Project Overview

SAFR

SAFR is a secure and accurate AI facial recognition platform, designed for RealNetworks.

SAFR - Overview

Overview

Problem Definition

How to protect properties from unwanted visitors?

Criminal activity, especially burglary has always been a big problem and concern in our society, and is on the rise once again. According to FBI, a burglar strikes every 30 seconds in the US.

The average loss from a burglary is $2,661. Stolen items can’t always be replaced, as many of them hold an important sentimental value to us. But material damage, of course, is not the worst thing that can happen when someone trespasses.

Having said that, how do we prevent these activities and protect our properties and most importantly, human lives?

Process

Double Diamond

Guided by the Double Diamond process (Discover → Define → Develop → Deliver), we first identified user types, and their needs, then iterated on potential solutions through prototyping and testing to deliver a user-centered design.

Discover

• User interviews

• Personas

• Journey map

• Competitive analysis

Define

• HMW questions

Develop

• Wireframes

• User flows

• High-fidelity design

• High-fidelity prototype

Deliver

• Usability testing

• Final design

• Design handoff

Discover

User interviews

I conducted in-person interviews with two distinct groups of participants: property visitors and security guards. These were the findings.

Property visitors

Participants shared the need for a solution that would allow them to enter a physical space without the need to use a card, a key or a password.

Security guards

Due to a large scope of their work, the sentiment was that they would like to spend less time monitoring video surveillance because it’s way too time-consuming. They would like to be more productive, and focus on their other duties, such as performing inspections, preventing criminal activity and reporting incidents.

Personas

Given that are two types of users of this product, I created two personas based on user interviews that I’ve conducted, that showcase their specific pain points, tasks and goals.

Journey map

In this journey map, I built on the previously defined persona of a property visitor, mapping out their experience when visiting a school property.

Competitive analysis

While competitors with machine learning and computer vision capabilities offer most features considered for this project, their products usually just offer SDKs and APIs to their customers, without having a web app.

Define

How might we

I created how might we questions that helped us better align on user’s tasks and goals:

  1. How might we provide a safer and seamless experience of entering a room for property visitors?

  2. How might we provide a platform where monitoring video surveillance is automated so that security teams don’t have to manually do it and can focus on other duties?

Develop

Wireframes

When I started ideating, my main focus was information architecture. As pictured below on the Overview page, I was unsure of what information we should surface to users and where that information should appear.

User flow

In this phase, I explored the potential user flow of the solution, focusing on security guards and how they would likely want to achieve their goals.

Deliver

Usability testing

In-person usability testing revealed that participants navigated the prototype with ease and were able to locate key information, such as Events and Camera, leading to a high task success rate.

Final design

The functionality of the web app is built around the user’s ability to monitor door entrances and act accordingly. Accessing key information and real-time alerts is designed to be intuitive and efficient, ensuring users can respond quickly and confidently.

Design system and accessibility

Dark interface is chosen to improve readability and reduce eye strain to support viewing in dark environments, which is the most common use case. It also aligns with WCAG guidelines by ensuring sufficient contrast ratios between text and background to maintain accessibility for users with visual impairments.

The images below demonstrate how the web app functions in a school setting.

SAFR - Recognition

Recognition

SAFR - Camera

Camera

SAFR - Events

Events

SAFR - Face Recognition

Face Recognition

Solution

Face detection and unlocking

AI facial recognition platform for live video that uses advanced technologies like machine learning and computer vision to detect faces and unlock important entrances in real-time. It is completely unbiased as it accurately recognizes all skin tones, genders, and even works seamlessly with face masks.

Unlike physical authentication methods that can be lost, misused, or stolen, face recognition offers optimal security and user convenience. The technology is proven to be 98.87% accurate.

  • To ensure personal privacy, all enrolled and scanned biometric data is fully encrypted and does not contain any visual imagery of individuals’ faces. This helps to ensure that individuals identities are protected, avoiding any liability issues related to new and emerging privacy protection mandates.

SAFR - How SAFR Works

Impact

KPIs

Metrics show that users are actively engaging with the product and smoothly completing workflows. Additionally, reports indicate a reduction in trespassing incidents in properties where this technology is implemented.

90%

incident reduction rate

87%

adoption rate

95%

engagement rate

How we measured

  • Incident reduction rate (90%) was calculated by comparing the number of trespassing incidents before and after the launch of the video surveillance system, over time.

  • Adoption rate (87%) was calculated by the proportion of users who interacted with the app out of the total user base, since launch.

  • Engagement rate (95%) was calculated based on users who performed meaningful actions in the app, such as monitoring camera and events, per month.

Project Details

Project details

Role: Product Design, User Research

Company: RealNetworks

Team: Product Designer, Product Manager, Engineering

Frameworks: Double Diamond, Agile

Tools:

  • Design: Figma, Miro

  • Project management: Jira, Confluence

  • Analytics: Google Analytics

Year: 2020

Platform: Web

Link: SAFR.com