Following the Chinese saying "the safest door is the one you can leave open", the Graz City Hall has launched a challenge to find solutions to the growing security challenges. The challenge was "How can the balancing act between openness and security requirements be achieved in Graz City Hall with the support of innovative technology?”
The Graz Town Hall is where the local council meets, official delegates from other countries or cities and numerous visitors are coming every day to weddings, receptions and other events. This mixed use requires a security concept: on the one hand, the safety of visitors and employees must be guaranteed, on the other hand, the city administration is very concerned about the openness of the building and wants to keep it as open as possible.
Georg Thallinger, Key Researcher of the Institute DIGITAL, together with the Smart Media Solutions Team, designed an innovative solution and presented it to the jury of the City of Graz. According to the concept, the automated documentation of visitors is carried out using video cameras and software that detects people and faces. The proposed solution fulfils in particular the main requirement, that visitors should be restricted as little as possible by the security system. Security staff benefits from retaining their flexibility. In addition, in the event of a fire, the system provides emergency services with valuable information about the number of people inside the building.