Actuate - Experts & Thought Leaders

Verifyfaces, a global pioneer in facial verification technology trusted by security professionals worldwide, is excited to announce a strategic partnership with Actuate, a New York-based AI company specializing in computer vision solutions for remote video monitoring and security. This collaboration integrates Verifyfaces’ high-precision facial recognition with Actuate’s advanced detection analytics, delivering a robust solution that reduces false alarms and improves detection accuracy for professional video monitoring centers and integrated security ecosystems. Verifyfaces selected Actuate for its cutting-edge machine learning algorithms, ease of integration, and alignment with Verifyfaces’ technical stack. This partnership signifies Verifyfaces’ first venture into collaborative AI analytics, utilizing Actuate’s multi-model AI capabilities to enhance real-time threat detection without compromising privacy or operational efficiency. Seamless solution All biometric templates remain under the client’s custody to ensure data privacy  Designed for deployment within existing security infrastructures, this integration requires no additional on-site hardware. Actuate’s analytics detect events like loitering, intrusion, or weapons, and upon triggering, send relevant face imagery—cropped faces or short video clips—to Verifyfaces for rapid identity verification. All biometric templates remain under the client’s custody to ensure data privacy and compliance with international regulations. Verification outcome Once Verifyfaces processes the image against a client-owned gallery—containing employees, VIPs, or persons of interest—it returns results with contextual insights such as reference images, confidence scores, and matching status. Depending on the verification outcome, alert escalation, suppression, or logging occurs within the monitoring platform. Enhanced alarm accuracy and context This integrated approach allows monitoring operators to receive more accurate, context-rich alerts, such as: Reduced False Positives: Filtering known persons (whitelist) or authorized personnel prevents unnecessary alarms. Actionable Intelligence: Linking alerts with verified identities enables quicker, more informed responses. Privacy Preservation: Biometric data stays under client control; media is only shared when relevant to the event. Versatile Use Cases Scenarios include: Filtering out authorized personnel from gun detection alarms in government or school settings. Triggering alarms only when unknown or blacklisted individuals are present, such as during after-hours intrusion in retail or corporate environments. Weighing detection confidence levels and whitelist/blacklist status to optimize alert relevance and operational efficiency. Exceptional AI quality “Verifyfaces chose Actuate because of its exceptional AI quality, seamless integration, and ability to quickly deliver tailored solutions,” said Michael Doherty, CEO of Verifyfaces. “This partnership allows us to extend our high-precision facial recognition into real-time analytics, providing security operators with smarter, less intrusive alerts—saving time and reducing false alarms across diverse verticals.” “By combining our AI-driven detection with Verifyfaces’ identity verification, we're empowering security teams to respond faster and more accurately,” said Ken Francis, CEO of Actuate. “Our scalable, privacy-conscious integration enhances security ecosystems without creating extra complexity for operators.”

Actuate, a pioneer in AI-driven remote video monitoring solutions, is pleased to announce a strategic partnership with Patriot Systems, a world pioneer in automated alarm monitoring software. This collaboration integrates Actuate’s advanced cloud AI capabilities with Patriot’s powerful automation suite, enabling video monitoring centers and alarm receiving centers to reduce operator workload, enhance responsiveness, and increase effectiveness.  Partnering with Patriot Systems "Partnering with Patriot Systems reinforces our mission to deliver solutions that strengthen security operations while keeping things simple for operators,” said Ken Francis, CEO of Actuate. “By ensuring that true threats are quickly validated and eliminating alarm noise, we’re helping monitoring centers that rely on Patriot Systems to improve response times, reduce costs, and prevent operator burnout.” Actuate’s false positive alarm reduction Patriot Systems supports monitoring centers worldwide with an open and scalable architecture A recognized innovator in alarm automation, Patriot Systems supports monitoring centers worldwide with an open and scalable architecture.  This partnership allows central stations running Patriot to add Actuate's “Intruder” analytic solutions to any event-generating camera with only a few clicks.  This includes Actuate’s false positive alarm reduction and industry-pioneering detection solutions, such as gun, intruder, loitering, crowd, and fire detection, as well as camera health monitoring and more.  A new standard for central station productivity With no need for advanced configuration or calibration, operators can realize an immediate reduction in event “noise” while improving response times and operator focus. And because operators are not required to learn new products or processes, central station managers will see immediate productivity improvements alongside the ability to offer enhanced services to their customers. Challenge for monitoring centers Central station managers will see near productivity gains alongside the ability to offer enhanced services "Nuisance alarms and event spam continue to be a challenge for monitoring centers relying on legacy systems,” said Paul Hughes, Global Partnerships Director, Patriot Systems. “This integration gives our customers a plug-and-play path to cloud-based AI that makes their teams more productive from day one.” Key benefits for central stations Noise Reduction: Eliminate non-actionable alerts and focus on verified threats Faster, More Informed Responses: AI-powered filtering and metadata accelerate decision-making Simple Deployment: Add AI to thousands of cameras quickly and easily No Tuning or Training Required: Operators continue using familiar Patriot workflows Delivering differentiated services at scale Actuate’s AI filtering is seamlessly embedded into Patriot’s automation framework With Actuate’s AI filtering seamlessly embedded into Patriot’s automation framework, central stations can offer new service levels to their clients. This includes faster response service level agreements (SLAs) and improved detection rates for theft, vandalism, and intrusions.  Actuate and Patriot partnership In this way, the Actuate and Patriot partnership empowers monitoring providers not only to increase operational efficiency but also to elevate the overall quality of service they offer.  By minimizing distractions and streamlining threat validation, central stations can meet higher performance benchmarks and differentiate themselves in an increasingly competitive security landscape.

Azena is returning to Global Security Exchange (GSX) 2022, in order to demonstrate a host of new solutions available on its open platform - the world’s largest and fastest growing marketplace for smart cameras.  The smart camera platform and Application Store, including enhanced solutions for healthcare, oil and gas and new integration capabilities with robotics, will be on display at the Azena booth #1931, at GSX 2022, which is taking place from September 12 to September 14, 2022, at the Georgia World Congress Center in Atlanta, Georgia, United States of America (USA). Azena Application Store The Azena Application Store offers more than 100 AI-enabled, ready-to-use analytic applications The Azena Application Store offers more than 100 AI-enabled, ready-to-use analytic applications that can be downloaded onto smart cameras of multiple brands and form factors, and flexibly combined and customized for tailor-made solutions. Solutions exhibited at the Azena booth at Global Security Exchange (GSX) 2022 will include a sophisticated fall detection app for healthcare, oil drill flare detection, liquid leak and gas monitoring, weapons detection, retail solutions and many other cross-industry analytic applications from the following developer partners: Actuate – Gun detection I. Tech – Crowd analysis Darvis – Bed fall prevention Data From Sky – Traffic monitoring and analysis Intellivision – Advanced analytics suite Isarsoft – People counting and heat mapping Neurala – Object classification Noctuai – Fire and smoke detection Noema – Gauge monitoring, flare monitoring, tank level monitoring AI-enabled video analytics Hartmut Schaper, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Azena, said “Azena is opening doors for AI-enabled video analytics in a growing variety of vertical markets that are now benefiting from operational insights unlocked by this technology.” He adds, “We are excited to attend GSX to showcase our expanding array of solutions and for the opportunity to connect with partners, integrators, and end users face-to-face.” Intelligent edge devices integration with new platforms Video analytics and intelligent edge devices, running the Azena OS, are being integrated with new platforms Video analytics and intelligent edge devices, running the Azena operating system (Azena OS), are being integrated with new platforms, such as autonomous robotic devices, extending the possibilities of automated detection and analysis in applications, such as retail, logistics and hazardous environments. This integrated approach has already been deployed by global security services firm, Prosegur Security, in the form of ‘Yellow’, an intelligent robotic dog, pairing sophisticated video analytics detection with the work of onsite and remote security personnel. Smart cameras integrate with third-party systems Smart cameras and edge devices running on the Azena platform are easily integrated into other third-party systems, such as VMS platforms from major vendors and other dashboard software. These integrations will be on display at Global Security Exchange (GSX) 2022, along with new device and project management features for systems integrators that provide wider control over large groups of devices, apps and configurations.  Azena to exhibit at Global Security Exchange (GSX) 2022 In addition to Azena’s presence on the show floor, Fabio Marti, the Vice President of Marketing at Azena will deliver a presentation entitled, ‘How to harness the power of AI Video Analytics for and beyond security,’ on the ‘X stage’, on September 12, 2022, from 3 pm to 3:20 pm. The presentation will explore emerging use cases for smart cameras and examine how security professionals can leverage this technology to add value to their organizations. On September 13, 2022, at 3:30 pm, Azena will host a happy hour at its booth #1931 at Global Security Exchange (GSX) 2022, featuring Bavarian beer as an homage to the company’s German roots.

During the Parkland, Florida, school shooting in 2018, the shooter was caught on a security camera pulling his rifle out of a duffle bag in the staircase 15 seconds before discharging the first round. However, the School Resource Officer didn’t enter the building because he wasn’t confident about the situation, and the Coral Springs Police Department had no idea what the shooter even looked like until 7 minutes and 30 seconds after the first round was fired. If the video system had included technology to recognize the gun threat in real time, alerts could have been sent to the security team. An announcement could have been made right away for all students and faculty in Building 12 to barricade their doors, and law enforcement could have responded a lot faster to a real-time feed of timely and accurate information. Automatically Recognizing Gun Threats Actuate offers such a technology, which the company says enables existing security cameras to automatically recognize gun threats and notify security in real-time. The technology is centred around a convolutional neural network (CNN) that aims to replicate how a human brain would process information. This neural network is trained to recognize what hands holding a firearm look like from hundreds of thousands of images in a proprietary data set. The technology is centred around a CNN that aims to replicate how a human brain would process information Over time, the system is able to mathematically calculate what a gun threat in a security camera feed looks like with a high degree of accuracy (well over 99% detection accuracy within the first 5 seconds), according to Actuate. “Active shooter situations are often marred by chaos and confusion,” says Sonny Tai, Chief Executive Officer of Actuate. “People are in fight-or-flight response and prioritize immediate survival instead of reaching for their phones and calling 911. When the 911 calls are made, callers often provide delayed, conflicting, and inaccurate information, inhibiting law enforcement’s ability to respond.” Enhances Law Enforcement Response Tai says Actuate helps to clear up that chaos and confusion. He says: “It provides visual intelligence of the location of the shooter, what they look like, what direction they’re heading, and what they’re armed with. This real-time information enhances law enforcement response and enables building occupants to make critical decisions that maximize survivability." AI methods including deep learning enable high levels of accuracy in detecting weapons in real-time camera footage Tai is a Marine Corps veteran and a social entrepreneur who co-founded Actuate with the mission of addressing America’s gun violence epidemic. The start of the company stems from Tai’s upbringing in South Africa, where gun violence rates are some of the highest in the world. Growing up, several of his family friends were personally impacted, resulting in a lifelong passion for the issue of gun violence. In early 2018, Tai interviewed dozens of law enforcement leaders across the country and found that their biggest challenge in gun violence response was the lack of timely and accurate information. Actuate mitigates that challenge and enables both first responders and security staff to respond more rapidly, he says. More Than 99% Accuracy In Detecting Weapons Actuate's solution is completely AI-based, says Ben Ziomek, Chief Product Officer. AI methods including deep learning enable high levels of accuracy in detecting weapons in real-time camera footage. “Legacy, non-AI based solutions generally rely on older methods like motion detection, which is not reliable in differentiating between objects such as phones and firearms,” says Ziomek. “Our AI solution lets us achieve more than 99% accuracy in detecting weapons with an exceptionally low false-positive rate.” Ziomek runs engineering, data science, and operations for Actuate. Before joining the firm, he led teams of AI engineers and data scientists at Microsoft, leveraging AI to identify high-potential startups globally. Actuate is a software-only solution that plugs into existing security camera hardware and software, including video management systems (VMS). Existing capabilities of a customer’s VMS does initial, basic analysis and then routes the remaining video to Actuate’s processing units for AI analysis. Alerts can then be sent back however a customer wants, including through a VMS. Actuate can also feed information into a PSIM or command-and-control system if requested by a customer. Equipping Customers With AI Tools As an early-stage company, Actuate is pursuing customers through multiple routes, including directly to end-users and via security integrators, distributors, and dealers. They are currently deployed at diverse customer sites including schools, office buildings, industrial facilities, and public buildings, says Ziomek. Our current focus for the company is to get our technology into the hands of as many customers as possible “Our current focus for the company is to get our technology into the hands of as many customers as possible,” says Ziomek. “We are working closely with customers across segments and industries to equip them with the tools they need to make their spaces safer. We’re currently working on educating the market on our offerings, as this technology is very new to many security organizations.” There are no privacy or compliance concerns because Actuate stores no customer data until a weapon is detected, and even then the data is not cross-indexed with any sensitive information, says Ziomek.