Epic Movie - Aftek protocol converter

And, for those people who'd love to see a demonstration of new products, rather than just read about them, we have created a short demo movie on Aftek Protocol Converter!

Remember I had written about what a protocol converter is, some time back? Ok, it's at: http://aftekzone.blogspot.com/2009/06/aftek-protocol-converter-save-cost-and.html

Check out the video at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gQJ-CxLpHGI



And do leave your comments and email ids, or do drop me a mail at kc@aftek.com for more information.

Kavita.
http://www.aftek.com/

Aftek SpyGuard in 'Sourcing Electricals and Lighting' Magazine

Aftek SpyGuard has been featured in 'Sourcing Electricals and Lighting' Magazine issue July-August 2009.

Face detection and recognition

I was always fascinated by face detection. Thanks to all the detective serials that I used to watch where cops compared faces of fugitives with their existing database! Sounded far-fetched then.

But face detection technology is here to stay.

What is face detection?

It is a technology that determines the exact locations and sizes of human faces in arbitrary (digital) images. It detects facial features and ignores anything else, such as buildings, trees and bodies.

Mostly face-detection algorithms focus on the detection of frontal human faces, whereas newer algorithms attempt to solve the more general and difficult problem of multi-view face detection. That is, the detection of faces that are either rotated along the axis from the face to the observer (in-plane rotation), or rotated along the vertical or left-right axis (out-of-plane rotation), or both.

The method devised by Viola and Jones, for example, uses Haar-like features. They used AdaBoost to train a classifier, which allows for a feature selection. The final classifier only uses a few hundred Haar-like features.

Needless to say that Aftek has worked on face detection and has achieved a very good hit rate with this, with a relatively low false detection rate.

Face recognition:

Face recognition is the next step to face detection. It is one of the most successful applications of image analysis and understanding. A general statement of face recognition problem can be founded as;

Given still or video images of a scene, identify or verify one or more persons in the scene using a stored database of faces. This requires an accurate detection of human faces in arbitrary scenes. When faces are located exactly in any scene, the recognition step can be used to identify or verify the detected faces.

Algorithms like PCA (Principle component analysis) and DCT (Discrete Cosine transform) are used for this.

What has Aftek done?
We have already implemented this solution in our 'SpyGuard', security product. AVI clip is captured from the motion sensitive camera and face (if present) is detected in the scene. If the face gets detected a notification is sent via a local alarm or an SMS to the home owner.

Face Recognition for a Bank:
Face recognition can be used to overcome the current security breaches in banks. We know that safe vaults in banks have limited access and only authorized persons can enter and access the lockers. The current methods are not foolproof. Here, the face recognition system can detect if the person entering the vault is authorized or not. We can do this by first capturing the images of the person and then verifying them with a database of available images.

Now to have the database in place, the solution can be trained with a snap of the bank locker holder while registering. And whenever the person wishes to access his/her locker, a snapshot will be captured by the camera (mounted on the wall) and compared with the earlier trained snap. Access to the facility will be given accordingly.

Kavita Chate (kc@aftek.com)
http://www.aftek.com/
http://spyguard.aftek.com/

Aftek SpyGuard article in Lokmat, Pune

Aftek SpyGuard story in Economic Times Delhi!!!

Our article appeared in ET Delhi on the 25th of June 2009.

Full Page Our Article

Aftek Rocks in the Aftek SpyGuard Press Conference!

Yesterday was a ground-breaking day for Aftek! We had a rocking press conference at MCCIA in Pune, India. Journalists from leading newspapers and TV media covered it.

We started by organizing the setup in Lakaki hall, setting up the registration counter, gifts, press kits, head table, projectors, podium, and of course the snacks. (by the way… the snacks were great! Cookies of a variety and sandwiches were delicious. Got to taste them only after the conference was over though.)

Journalists started dropping in at 11.10 am and most of them already began speaking to DR individually about the new product. DR explained to them the product details and the key features with flair.

The conference began with an introduction by Manish Rajani. DR was called upon the dais next. He went ahead to present a movie on the conceptualization of the product, the locations where it can be used, its features, and the web portal with live video clips captured by Aftek SpyGuard, and how they can be organized and searched online. Media saw how the product looks, and how it can be interfaced. The presentation went ahead superbly, and he immediately called upon Questions from the press. The press was enthusiastic about the product and was eager to know more! A sign of success! Just as expected, DR handled all the Questions with brilliance.


Some of the questions I remember are -

• How is SpyGuard powered? What happens in case of a power failure? Do you have backup power for this product?
• How much area does this product cover?
• How is it priced?
• Where do dealers come into picture? What do they take care of?
• How is the after sales service?
• What about technical support for the product?
• Who would train the dealers? What if they are unable to handle the queries from the users?
• Are there 2 different models for the product? What are they?
• How do the clips get loaded on the Internet? Is it automatic/manual?
• Can we access the SpyGuard portal from anywhere in the world?

Q & A and high-tea happened simultaneously, and media again took individual interviews and saw demos.

After the last of the attendees left, we grouped up to share our thoughts and smiles that we have when we know things had gone great that day. Between the good humor and chat, DR did not fail to ask what improvements we can do for the next time!

Here are some of us!

All in all, the conference was hugely successful, thanks to a collective effort of enthusiastic Aftekians! Now looking forward to the next one…

And yea, our article did come up in leading newspapers in the city. Will post a few of them here!

For more details and answers to above questions, please write to me (Kavita Chate) at kc@aftek.com

http://www.aftek.com/

Aftek launches SpyGuard in a Press Conference in Pune

SpyGuard Geared up to Go!!!


Coming up on the 24th of June, 2009, would be a press conference conducted by Aftek, inviting leading media outlets in Pune. Sr. V P Engineering, Aftek Ltd, Dhananjay Kulkarni would be formally launching Aftek's brand new security system 'Aftek SpyGuard'.
He would provide insights into the first of its kind technology useful for the masses.

Venue: Mahratta Chamber of Commerce, Tilak Road, Near Swargate, Pune 411002
Date: June 24th, 2009
Time: 11.00 am
All media outlets are cordially invited for the conference by Aftek Limited.

RSVP
Manish Rajani (manish.rajani@aftek.com)
Corporate Communicator, Aftek Ltd.
+91 99701 24715
http://www.aftek.com/