short, SITA is the IT business for the largest employer and consumer of IT products and services in South Africa – the Government. Furthermore, the Act separates SITA’s services into mandatory services (i.e. SITA must provide), and non-mandatory services (i.e. SITA may provide). SITA remains committed in all its engagements to adhere to the Government’s ‘IT House of Values’, aiming to achieve reduced costs, increased productivity and increased service to our citizens.

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