SAFR, a RealNetworks company, and Anava announced a new edge AI solution that runs SAFR facial recognition directly on Axis Communications’ network cameras using the Axis Camera Application Platform (ACAP). The joint offering enables real-time facial recognition and video analytics at the edge, designed to reduce infrastructure costs while increasing performance and deployment flexibility.

The new SAFR Powered by Anava ACAP solution embeds SAFR’s computer vision engine inside Axis cameras. By processing video in the camera instead of on centralized servers, organizations can lower network bandwidth usage, reduce server hardware requirements and achieve a lower total cost of ownership for large-scale deployments. Furthermore, by operating natively within the Axis ecosystem, this ACAP integration generates facial recognition events that flow into existing Axis Camera Station VMS, as well as other popular video management systems.

“By bringing our AI directly into Axis cameras, we are giving customers a smarter, leaner path to deploying facial recognition for security, access control and business intelligence,” said Brad Donaldson, vice president of computer vision, SAFR from RealNetworks. “Our collaboration with Anava and Axis allows system integrators and end users to take advantage of edge compute in a way that is both scalable and cost-effective.”

Drew Pacino, business development manager, Axis Communications, added, “The Anava and SAFR integration showcases the power of ARTPEC processing and the ACAP platform to deliver advanced analytics directly at the edge. By reducing infrastructure complexity, this solution helps customers lower costs while unlocking greater operational efficiency and additional value from their Axis footprint.”

Ryan Wager, CEO, Avana, said, “By running SAFR software as an ACAP directly on Axis cameras, we’ve eliminated the need for costly, power-hungry onsite servers to process every stream. This edge-based approach provides enterprises with a lean, highly scalable architecture that delivers the industry’s most advanced bad actor detection while maintaining a privacy-preserving posture. By utilizing Anonymous ID methodologies, we ensure that actionable intelligence is gathered without compromising individual data, all while driving massive infrastructure savings.”

Designed to work within existing or new Axis installations, the solution can be combined with SAFR’s cloud or on-premises components when needed.