How IndoAI Helped Engineering College Upgrade Campus Security, Monitor Exam Halls, and Detect Distress Gestures
Engineering College is a private technical institute in central Uttar Pradesh with over 2,000 students across BTech, MBA, and diploma programs. Spread across 5 academic blocks, the campus also includes a hostel, library, cafeteria, and an examination center recognized for government recruitment tests.
The college had already installed basic CCTV cameras a few years ago. However, those cameras were only useful after an incident had occurred — never during. What they wanted was real-time intelligence and automated safety systems that didn’t rely on human monitoring.
“We weren’t looking for more cameras. We were looking for fewer problems. We wanted a system that could think and act — not just record.”
The Problem
The existing camera setup did not address the college’s operational or safety concerns:
- There were frequent incidents of students sneaking into restricted areas like the server room or staff cabins without detection.
- Disturbances in exam halls often went unnoticed due to manual invigilation limitations.
- Hostel wardens had no idea which students were inside or outside the building during odd hours.
- No system existed to detect student fights, arguments, or stress-like behavior, especially during late hours or exams.
- Campus security had no way to get instant alerts for anything suspicious unless someone physically spotted it on screen.
How They Found Us
The college CTO, Mr. Rakesh, attended a demo session we hosted during an education-tech event in Delhi. What caught his eye was our gesture recognition module — a system that could detect stress signals like hands on the head, crossed arms on chest, or kneeling gestures indicating panic or distress.
He followed up by visiting our website, scheduled a virtual walkthrough, and within a week, we had an on-site planning session.
Our Approach
The IndoAI team visited the campus to map high-risk and high-activity areas. Based on security gaps, we deployed IndoAI Edge AI Cameras in:
- All 4 hostel entry and exit points
- 2 exam halls, for live monitoring and suspicious activity detection
- Server room corridor, with access restriction logic
- Staff block entrance, to detect unauthorized students
- Girls’ common room area, with privacy-respecting stress gesture monitoring
- Main gate and parking zone, to track faces and vehicle plates in real time
The system was configured to recognize over 2,000 registered faces across students, staff, and wardens.
Key Use Cases We Activated
- Face-based attendance and movement logging in hostels and classrooms
- Gesture/stress recognition, particularly in exam halls and hostel corridors during late hours
- Alerting for unauthorized entry into restricted zones (based on facial profile access levels)
- Live monitoring and flagging of students loitering near sensitive areas like staff cabins
- Real-time vehicle tracking, especially for visitors and outstation exam candidates
- Auto reports for who was present in the campus during any event or emergency
Implementation Highlights
We used our SMS/email-based onboarding system for face registration. Students received a secure link to upload their photo from their phone. This avoided large in-person registration queues.
In the exam halls, we activated a mode where IndoAI monitored not just faces, but also:
- Repeated suspicious movements (like peeking or exchanging gestures)
- Unusual hand gestures indicating stress or attempts to signal someone
- Raised hands or distress signs that invigilators often miss in crowded halls
In the hostels, wardens could open the IndoAI admin app and instantly see:
- How many students were inside
- Who exited after curfew
- Who had attempted unauthorized access to other blocks
Challenges We Faced
The main challenge was balancing privacy with safety, especially in areas like the girls’ hostel and student lounges. We worked closely with the college’s legal advisor and created “privacy zones” — where the system would only detect gestures, not store video or images, unless an alert was triggered.
There was also resistance from some student unions, who misunderstood IndoAI as “spy tech.” We addressed this by conducting awareness sessions, showing that the system was built for their protection, especially after dark.
Finally, the ERP integration required collaboration with the college’s IT vendor. We created a bridge API layer that synced IndoAI logs with the college’s internal attendance and access control systems.
Timeline
- Day 0: Virtual demo at EduTech event
- Day 5: On-site visit and mapping
- Day 10: IndoAI camera installation across 7 zones
- Day 13: Face data collection via SMS and app
- Day 18: Full AI system live across the campus
Real Benefits
Within the first month, the administration saw massive improvements.
- Incidents of unauthorized access dropped by 95%, since alerts were sent the moment someone entered restricted areas.
- Exam hall disruptions decreased, and invigilators reported higher confidence in managing larger rooms.
- A student was spotted showing distress in a hostel corridor late at night, and IndoAI triggered an alert. The warden reached just in time.
- The college now had a digital log of every person on campus, with zero manual intervention.
“Earlier, we were reactive. Now, we’re proactive. If a student is in distress or something’s not right, we know before it becomes a problem.”
Conclusion
Engineering College didn’t just install cameras. They installed an intelligent layer of awareness across their campus — one that watches, understands, and acts in real-time. IndoAI helped them make the leap from surveillance to safety, from manual oversight to smart automation.
If your college or university is ready to go beyond traditional CCTV, IndoAI might just be the edge your campus needs.
Want to see it live?
Book a free demo or site assessment now and discover how IndoAI can help your College become smarter and safer.