Acusensus appoints AI and image processing expert to support UK and international growth

Road safety technology company Acusensus is further expanding its operation in the UK with the appointment of veteran technologist Violet Snell.

Since Acusensus opened its UK office in 2022, it has continued to develop the market for advanced road safety solutions, including the award-winning ‘Heads Up’ system to identify distracted driving, or people not wearing a seatbelt.

Violet Snell’s 30-year career has seen her research and develop image analysis algorithms and products. She was the first person to use Machine Learning AI tools to develop an entirely new Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) engine, which demonstrated greater accuracy and robustness compared to traditionally coded systems. This is now used globally in a wide variety of ITS applications.

With a doctorate in computer vision, she has delivered technological leaps in performance of automated visual recognition systems ranging across medical imaging, ITS applications such as ANPR and vehicle recognition, and fraud detection in cyber-security. She has built and led Machine Learning teams which deliver solutions that are both innovative and effective, providing value to the end customer by utilising cutting edge technology, to be used in real world applications.

“I am very excited to join such a mission driven organisation as Acusensus – their use of advanced technology to save lives and avoid injuries is quite inspirational,” she said. “I look forward to helping bring their existing solutions to benefit the UK as well as contributing new ideas to tackle fresh road safety challenges globally”.

“Violet has considerable experience in road safety applications,” added UK General Manager Geoff Collins. “These include international ANPR, vehicle type recognition for differentiated speed limits, speed limit recognition on VMS and make and model recognition for VRN cross-checks. She’s an outstanding new recruit and I’m thrilled she chose to join the business.”

The Acusensus solution uses roadside cameras to look into a vehicle to check if someone is using a hand-held phone, or not wearing a seatbelt. Once the potential offence has been flagged, a human checks the images to see if it should be passed on for further investigation.

Acusensus was founded in Australia in 2018, and its UK operation led by enforcement expert Geoff Collins opened in 2022. The UK team also includes Operations and Support Manager Adam Dallimore. They provide support for the developing business along with experience and bandwidth for the growing international markets that Acusensus addresses.