Innovation in Action: How Hatch and Barricade AI Drive Public Safety Forward

Start-Up Story

"I wish there were more Hatches around the world,"

says Barricade AI founder on his Dimension X experience.

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About the start-up: Barricade AI, Dimension X (Cohort 3)

About the Champion: xData Centre of Expertise, HTX

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Since the start of its journey with Hatch, Hatch's Dimension X alumni, Silicon Valley-based tech start-up Barricade AI, has accomplished significant milestones that exemplify the power of innovation for public safety. The start-up successfully navigated through applying for the centre's open innovation programme, Dimension X, to working with a Champion, xData from Singapore's Home Team Science and Technology Agency (HTX) during the programme, to showcasing their solution at Hatch's Cohort 3 Demo Day at the Singapore Week of Innovation and Tech!

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At the heart of Barricade AI's milestones, is their groundbreaking technology. Ed Choudhry, the co-founder of Barricade AI describes the company's tech as a "reverse movie script", capable of capturing video footage from various sources, including body-worn cameras, closed-circuit televisions (CCTV) and dashcams. The clever solution offers insights into what officers on the ground say, see, hear, and more importantly, when these moments occurred.

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With a focus on body-worn cameras, Ed pointed out the challenges for AI analysis due to their unstable vantage point, affected by a myriad of factors such as constant movements, jitteriness and poor lighting. Despite these challenges, Ed recognised a strategic advantage: Barricade AI's expertise lies in moving cameras operating in low-light environments with minimal obstructions, a competitive advantage over conventional fixed CCTV systems and standard object detection methods.

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With different crime landscapes and enforcement operational needs in the U.S. and Singapore enforcement systems, some officers may need to provide detailed reports, meticulously citing penal codes, health regulations and traffic laws, while others opt for more concise and succinct documentation.

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In Singapore, Barricade AI's solution adapts to officers' distinct writing styles. At the same time, the critical 'who, what, when, where, and why' details are preserved for comprehensive reporting in both Singapore and the US. However in the U.S., precincts across states adhere to different legal frameworks, contrasting Singapore's centralised legal structure which necessitates a tailored approach to AI customisation.

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Ed also emphasised that their proof-of-concept (POC) phase focused largely on assessing the tech stack rather than the day-to-day operations. Yet, Barricade AI's next phase will allow them to gather deeper insights into the reporting requirements unique to Singapore, further refining their technology.

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As with many projects helmed by newly-formed teams, conflicts and disagreements tend to arise. Reflecting positively, Ed highlighted that the concerns arising from the collaboration with xData were often constructive feedback regarding the technology itself, and focused on understanding xData's needs and requirements to enhance their technology further.

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Ed explained that Singapore's linguistic variety and the different nuances to local crimes led to their hardware capturing data differently than in the U.S. The Dimension X POC allowed their technology to evolve, ensuring its adaptability to other markets by refining the way it extracts context from audio recordings.

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By the end of their POC with xData, Ed mentioned that Barricade AI was looking at exploring six new potential use cases following Demo Day, with much of the interest harnessing the efficiencies of Barricade AI's technology in reducing administrative teams' workload. One of which is in the works to expand Barricade AI's use case with the Singapore Civil Defence (SCDF) team, in supporting batch body-worn cameras in auditing compliance for paramedics in adhering to protocols.

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Of the various opportunities arising from Barricade AI's participation in Dimension X, Barricade AI's collaboration with the police training academy unexpectedly arose from another use case with the same team. The team's assessors – who also needed to write reports on the training – began using Barricade AI's body cameras to assess the training sessions, opening the door to a new, additional use case for training assessments.

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Ed teases the future expansion of Barricade AI into new markets, revealing that a new application currently under development has the potential for additional use cases improving efficiencies for many teams.

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Ed also credited Hatch for its pivotal role in connecting Barricade AI to new end-users and use cases, all of which helped them deepen in understanding of the unique dynamics of the Singaporean ecosystem. This engagement, particularly through Hatch's Dimension X, enabled them to enhance their tech stack. Reflecting on his experience in the open innovation programme, he described the supportive structure at Hatch as familial, where the organisational structure allowed seamless engagement with various teams, from operations to partnerships, to marketing.

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Recognising the challenges of aligning government team timelines with start-ups arising from stringent processes, he expressed a desire for more governments around the world to have their own Hatch-like platforms to speed up innovation. He praised Hatch for shepherding Barricade AI through the system, guiding them through the process with unwavering support.

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For more about xData and Barricade AI's proof-of-concept (POC), watch our case study video on LinkedIn.

Interested in working with Hatch's start-ups?

Get in touch with the Hatch team at melesa.wong@thehatchx.com or melesa_wong@htx.gov.sg.