Delhi Police to Deploy AI Smart Glasses With Facial Recognition at Republic Day Parade

Delhi Police will for the first time deploy AI-enabled smart glasses with integrated facial recognition technology as part of enhanced security arrangements for the Republic Day celebrations on Monday in New Delhi, officials said.

The wearable devices, developed by Indian deep-tech firm AjnaLens, combine facial recognition and thermal imaging and will be worn by personnel deployed in crowded areas along the parade route, entry points and other sensitive locations around Kartavya Path.

Linked in real time to the police’s criminal databases, the glasses can scan faces in dense crowds and match them within seconds against records of known criminals, proclaimed offenders and suspects. 

The glasses are designed to function as mobile surveillance tools, effectively turning each officer into a moving CCTV unit.

If a facial match crosses a 60% similarity threshold, the individual is flagged for closer scrutiny. 

Alerts are displayed on smartphones carried by officers, allowing them to monitor inputs while on the move.

Additional Commissioner of Police Devesh Kumar Mahala said the force is expanding its use of technology for crowd security during large public events. 

“We will make full use of technologies that are beneficial to us from a security perspective,” he said, adding that video analytics and facial recognition systems are being extended across surveillance infrastructure this year.

Mahala said the wearable glasses are part of a broader, layered security plan that includes AI-enabled cameras and standalone systems loaded with multiple algorithms. 

These algorithms, he said, have been trained to identify individuals even if they attempt to alter their appearance by wearing masks, caps, makeup, or growing beards, or if the available photograph is several years old.

“Whether it’s a photo from 20 years ago or a recent one, the system can still attempt identification,” he said.

To address connectivity and data security concerns, police said the system will operate offline.

The facial recognition databases will be stored locally, loaded onto individual mobile phones as encrypted files, and will not be connected to the internet.

Similarly, the facial recognition cameras installed across the area will feed into standalone systems rather than live networks.

Delhi Police first acquired Automated Facial Recognition Software (AFRS) in March 2018, following a Delhi High Court directive, primarily to help identify missing children by matching photographs.

Over time, its use expanded to crowd surveillance during high-profile events and security operations.

Around 10,000 police personnel are being deployed across Delhi for Republic Day, with three layers of physical checks for pedestrians and similar checks for vehicles, Mahala said.