Revealed: what Britain’s Covid cameras saw
When Britain locked down last spring, one of the many unknowns was whether people would comply with the new social distancing rules. Would we all keep our distance? Or would we grow tired of the restrictions and flout the rules as time wore on? The answer was vital, as compliance could have a big impact on the transmission and spread of Covid-19.
To find out what was happening on street corners, Innovate UK, the government’s innovation agency, awarded a grant to tech firm Vivacity Labs. The company was to use AI-powered cameras, which were installed on the streets of 16 British towns and cities.
The devices themselves are relatively simple cameras that are bolted on to existing infrastructure, such as lampposts and traffic lights. The cameras aren’t passively recording images like traditional CCTV, but they are analysing them with computer vision algorithms to
