IREX Smart City Platform Knowledge Database

IREX is a video-based service for evidence-based safety designed to empower cities. With a smart integration of Computer Vision AI, Big Data, and Enterpise Messagining, IREX allows cities to adapt to ever-changing threats to combat 21st-century problems such as pandemics, overcrowding, missing people, crime, mass shootings, and illegal immigration.

Video Surveillance as a Service (VSaaS) / Cloud-based Video Management
Artificial Intelligence as a Service (IAaS) / Video Analytics for Public Safety
Enterprise Collaboration for Smart Cities
Secure Private Cloud for Smart Cities

IREX connects to existing CCTV cameras and IoT sensors in cities. IREX runs Computer Vision AI to detect public safety threats such as fire or unattended items and sends alerts directly to first responders, security teams, venue managers, and other stakeholders. They collaborate on the IREX Messaging Platform to share media and track progress. The city government and local police can use IREX' Searchveillance™ engine to find suspects, missing people, vehicles, and incidents such as vandalism. IREX event statistics can be used to improve traffic, transportation and cleaning services in the city.

IREX is designed to serve multiple city authorities and businesses, including the city government, traffic management, first responders, law enforcement, and city suppliers, for example building and cleaning companies.

Security providers, telecom providers, cloud providers, system integrators, monitoring stations can leverage the IREX platform and provide value-added services to cities.

Searchveillance™ is the IREX' patented technology to find people, vehicles, and events in Big Data from surveillance cameras and other city IoTs. Searchveillance™ saves man-days of labor-intensive video analysis during law enforcement operations and investigations.

Learn more in the IREX blog

IREX protects airports, metro, railway stations, streets and highways, shopping malls, gas stations, stadiums, parks and other public spaces.

All the IREX features are available from a web interface. Chrome is a recommended browser, but other browsers such as Safari are also supported.

IREX apps are based on the PWA technology and are available on Android, iOS, Windows, MacOS, and other platforms. The app can be installed directly from the IREX web portal.

Learn more about installing the IREX PWA

Unlike conventional video management systems (VMS) and physical security information systems (PSIM), IREX is designed to serve multiple organizations from a single Secure Private Cloud. For example, a service provider for a smart city can connect City Government, Local Businesses, First Responders, and Police. All these users can share cameras and data, yet can be completely isolated from each other.

Technically speaking, IREX carried-grade features include:

Multi-tenant product design
Multi-vendor support for cameras and servers
Cross-platform clients (web browsers, desktops, and mobile devices)
High availability, no single point of failure
Horizontal scaling by the number of cameras, the number of users, and retention period
One-click rebranding of the web portal and mobile apps
Advanced monitoring and logging tools
Rolling updates (i.e. without stopping the service)
Billing integrations

Yes, IREX does encrypt all traffic from the IREX Secure Cloud to clients, including video data.

At the same time, most cameras do not encrypt data that is sent to the IREX Secure Cloud. This is not a problem if the IREX instance is deployed in your private network. If you wish to transmit encrypted video streams outside the private network, consider the following options:

Site-to-site VPN (e.g. IPSec)
IREX Edge Server

IREX identifies pre-specified persons only such as missing people, criminals, suspects, opted-in staff members and pre-specified vehicles (i.e. missing vehicles or without permission to drive). It cannot be used to identify random people in public spaces.
IREX customers have 100% ownership and control of the data, no third-party can access the recorded video, images, or events, unless access to the third-party is explicitly provided by the customer.
IREX customers choose the datacenter, where the data is physically stored and processed.
IREX uses commercially reasonable efforts to deploy and uphold the best security practices and standards.
IREX is GDPR and CCPA-compliant.

IREX currently supports English and Russian. Additional languages can be added upon request.

IREX offers Standard and Premium Support subscriptions. To learn more, go to
https://irex.ai/support-policy

IrexAI Inc. is a Delaware corporation with a reg. office at 901 N Pitt Street, Suite 170, Alexandria, VA 22314, USA. IREX has a global team of about 100 engineers, sales and marketing specialists around the world.

IREX servers are hosted with trusted providers in the US, UK, and other countries per client's choice.

Why is IREX different?

IREX brings Real-Time Alerts, Searchviellance™, and Collaborative Security to Smart Cities while meeting strict government requirements in sovereignty and compliance.

Real-Time Alerts: IREX detects public safety threats with Computer Vision AI and sends instant messages to authorized staff from city government, security, first-responders. For example, IREX can detect dangerous crowds, guns, unattended items, and safety violations.

Searchviellance™: IREX finds missing people, suspects, vehicles instantly across thousands of cameras.

City Collaboration: IREX enables multiple city organizations to work together i.e. receive alerts, upload evidence media, track progress on any device.

Secure Private Cloud: IREX enables a self-hosted deployment model for enhanced security, full control of data and sovereignty.

Carrier-grade Platform: IREX can be deployed at scale and service multiple organizations. Learn More

Unlike traditional (non-cloud) video management systems, IREX provides:

Carrier-grade capabilities, including multi-tenancy and high availability
Big Data (distributed database) support
Rich collaboration and media sharing

Unlike common cloud video platforms, IREX does not use public clouds and is deployed by default in a separate secure private cloud for each enterprise client. This prevents global security disasters and enables customized security policies.

Unlike common cloud video platforms, IREX seamlessly integrates AI modules in its core pipeline and provides unparalleled user experience (such as Searchveillance™) on all desktop and mobile clients as well as its web version. Common cloud VMS often lacks built-in AI capabilities, which negatively affects ease of use, performance, and the total cost of ownership.

Unlike closed systems such as Verkada and Rhombus, IREX is compatible with third-party cameras, sensors, and server hardware, eliminating the vendor lock-in and the need to replace the city infrastructure.

Unlike closed systems, IREX does not use public clouds and is deployed by default in a separate secure private cloud for each enterprise client. This prevents global security disasters and enables customized security policies.

IREX AI capabilities are not restricted by camera processor and memory, in particular, IREX can run NIST-rated facial recognition and more computally-intensive AI modules one a single camera stream.

IREX is a turn-key solution for smart cities whereas Amazon Kinesis is a set of cloud services that require a substantial amount of software development and support. Kinesis does not have a user interface for organizing cameras, managing permissions, Searchveillance™, real-time alerts, etc.

Unlike Amazon, IREX does not use public clouds and is deployed by default in a separate secure private cloud for each enterprise client. This prevents global security disasters and enables customized security policies.

Most smart city projects go beyond face recognition and require additional capabilities such as video management, behavioural analytics, vehicle analytics, and more. IREX provides unparalleled user experience to use different AI, centralized management, and maintenance.

IREX Business Model

Two options are available:

IREX-Hosted SaaS: the software is hosted and operated by IREX in our Secure Private Clouds in the US, UK or Europe.
Self-Hosted Software: the software is hosted and operated by you in a data-center or on-premises.

Learn more on the IREX web site

Yes, IREX has a comprehensive partner program with two agreement options:

Channel Partner Agreement (CPA) for Business Development Representatives (BDRs), Influencers, Consultants, and Lobbyists.
Distribution and Licensing Agreement (DLA) for service providers and system integrators.

Please reach us at hello@irex.ai to apply.

IREX carefully manages its partnership network and provides partner exclusivity for qualified opportunities.
IREX does not sell to end-users.

A partner should demonstrate a substantial track record in selling IREX services in the country in order to apply for geographic exclusivity.

Yes, IREX is re-branded with few mouse clicks, no code change is required.
For example, you can use a logo of your client (i.e. city) or service provider.

The PWAs (mobile apps) do not require re-publishing in App Store and Google Play.
Standard IREX updates can be applied to re-branded versions of IREX.

IREX offers Standard and Premium Support subscriptions. To learn more, go to
https://irex.ai/support-policy

IREX does offer free pilots for qualified projects only. Please contact one of our global representatives to request a free pilot.

There are two options:

IREX Pilot Hosting: the client shall provide RTSP URLs pointing to live video streams. The URLs shall be accessible from the Internet, i.e. the client may need to configure a Network Address Translation (NAT) service or provide VPN access to its private network with IP-cameras.

Client Hosting (On-Prem): the client shall provide bare-metal server, network infrastructure and cameras to deploy IREX. The client shall also provide a temporal VPN connection to allow IREX engineers to deploy and configure the IREX platform. See our recommended server hardware for 5, 15, and 35 cameras. Also, it is possible to provide the equivalent virtual resources (e.g. under VmWare). Please note that the production-level configuration is different from the above POC configurations.

Using IREX Service

Users can work with IREX in multiple ways:

Open the web page of the IREX Secure Cloud (e.g. cloud.irex.ai) in a browser. Chrome is a recommended browser. IREX has an adaptive web layout to support multiple screens from mobile devices to desktops.
Use the IREX Progressive Web App (PWA) on different platforms. The PWA is recommended for frequent access.
Use standard messengers (e.g. Frisbee, Telegram) to receive PUSH-notifications in group chats.
Use the IREX Monitor App on WIndows or Linux for low-latency video playback on multiple displays.

The IREX Secure Cloud can also be deployed in a private (closed) network.

IREX is using new technology called progressive web application (PWA). This type of application software is delivered through the web, built using common web technologies including HTML, CSS and JavaScript. It works on any platform that uses a standards-compliant browser, including both desktop and mobile devices.

For most users PWAs look like a native app, i.e. users can add the app to the home page, receive push notifications, and switch tasks.

The IREX PWA can be installed in a few seconds directly from the IREX Secure Cloud. Users don’t have to visit app stores and wait for download. This is particularly important for IREX deployments in private networks. Publishing the PWA to digital distribution systems like Apple App Store or Google Play is optional.
The IREX PWA is instantly updated. No need to wait for Apple App Store or Google Play to approve a new version.
The IREX PWA can be easily re-branded and use a client or provider logo. No need to publish and support re-branded apps in the distribution systems.
The IREX PWA supports a wide range of platforms including Android, iOS, iPadOS, Windows, MacOS, Linux, and ChromeOS, in a very cost-efficient manner.

Open the IREX Secure Cloud web page (e.g. cloud.irex.ai) and install the PWA as explained below:

Safari on iOS
Click Share and then click Add to Home Screen (Watch Demo)

Chrome on Android
Click Additional Options (Three Dots) and then click Install App (Watch Demo)

Chrome on Desktop (MacOS or Windows)
Click Install App, the button is right after the address bar (Watch Demo)

See the browser support matrix on Wikipedia

IREX AI-Powered Video Analytics

IREX has a wide range of AI modules that are categorized in three groups: Threat Detection, People Analytics, and Vehicle Analytics.
See the IREX specification for a complete list of AI modules

Yes, multiple AI modules can process a video stream from a single source subject to certain common sense limitations. For example, License Plate Recognition is not compatible with Face Recognition because no camera can provide sufficient details for both applications simultaneously.

Yes, IREX has a REST API to integrate third-party analytics modules, sensors, and IoTs.

Yes, the IREX team can develop a custom AI module. The minimal size of the training dataset is 1,000 images. The optimal size is 10,000 images. The dataset can be collected by the IREX team or the IREX partner.

Please go to the irex.ai web site and browse Case Studies.

No, the IREX AI algorithms run in the IREX Secure Cloud. The video stream can be obtained from any standard camera.

The answer is NO for most cases. IREX has a sophisticated video processing pipeline with multiple neural networks and different architectures. Most smart cameras will not have sufficient hardware resources in analyse busy scenes (crowds, intensive traffic). Also, it will be very difficult to guarantee the same recognition accuracy and response time on different edge platforms.

At present, IREX does not support video analytics embedded in cameras except for thermal camera analytics for fever and intrusion detection. In theory, it is possible to integrate third-party edge analytics using IREX API.

All IREX AI run on CPUs with the world’s best SIMD optimization. Some AI modules including Face Recognition can also run on GPUs.

IREX Threat Detection

IREX Fire Detector recognizes visible fire and smoke in a video stream from conventional CCTV cameras. The IREX Fire Detector generates a real-time alert much earlier than traditional smoke detectors (e.g. photoelectric and ionization detectors) because cameras can spot fire at larger distances before smoke reaches the sensor.

No, IREX Fire Detector is not certified to replace a traditional fire alarm. IREX Fire Detector can work as a secondary system to provide earlier detection, video verification, and backup to the primary system.

The average mass shooting lasts 12.5 minutes, yet it takes law enforcement an average of 18 minutes to neutralize the threat. IREX AI provides real-time intelligence to first responders on where the shooter is, what he’s armed and equipped with, what he looks like, and how many shooters there are. This information allows law enforcement to much more rapidly locate and neutralize the threat, and for emergency medical personnel to render aid to the wounded. If there is a security officer on staff, IREX AI increases the probability for an intervention before shots are fired.

IREX People Analytics

IREX identifies only pre-registered persons (i.e. missing people, criminals, suspects) and pre-registered vehicles (i.e. missing vehicles or without permission to drive). IREX does not identify or track every person or vehicle in public spaces.

IREX can connect existing government and commercial databases, for example, the solveacrime.com resource by Captis Intelligence providing photos and text information about wanted criminals, sex offenders, missing people, drug agents, and other people that may cause a safety threat.

In March 2021, IREX was ranked #1 in accuracy among all the U.S. companies for the Border and Kiosk Datasets in the most recent Face Recognition Vendor Tests (FRVT) 1:N Identification conducted by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST).

Border and Kiosk Photos are the most relevant datasets to identify missing people and suspects in non-cooperative mode from arbitrary city cameras. These datasets are less constrained in terms of viewing angle, lighting, and resolution when compared to the other FRVT datasets.

Read our Press-Release

IREX Face Recognition module is optimized for public space video surveillance to process large volumes of faces in crowds.
IREX module is trained on datasets from real-world CCTV cameras to enable non-cooperative mode from arbitrary city cameras. This confirmed by excellent its NIST tests results on Border and Kiosk datasets.
IREX enables additional features such as big data Searchveillance™, multiple camera tracking, appearance search, and more.

Yes, IREX integrates with access control systems to open turnstiles, doors, and vehicle barriers. Please ask an IREX representative about integrations with specific access control systems.

Yes, IREX can identify people in masks and with partial face occlusions, however the identification accuracy will be lower by a few percent. IREX cannot be reliably used in biometric access control systems when people are constantly wearing masks.

IREX Vehicle Analytics

IREX reads plates of 30+ countries (UK, Europe, USA) using preloaded templates (including single-line / double-line / normal / inverted plates). IREX can also read unknown templates of other countries using a universal reader. Additional templates can be added upon request.

No, IREX use one camera to recognize traffic violations (e.g. illegal parking), license plates, and car features (vehicle type and color).

Yes, IREX has a documented REST API that is used by all IREX clients. So, all the capabilities you see in the IREX clients are available via the platform API.

Please request the API specification from our Global Representative.
IREX does not publish the API online for security reasons.

IREX supports Google BigQuery. IREX partners or end-users can use Google Data Studio to build custom dashboards and reports.

Yes, IREX has a REST API to integrate third-party analytics modules, sensors, and IoTs.

IREX Smart City Platform Knowledge Database

IREX Overview