We closed out summer with a win for school safety, announcing that Pecos-Barstow-Toyah Independent School District is deploying SparkCognition Visual AI Advisor to detect threats, identify security breaches, and prevent safety and security incidents. Learn more about it—plus other highlights from last month—in your can’t-miss content roundup!
Upcoming and On-Demand Webinars
Speaking of school safety improvement measures, there is still time to register for our next webinar on this very topic, happening September 21 at 1 p.m. CT.
In this webinar, you will learn about Visual AI Advisor’s ability to provide 24/7, real-time situational awareness, from identifying a perimeter breach or weapon to detecting intrusions or loitering. Its ability to analyze video feeds automatically and provide actionable alerts or trigger alarms is critical when seconds count.
Also, check out these upcoming webinars:
- Unlocking the Future: Generative AI for Renewable Energy on October 12.
- From Good to Great: How Visual AI Turns You Into a Safety Superstar on October 18.
And if you couldn’t attend a live webinar event (or want to watch it again), be sure to check out our on-demand library. We add several new titles each month!
Strengthening school safety and security for PBTISD
On August 15, we shared the news that Pecos-Barstow-Toyah Independent School District (PBTISD) had selected SparkCognition’s computer vision solution, Visual AI Advisor, to add a proactive layer of security across its five campuses. PBTISD is a Pre-K-12 public school district with over 2600 students in West Texas.
Superintendent Brent Jaco said in a press release, “Ensuring a safe school environment is paramount to fostering students’ success, growth, and well-being. With SparkCognition’s Visual AI Advisor, we can enhance our security measures to quickly detect and prevent threats and provide real-time alerts to our students and staff.” Later, participating in a Visual AI for School Safety showcase event at HyperWerx, he expanded on why PBTISD chose SparkCognition’s solution: “While we have many layers of security already in place–we have a police department and we are building some new campuses that are going to be integrated with top of the line security features—we wanted to look at the AI space and look at how that could support us as well, adding another great layer of security the well-being of our staff and students.” Jaco cited SparkCognition’s proven scale with a solution used today across many countries on thousands of cameras. He also called out SparkCognition’s independence from third-party technologies. “They control and own their technology and their space. ”
Finally, Jaco praised the diversity of capabilities that Visual AI Advisor will bring to his school district: “It’s more than just about detecting weapons for us. When we think about safety and security [it’s about] a lot more than just an intruder coming on campus. That’s obviously an important part. But we can look at so much more with AI technology and with what SparkCognition has in place.”
SkyGrid News: Welcome new CEO Jia Xu (plus new Android app release)
On August 28, SkyGrid, a Boeing, SkyGrid company, announced that Jia Xu will take command as Chief Executive Officer, succeeding its founding CEO, Amir Husain. Xu was formerly CTO for Honeywell Aerospace and brings highly relevant experience from similar roles at Airbus, General Atomics, and RAND Corporation. Xu earned a Ph.D. in aeronautics and astronautics from Stanford. It was also announced that Boeing will add to its investment in SkyGrid to support future product strategy and development under Xu.
Congratulating Xu, Husain said: “Since SkyGrid’s inception, Boeing and SparkCognition’s goal has been to shape the future of advanced air mobility. These last few years, SkyGrid’s founding concept and technology have made a significant impact in the industry, and the team’s work over the coming years will continue to materialize and fulfill that vision. With Boeing’s continued investment, SkyGrid is entering an exciting new phase, and I am thrilled to continue to support the company as a member of its board while wishing SkyGrid great success under the strong leadership of Jia Xu.”
Xu added: “The future of aviation is autonomous, and SkyGrid will play a vital role in safely integrating unmanned flights into the airspace and enabling routine autonomous operations at scale. I live this mission and am privileged to join this world-class team to build the autonomous future together.”
Earlier in the month, SkyGrid shared other exciting news: the launch of SkyGrid Drone Central on the Google Play Store for Android users. Much like SkyGrid’s iOS application (SkyGrid Flight Control), SkyGrid Drone Central is a comprehensive, free application designed to automate every phase of flight in one unified solution. Learn more about its powerful features here.
Around the Web
In Processing Magazine, SparkCognition’s head of product for Visual AI Advisor, Jaidev Amrite, explained how Visual AI simplifies HSE management for chemical manufacturers.
On LinkedIn, SparkCognition was recognized for helping National Grid Grain LNG—a critical part of the United Kingdom’s energy infrastructure as well as the largest liquified natural gas terminal in Europe (and the 8th largest in the world by tank capacity)—achieve key strategic goals using our AI solutions to assess a set of compressors at the terminal and identify when they needed maintenance.
SparkCognition Government Systems (SGS) participated in a number of productive defense industry events around the country, including:
- GVSETS in Novi, Michigan
- TechNet Augusta in Augusta, Georgia
- Tinker and the Primes in Midwest City, Oklahoma
Insights Success magazine published an interview profile of SparkCognition’s founder and CEO, Amir Husain.
In our blog last month, we posted Generative AI Knowledge: The More You Know, providing context and action steps to help you take advantage of generative AI technology advantages sooner rather than later. We also offered up our analysis of The Top Challenges HSE Managers Face Today and detailed how Visual AI Advisor helps to solve these challenges proactively to help managers avert on-the-job accidents before they even happen.
Stay Plugged In
And that’s your final can’t-miss content roundup from a summer to remember! Friendly reminder to follow us on social media to stay updated on all our company news and AI advancements.
