Thales has announced that its Sentinel platform is now protecting and monetizing Eyedea’s AI-powered visual recognition software. Eyedea, founded in 2006 as a spinoff from the Czech Technical University in Prague’s Centre for Machine Perception, develops machine learning solutions for classification and detection tasks. The partnership extends Thales’ growing presence in the law enforcement technology sector, where secure deployment of AI systems has become increasingly critical.
The protected software performs various recognition functions, including vehicle make and model identification, number plate reading, and train carriage number detection. It can also analyze CCTV footage to detect distracted driving, monitor seatbelt usage, and count passengers. The system includes privacy compliance features that redact human factors and vehicle license plates to meet GDPR and other data protection requirements—a crucial feature given recent European regulatory actions against unauthorized facial recognition deployments.
Eyedea’s technology serves major law enforcement organizations including Interpol, Europol, and the Czech Police. The software is deployed through Software Development Kits (SDKs) that integrate with existing hardware and software systems, with licensing managed through Thales Sentinel on a hardware key. This approach follows growing industry standards for secure AI deployment in law enforcement, where chain of custody and access control are paramount concerns.
The Thales Sentinel platform provides both IP protection and licensing management capabilities. It employs Sentinel Envelope for security against breaches and Sentinel Licensing to manage deployments and tiered customer packages. The licensing model includes a three-month trial period that expires based on time or usage volume, after which customers can purchase annual licenses.
“Thales Sentinel is essential for us to go-to-market in a secure and assured way,” said Martin Urban, CEO of Eyedea. “Our customers need to be able to trust that access to our software is safeguarded, while we need to protect our IP and manage the active deployments we have.”
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January 29, 2025 – by the ID Tech Editorial Team
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