Recognising vandalism and deposits
Have visible damage, newly parked items and possible illegal waste deposits reported early.
AI video analytics helps you detect vandalism, possible illegal dumping, crowds and visible hazards in public spaces. Synaedge connects your existing cameras with clear event rules and the response processes of your designated teams.
Starting position and your goal
Many types of use meet in your squares, paths, parks and public facilities. With AI video analysis for your public spaces, you can detect visible risks, deposits and unusual conditions at an early stage. You hand over relevant events specifically to your responsible authorities.
Have visible damage, newly parked items and possible illegal waste deposits reported early.
Get clues to visible weapons, physical conflicts, falls, smoke or fire.
Capture crowds and movement streams with anonymised evaluations and detect critical compaction earlier.
You pass events with visual context to your control centre, your book service or other relevant authorities.
Solution approach – Testable scenarios
Choose the applications that suit your public spaces, routes and facilities. You define the analysed areas, relevant events and designated team for each alert.
Check buildings, facilities and street furniture for defined actions or visible state changes. These include stops, underpasses, public toilets, facades, monuments, parks and seating. Information and ticket machines, lighting and technical facilities can also be included. Your designated team receives the visual context, checks the situation and can secure relevant images. The AI does not determine either a person’s intention or a criminal act.
Detect newly dumped waste, bags, bulky items and other objects in defined zones. Rules can flag objects that remain, repeated dumping or bulky items outside collection points. They can also include stationary vehicles that leave objects behind and deposits that remain for longer periods. The designated team receives the location, time and relevant image, checks the local rules and arranges cleaning or further action when needed.
Analyse defined camera areas for clearly visible firearms, knives and similar weapons. A technical match can alert the control room, display the camera view and save a short video clip. The location and visual context enter your defined review process. Other designated teams can be notified according to your escalation path. Authorised staff review the alert before further action is taken. Concealed, distant or very small weapons may remain undetected.
Have clearly visible movements reported as a possible situation of violence or conflict. Include squares, stops, underpasses, parks, pedestrian areas, events, multi-storey car parks, and public building accesses. Your control centre receives location and image context for review. Verbal threats, covert actions and unclear conflicts are not reliably detectable on camera. Even playful or frantic movements can trigger a technical hint.
Count people and evaluate the density in specified zones. Their rules report exceeded thresholds, growing accumulations, blocked access and condensed bottlenecks. Utilization values support visitor management and barriers. A name identification is not required. Perspectives and covers influence the technical estimates. We separate anonymous evaluations from any personal initial images.
Detect used paths, less frequented zones and bottlenecks between squares, entrances and lounge areas. Compare the distribution at different times, at events and during redirects. Anonymised, combined evaluations support route guidance and land planning. Identification of individuals is not required. Permanent personal movement profiles do not belong to this purpose.
Detect visible smoke and open flames early in selected areas such as public squares, parks, underpasses, car parks and waste zones. The designated team receives the relevant camera view and can start the defined review and alerting process. Visibility and camera angle determine detection quality. Video analytics supplements fire detection and security processes; prescribed fire alarms, sensors and organisational safeguards remain necessary.
Protect construction sites, technical facilities, depots, municipal yards and closed event areas with virtual zones. Include monuments, green spaces, waterfront areas, building entrances and critical municipal facilities. Define relevant times, line crossings, directions and dwell periods. The designated team receives alerts for review. Your procedures or connected access control system determine whether a person is authorised.
Detect bags, luggage and other objects that remain in a defined area. You set the zone and relevant dwell time. The designated team receives the camera location, time and a suitable image or video clip so it can review the context and respond according to your procedure. The analytics evaluates visible objects and their position; an unattended object is not automatically dangerous.
Detect movements typical of falls or people lying on the ground for an unusually long time. Your authorised team receives the camera location and the visual context. She checks the situation and, if necessary, notifies security, medical assistance or mobile teams according to your established procedures. The event can be comprehensibly documented. The analysis complements your emergency organisation. It does not replace an emergency call or prescribed rescue and protection measures.
Check defined entrances, exits and emergency access routes for visible obstructions such as vehicles, placed objects, waste or groups of people. You can also compare the visible position of barriers with the expected state. The designated team receives the visual context, reviews the situation and clears the route when required. Regular inspections and prescribed safety measures remain part of your operation.
Detect vehicles in pedestrian zones, emergency access routes, delivery areas or temporary areas. Consider the location, time, direction of travel, vehicle type and length of stay. A legally permissible number of cash evaluations may supplement. Your teams check local rules and permissions based on your procedure or the connected access system. A visible entrance alone does not occupy a rules violation.
Capture visible licence plates only for a specifically approved purpose, such as at a controlled entrance. Possible uses include checking authorised vehicles, documenting deliveries, incident-related searches and managing time-limited zones. Define the legal basis, purpose, roles, deletion periods and permitted list matching in advance. Lighting, camera angle and image quality affect the result. A match must be reviewed in context and must not automatically trigger an adverse decision about a person.
Compare areas with a defined visible reference state: clear passages, correctly positioned barriers and closed entrances. You can also check for overturned street furniture, blocked areas, full waste bins, visible exterior damage and cleared spaces. The designated team receives alerts for cleaning, maintenance or further inspection. The analytics cannot confirm the technical function or internal integrity of equipment.
Check façades, underpasses, transport facilities and monuments for visible changes. A reference comparison can highlight new areas of colour or markings. The designated team receives the visual context and decides whether cleaning or further inspection is required. Staff determine whether a change is unauthorised graffiti, an approved design or something else. Small, obscured or poorly lit changes may remain undetected.
Narrow down recordings by time period, camera, location and zone. Visible clothing, objects carried, vehicle type, colour and direction of movement support the research. Indicators can only be used to the legally approved extent. Eligible employees find suitable sequences and check the connection. Search purpose, access and logging are based on your data protection concept. The search for visible features is not automatically a biometric identification.
From picture to your reaction
You determine what is being checked, who receives the message and how your team reacts. The final assessment remains with the designated teams.
Your existing cameras provide the images from the areas you have set.
The visual AI checks the selected streams for visible objects, motions and state changes.
Their defined rules classify technical hits by zone, time and relevance. The hit remains a note for the test.
Your authorised team will receive the event type, location, time and the relevant image or video excerpt.
The designated team reviews the situation and initiates the defined response.
Capture events, checking, and reaction within your allowed storage and documentation rules.
Integration into your municipal processes
We connect suitable cameras and interfaces to your operational responsibilities. You choose which event information is sent to your Control centres and mobile teams be transferred. Notifications to police, fire brigade or emergency services follow coordinated, legally permissible procedures.
Your added value as a city or authority
Connect AI video analytics for public spaces to your security, order and operation processes. Your teams receive relevant information for clearly defined tasks.
Relevant events are visible with visual context. Your teams can classify dangerous situations earlier and react more specifically.
Indications of damage and waste left behind support control, cleaning and municipal maintenance.
crowd density and movement flows show bottlenecks. You will receive a basis for visitor flow management and space planning.
Your employees check relevant information and suitable excerpts. The need for continuous manual image observation can decrease.
Legitimate teams specifically limit records. This makes it easier to search for relevant sequences and relationships.
Location, time, visual context and editing flow into your existing processes and documentation.
Include suitable cameras and systems. Several public areas can be centrally connected with clearly regulated responsibilities.
Adjust zones, events and response processes analysed to your municipal requirements and the specific purpose.
Privacy by Design and limitations
Public spaces are used by many people. Therefore, we coordinate the technical implementation with your purpose, your data protection office and the applicable legal requirements. You retain control over areas, access and reactions.
Define a specific public task and a sound legal basis for every analysis. Assess necessity, proportionality and less intrusive alternatives with your data protection office. In Switzerland, the relevant cantonal rules apply to municipal and cantonal bodies. In the EU, the applicable data protection regime also depends on whether a competent authority acts for law-enforcement purposes. Complete any required impact assessments and approvals before deployment.
Camera position, resolution, lighting, weather and distance influence the analysis. Hidden or small objects can remain undetected. Therefore, test specific scenes and events under real conditions. Set appropriate verification procedures for false alarms and overlooked events.
A visible damage proves no vandalism. A deposit is not automatically illegal, an item is not automatically dangerous. The AI does not detect any hidden intentions. Your authorised employees evaluate the context and decide on the appropriate response.
Personal counting and combined motion currents can be provided as anonymised results. A name identification is not required. Masking and appropriate aggregation support data protection. Original recordings remain separately protected, as far as people are identifiable. Check the anonymity of the respective output and possible links with further data.
Standard zone, object and density analytics do not require biometric identification. Face recognition is a separate, particularly sensitive use case with its own legal requirements. The EU AI Act generally prohibits real-time remote biometric identification in publicly accessible spaces for law enforcement. Narrow exceptions require national legislation, additional safeguards and, in principle, prior approval by a court or independent administrative authority. This does not create a general authorisation for municipal video analytics.
Use licence plates and personal search attributes only within the legally approved scope. Define the purpose, permitted search areas, roles, list matching and deletion periods. Searches must remain traceable. General assessments of people, personality profiles and automated adverse decisions are outside this solution approach.
The analytics supplements fire alarms, emergency procedures and prescribed safety checks. It does not replace mandatory sensors, rescue measures or reporting channels. Technical alerts first enter your defined review process; approval and response remain the responsibility of the designated teams.
Define who operates the solution, may view data, receives alerts and responds to incidents. Assess local processing, storage locations, remote access and interfaces. Define maintenance, logging and regular quality checks. Information is sent to the police, fire service or emergency services only through agreed, legally permitted procedures.
Privacy by Design
The EU main and security tasks are the GDPR, especially Art. 5, 6, 25 and 35 and the EDSA video surveillance guidelines. Public tasks require an appropriate legal basis in the respective Member State. For prosecution and criminal enforcement by competent authorities, the Directive (EU) 2016/680 with national implementation law. The duties from the EU AI Act are also to be examined after the specific AI use.
For applications in the canton of Zurich address: Cantonal alerts about video surveillance by public bodies (Switzerland).
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, suitable cameras and video management systems can be integrated into the AI video analytics for public spaces. We test streams, image quality, perspectives, interfaces and your operating architecture. The specific application determines whether an existing camera should be sufficient or adjusted.
The analysis detects defined visible actions or changes in condition, such as a conspicuous effect on street furniture. It does not establish any intention or criminal offence. Your authorised team checks the image context and decides on the further course of action.
You can report new or longer existing deposits in specified zones. These include waste, sacks, bulky goods or items left behind. Your employees assess whether a deposit is illegal based on the local rules and the concrete relationship.
Suitable functions can report clearly visible weapons or violence-typical movement sequences. Camera perspective, distance and covering influence the result. A hit is a note for authorised exam. Covered weapons, verbal threats and hidden intentions cannot be reliably detected.
Yes. To this end, we are setting up personal counts and combined motion currents with suitable anonymisation. A name identification is not required for this evaluation. We separate the anonymised results from continuing personal initial views. Masking, aggregation, access and possible links are taken into account in the data protection concept.
The event-related search can use visible features such as clothing, carried objects or direction of movement. This is not automatically a biometric identification. Such research may nevertheless concern personal data and requires a permissible purpose, limited access and comprehensible rules. Permanent personal movement profiles are not required for anonymous visitor analyses.
There is no flat release for this. Facial recognition requires a separate legal examination of the specific procedure. In the EU, biometric remote intelligence is generally prohibited in the publicly accessible area for law enforcement purposes; the AI Act provides only narrow exceptions with additional conditions. Data protection law and national rules apply. Usual object, zone and density analyses do not require facial recognition.
This depends on the specific purpose and the relevant legal basis. Controlled access is to be assessed differently than a comprehensive recording in public streets. Check necessity, report matching, search areas, access rights and deletion periods in advance. A technical hit alone does not trigger an automatic incriminating decision.
Yes. Suitable cameras, zones and events can be assembled across locations. You retain separate roles, local event rules and clear responsibilities. Your control centre or specialist areas will each receive the information they need for their task.
Local processing is possible depending on the platform and architecture you have chosen. Together we check location, hardware, interfaces, maintenance and permitted remote access. A local server alone does not control every flow of data. The entire operating and data protection concept is decisive.
Video analytics provides technical alerts, event rules and visual context. Designated staff review the situation and decide which action is required. Escalation to the police, fire service or emergency services follows agreed responsibilities and legally permitted reporting channels.
Your specific application
Do you want to examine vandalism, possible illegal deposits, crowds of people or visible dangerous situations earlier? We consider your existing cameras together and plan the appropriate analysis, integration and operational architecture.
