Bhubaneswar: East Coast Railway (ECoR) Wednesday unveiled an AI-powered robotic surveillance platform that will be deployed at Puri railway station ahead of Lord Jagannath’s Bahuda Yatra July 24 to enhance passenger safety and security, an official said.
The robotic surveillance platform, DSC ARJUN (Dedicated Security Chassis Advanced Railway Junction Under Network Enabled Surveillance), was unveiled in the presence of ECoR General Manager Parmeshwar Funkwal, senior railway officials and Railway Protection Force (RPF) officers.
“Since lakhs of devotees throng the pilgrim town on the occasion of Bahuda Yatra, ECoR authorities have decided to deploy it in Puri for the time being. It may later be shifted to Bhubaneswar railway station,” the official said.
According to ECoR, DSC ARJUN has been developed to support RPF personnel with AI, computer vision, machine learning and Internet of Things (IoT)-based technologies, enabling more proactive and efficient security services.
The railways said robotic policing in Indian Railways began in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic with the development of Captain ARJUN by Central Railway to assist frontline personnel.
Building on that initiative, ECoR introduced humanoid robot ASC ARJUN at Visakhapatnam railway station on January 23 this year. DSC ARJUN is the next phase of the initiative, integrating AI-enabled surveillance and analytics into railway security, officials said.
Designed as a force multiplier for the RPF, the platform is capable of round-the-clock surveillance and intelligent monitoring.
Its features include AI-based facial recognition, real-time crowd analytics, passenger headcount, unattended baggage detection, suspicious activity detection, public address announcements, live video streaming and instant alert generation.
Officials said the system can be deployed at platforms, station concourses, booking offices, waiting halls, circulating areas, parking zones, parcel offices and other vulnerable locations.
Through continuous monitoring and intelligent analytics, it will assist RPF personnel in crime prevention, crowd management, protection of railway assets and emergency response, they said.
