NUtech

Our service provides an artificial intelligence security system to the Toronto Transit Commission to be implemented in its facilities. This provides optimized danger detection to protect commuters.

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Inspiration

We wanted to help solve an issue that we personally face, which is feeling unsafe on the TTC. We know artificial intelligence is an emerging technology which is rapidly improving, so we wanted a system utilizing these qualities. As well, we wanted to expand on our python skills and using opencv.

What it does

Our service provides an AI security system that detects dangerous objects using computer vision to alert authorities. It also provides the TTC with an alarm system that can be used across stations to alert commuters if evacuations are needed. This is better than the current system that utilizes faulty intercom systems that many people can barely understand.

How we built it

We used the python opencv library to code a camera that detects bananas, which are placeholders for dangerous weapons. We used an ESP32 board coded with Arduino, using c++, to be an alarm system. We used Replit to code a website using html and css. We used Clipchamp to edit the project video submission.

Challenges we ran into

When coding the AI security, we had trouble setting up the xml data to define what dangerous objects were. It was a long and tedious process as we tried to get the danger detection to be as accurate as possible. We also ran into issues with running the Arduino code, oftentimes the code wouldn't run at all. Eventually we realized it was the computer's fault, so we switched computers and it solved the issue. A lot of time was spent debugging and troubleshooting.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

We are proud of how consistently we worked over the time period despite being tired at times. We often went back an revised our ideas and designs, improving our project as much as possible. We think our idea could probably be implemented within the TTC to help commuters have a better experiences. We are proud to to create a project that resonates with our personal experiences.

What we learned

We learned many soft skills such as time management, critical thinking, and project management. We also learned more about how to code is css, for example, adjusting margins of elements. We learned about the Opencv library and how it works.

What's next for NUtech

We would finalize the prototype and consider making an optimized system in which the alarm system and danger detection could be connected. A way this could be done is adding a camera to our circuit board and connecting that with the AI security system code to detect danger and set the alarm simultaneously.

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