Vehant Technologies, a pioneer in artificial intelligence/ machine learning based security surveillance and traffic monitoring & junction enforcement solutions provider.
The company operates in 3 verticals- Security screening, smart and safe city & Enterprise analytics. In security screening company has recently launched Cargo scanners of size 1800 mm/1500 mm and it is the first Indian company to do so.
Mr. Kapil Bardeja, Co Founder & CEO- Vehant Technologies shares more about this product in this interview.
1. Please share with us a brief backgrounder of the company?
Incubated from IIT-Delhi in 2005, Vehant is a leading Artificial Intelligence/Machine Learning focused company that develops state-of-the-art Security Screening Solutions, Smart & Safe City Solutions, and Enterprise Analytics Solutions. Vehant counts five professors of Computer sciences and engineering from IIT-D as their founder Directors and mentors who together form the backbone of our academia to the industry research group. The main motive and vision of Vehant have always been to develop indigenous products and solutions in the areas of computer vision and image processing, especially in security and surveillance.
Vehant kick-started its journey by designing the under-vehicle scanning system, which was till then imported into the country. Over the years since its inception, the company has supplied and installed around 800 units in India and 12 other countries. Vehant also added an AI-based automated number plate reading system, which got morphed into Trafficmon: Traffic enforcement and management system that is now being deployed in almost 42 smart cities across India. In 2015, we started developing the X-Ray baggage scanners and now have almost 25% of the market share in India. Vehant is the only Indian company to have a BCAS compliant dual view x-ray baggage scanner installed at multiple airports in India.
2. How has been the business so far as compared to previous years? Has Covid impacted your business?
It has been almost 2 years into the pandemic now and nearly every business around the globe has been affected by COVID-19, but the performance has varied widely, even within countries and industries. Vehant security screening business has also been impacted like any other company across the nation. The first quarter of 2020 was the worse as the entire nation was shut. Even the industries we cater for example aviation, hospitality, etc., were not operational.
During the pandemic, Vehant introduced a new segment – COVID-19 solutions, under which we launched various product/solutions such as FebriEye – AI-based Thermal Temperature Screen System, KritiScan UV – UVC Light-based baggage disinfection scanner, and COVID Analytics – AI-based Intelligent Analytics Solutions. These solutions acted as a game-changing technology for Vehant as they were in demand. Post the first quarter of 2020 demand started picking up as industries started re-opening. Presently Vehant is almost at the pre-Covid level. We are hopeful that we will see a good business as Airports, hotels, railways, Metro, etc., have started business as usual which is a good sign for us.
3. Any new products that you have developed in the last year?
Vehant has 3 major verticals – Security Screening Solutions, Smart and Safe City Solutions & Enterprise Analytics Solutions, and under each vertical, we have added new products/solutions.
Under the security screening vertical we have recently added Cargo scanners of size 1800 mm x 1500 mm and Vehant is the first Indian company to develop Cargo/pallet Scanners. We have successfully got the radiation safety certificate from AERB which was the biggest challenge. Vehant has are also started bidding in tenders and hopeful of closing some orders soon as our products are developed indigenously and have a major price advantage over imported products.
We have also added a full-body scanner which will be deployed at customs and prisons to check if a person is carrying drugs, sim cards, or gold inside the body and cavities. We have bid for body scanners in a few tenders over the last 6-7 months.
In our Smart/Safe city vertical we are the first Indian company to develop a 4D Radar-based speed detection & enforcement system. We have got speed testing done by the Automotive Research Association of India (ARAI). It can detect speed up to 230 KM. We are pitching in various speed enforcement requirements were earlier only foreign players were providing such solutions.
Under our enterprise analytics vertical, we have massively built our Okean AI platform and have added new use cases in retail, hospitality, etc, Presently we have close to 300 leads in a short span of 9 months.
4. How has been the response for these new products? Any new installations and where?
All the 3 products have been launched in last 4 to 5 months, hence we have recently started bidding for tenders. These products are completely designed and developed in India, making them 100% “Make in India” products, which also will act as an advantage to us, as before all these products were imported.
We also have received statutory certificates which are very essential. For Cargo/ Pallet scanners we have got approval from Atomic Energy Regulatory Board approval. For the Radar-based traffic management & enforcement system we got certified by ARAI for accuracy of speed and our accuracy is +/- 1%. Under Enterprise Analytics, we recently closed orders with a major hospitality chain in Delhi NCR to check hygiene, chef wearing mask, headgear, washing hands, etc.
5. What kind of Government schemes are helping MSMEs?
Schemes, like Make in India/ Made in India, are very useful for companies like Vehant Technologies. There is motivation to continue developing products locally. We can see that there is a behavioral shift. Now customers are considering Indian products as primary options as opposed to the secondary option which was the case some time ago. Also at the procurement level, there is a major push to buy Indian products.
6. Can you please elaborate on Cargo scanners, technologies and how it is different from other competitors? Any cost advantage?
Vehant is the first Indian company to have indigenized the production of pallet/cargo scanners of size 1500X1800 mm under its security screening vertical. KritiScan 150180D is an advanced Dual-energy X-ray-based pallet/cargo scanner using artificial intelligence (AI) based algorithms designed and developed by us. It is equipped with a high load capacity conveyor system to take care of the needs for scanning cargo and pallet size boxes. With unmatched high image quality and advanced dual-energy material classification technology, the X-ray-based Pallet scanner meets all security inspection needs at places like Airports, seaports, railway stations, and other sensitive establishments. For high penetration, the machine has two powerful x-ray generators, which generate two separate views of scanned Pallets from the top and from the side.
With Vehant’s artificial intelligence-based algorithm, the machine is able to automatically detect a variety of threats and prohibited items like Guns, explosives, drugs, narcotics which can be transported and smuggled through cargo. This AI module improves the overall operational efficiency by assisting the operators. With an adaptable AI/ML-based algorithm for automatic detection of dangerous, prohibited, and contraband goods and substances, it provides accurate, reliable, and powerful detection capability to the X-ray-based Pallet/Cargo scanner helping to reduce the burden on image analysts and improve detection/screening outcomes. KritiScan 150180D offers numerous other features as well like self-diagnosis, High-density alerts, Threat image projection to judge operator efficiency/alertness, and some high-end features like Network supervisory workstation for remote monitoring and administrative control.
Being completely designed, developed in India, it’s not just customized for Indian needs but also lower in cost to imported cargo scanners. Also, the parts and labor serviceability is better.
7. Future plans in terms of expansion & growth?
We intend to continue our position as a market leader in our UVSS range of products, we intend to grow our market share in India to around 40-45% in the X-Ray business in the coming year and retain a 60% market share in the smart/safe city portfolio. We also intend to expand to South East Asia for smart city business. Expand to the middle east, Africa and Europe for security screening. In the medium-term (2-3 years), we intend to grow at a 30-40% growth rate. At present, 90% of our sales comes from India and 10% from export. We intend to make it at least 25% of turnover from export in next 2-3 years.
