ROGID, an automated approach to sensitive infrastructure protection

Domain #1

Sensitive infrastructure protection

Demonstrator

Demonstrator

Open Call #1 laureate

Description of the project

The ROGID project will demonstrate how a robot guard can add value to high-level security operations for companies when detecting intruders. The robot will be doing routine perimeter patrols and with AI-onboard detecting intruders and sending alarms in real-time to the control room.

Mid-term project update

During the first 6 months of the project the focus has been on getting to a production ready robot setup that can run operations up to 10 hours with video streaming.
Also, architecture of the AI engine for running thermal people detection in real time on the robot. A production trail of 9 hours in real life environment has been successfully conducted. The second version of the thermal data are to be recorded and integrated in the production AI–models in the coming weeks.

Final project update

The ROGID project set out to demonstrate how robot guards could add value to high–level security operations for companies when detecting intruders.

During the project period, the French video analytics firm Foxstream (FS) and the European robotics company Drone Volt (DV) developed a robot guard solution for an airport in Denmark. Having an airport as an end–user in the project, ROGID addressed specifically challenge 4: “Development of solutions to detect and locate any intruders that had managed to penetrate the perimeter protection and barriers to block intrusions.” The airport was, and still is, interested in testing robots as part of their security operations and wanted robots to detect intruders on the perimeter. They hope to eventually replace manual perimeter patrols by car with robots because they believe a robotic solution would be more effective in spotting intruders at night than human guards due to vision impairments. A robotic solution would also have less negative impact on the environment.

As the robot was eventually to operate at night, FS and DV suggested developing a solution using thermal imaging technology alongside RGB–based imaging. Furthermore, the solution would patrol automatically the perimeter of the airport and stream live video to a Security Operations Center (SOC) that monitored all the other cameras. Moreover, the solution would send alarms to the SOC if any human intruder was detected. The SOC employees would also have the opportunity to manually control the robot.

The solution had a total amount of demonstration hours of more than 32 hours in this project, and 8–hour continuous operation at the airport site was demonstrated (the final demonstration accounted for more than 11 of the total amount of demonstration hours). The partners had obtained a 100% detection rate for intruder detection and 0 registered false positives based on the demonstrations throughout the entire project. The final goal of automatic perimeter patrol and live streaming video data together with the alarms from the intruder detection module was validated at the airport together with the potential end customer, the security department of the airport.

ROGID was presented at SKYDD, Sweden, October 2022, and SIANE, France, October 2022. The ROGID solution was also exhibited at DALO Days, Copenhagen, May 2023.

Additionally, Drone Volt plans to attend MILIPOL (November 2023) and Amsterdam Drone Week (May 2024) to showcase the ROGID robot, together with the rest of Drone Volts portfolio within safety and intruder detection.

Lastly, the final demonstration site, the airport located in Denmark, expressed explicit interest in further showcasing and testing the solution and pursuing the permanent installation of such a system. Drone Volt had a unique value proposition as one of the few companies that would offer an approved robot guard solution for airports in the EU.

Project consortium

Drone Volt
Drone Volt
🇩🇰
Denmark
Foxstream S.A.S.
Foxstream S.A.S.
🇫🇷
France