UniUni (official web site) is a startup that tackles an issue that’s been largely ignored to this point: private security in areas which have been excluded from surveillance, like public restrooms or retail dressing rooms. Whether it’s violent acts, drug use, voyeurism through hidden cameras, and extra. These have been areas historically troublesome to video-monitor for apparent privateness causes. UniUni calls these locations “technological blind spots”.
Note that there’s a courier/delivery firm with the identical title, but it surely’s a very totally different enterprise.
This startup believes it has the know-how that may lastly reply this problem, due to a mixture of {hardware} and software program. The {hardware} presents itself within the type of a small monitoring field, which you’ll maintain in your hand.
Typically, it will be put in on the ceiling of every particular person bathroom seat, however fret not, there’s no digital camera inside. Instead, there’s a lidar machine that acts extra like a radar, because it perceives depth as an alternative of colours. Just like a radar, it will probably inform you there’s somebody (or one thing) however there’s no video or photographs that voyeurs would need.
We’ve seen this sort of “radar” know-how earlier than, and we all know it really works for presence-detection functions. However, UniUni takes the know-how to the subsequent degree by including a layer of A.I (Artificial Intelligence) on high of the uncooked knowledge.
The firm claims it will probably sense irregular conditions equivalent to violence, drug use, or individuals putting hidden cameras in restrooms. If it really works as marketed, that may be a private security game-changer as it is vitally onerous to observe so many areas with out critical automation.
Different locations would possibly expertise totally different challenges. For instance, Korea had a hidden digital camera concern not too long ago, however different international locations would possibly expertise excessive drug utilization or bodily assaults in these areas.
Hidden cameras are way more costly to seek out and take away than stopping their set up within the first place, when attainable. There are additionally instances the place individuals might expertise a fall or faint, through which UniUni’s product might alert personnel to assist.
Beyond private security, the corporate factors out that it is usually attainable to enhance amenities upkeep as nicely by estimating when the bathroom paper must be modified, how typically the cleanup needs to be accomplished, and many others.
Typically, this is able to be deployed in comparatively massive buildings, and the constructing proprietor or their safety personnel would get the notification and entry to the information through a dashboard. All the software program runs as a SaaS (service web page) and through an area wi-fi community, which makes this very straightforward to put in. The monitoring machine prices about $350 and the SaaS service is about $100 monthly.
So far, this has been deployed to about 30 websites in Korea, and UniUni is looking for to promote it within the USA. The European Union can also be a fascinating market, however the firm continues to be going by way of paperwork proper now.
UniUni’s monitoring answer may be very fascinating because it overcomes a few of the apparent points with video surveillance in this sort of location. At the identical time, it does present a few of the identical benefits as video surveillance, with out affecting privateness as a lot.
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