SeeQuestor Announced as Winner of the 2017 ADS Security Innovation Awards

Posted on 7 March, 2017 by [Anonymous] [Anonymous]

The winner of the twelfth annual ADS Security Innovation Award has been announced as SeeQuestor for their revolutionary solution to reviewing CCTV footage.        

The Award was presented to Tristram Riley-Smith, Chairman of SeeQuestor and Fariba Hozhabrafkan, Vice President Business Development, by the Security Minister, Ben Wallace MP at a ceremony which took place at Farnborough.  

SeeQuestor quickly scans hours of CCTV footage and can identify critical leads for criminal investigations, significantly reducing man hours. The software was developed with input from leading British police teams who review video data 24-7, and can deliver results up to 100 times faster than current technology methods.  

SeeQuestor works as a powerful analytical tool set, enabling officers to sift through footage much more effectively, detecting faces, bodies, clothing and movement as well as providing geo location information on a dynamic map, and a motion detection filter. 

On being presented with the Award, Tristram Riley-Smith said: “SeeQuestor was created to answer a critical need of law enforcement agencies: to improve the costly and time-consuming process of reviewing video footage. We deliver radically faster video intelligence. Our platform is built on cutting-edge British research, and we will continue to push the boundaries of what is possible through the use of machine learning to develop new analytical tools.”

The annual ADS Security Innovation Award identifies and celebrates innovation across the UK’s security industry. By recognising new solutions and capabilities, it is hoped companies will be encouraged to continue investing in driving up the ingenuity that enables UK businesses to compete successfully in tough global markets. 

Paul Everitt, Chief Executive of ADS Group said: “I am delighted to celebrate the work of SeeQuestor, an innovative UK SME that has developed and delivered an innovative approach to a major challenge facing Police forces in the UK and internationally.  

“The UK’s security industry is recognized for its innovation and focus on delivering practical solutions. It is a growth sector with rising turnover and increasing exports. These are supporting high-value jobs across the country and contributing to national prosperity as well as public safety.”

In addition to the winner, there was one runner-up and two named highly commended.   

Runner-Up

QinetiQ for its stand-off threat detection system: SPO-NX. 

Suitable for the mass transit, major event and similar security markets, SPO-NX locates potential threats concealed under clothing on the human body and can detect a range of threats such as improvised explosive devices, large assault weapons and contraband. It is particularly applicable to crowded locations where there is a high throughput of people and airport style security combs are impractical or undesirable. The system also ensures the privacy of the public as it does not produce detailed PMMW images of the person being scanned.

A number of SPO-NX systems were used by the USA Transportation Security Administration in 2016 and they have been publicly used at Washington Union railway station. 

Highly Commended

Foster + Freeman Ltd for its landmark fingerprint visualisation technique: fpNatural IR Fluorescent Fingerprint Powders.

Developed to eradicate the difficult substrates examiners are faced with when treating fingerprints, fpNatural IR Fluorescent Fingerprint Powders fluoresce in the Infrared part of the spectrum, removing background interference to reveal high contrast fingerprints.

The properties of the powders mean that nearly all conceivable background interference and complexities are completely removed, allowing fingermarks to be imaged with ease by forensic experts. The product has been a global success, selling to customers in the USA, China, Australasia and Europe, as well as the UK.

Evidence Talks Ltd for its digital forensic processing tool: SPEKTOR Cascade Forensics

SPEKTOR Cascade Forensics combines the multiple digital tools needed for forensic processing into one client server, as a policy-based automated workflow. The intuitive workflow reduces the number of processing steps between evidence being seized and reviewed by an investigating officer, as well as the number of times a human needs to handle the evidence.

The system results in earlier, evidence driven suspect interviews and charging, reduced investigation costs and increased exhibit processing capacity. It also addresses the Government stated objectives of a 24 hours bail clock by automating and accelerating the forensic examination of multiple target devices and the production of reports that can be used to interview suspects in custody. The National Crime Agency is a recent customer of the SPEKTOR Cascade Forensics system.