About Woodcock AI

Why we start with the cameras you already have

Woodcock AI exists because most sites already own the cameras that could have spotted a fire or a break-in, but nobody was watching at the moment it mattered. We add AI to that existing CCTV so it tells people what it sees, as it happens.

Walk round almost any yard, warehouse or factory in the UK and you will find CCTV. It was bought to record, and it does that well: after an incident, someone can scroll back and see what happened. The trouble is that a recording only helps afterwards. A wisp of smoke from a stockpile at 2am, or a person climbing a fence on a Sunday, is on the screen, but there is rarely anyone watching it.

Traditional motion alerts did not solve this. They fire on rain, headlights, birds and swaying trees, so people learn to ignore them. Replacing every camera with specialist equipment is expensive and slow. We wanted a third option: keep the cameras, keep the recorder, and add something that understands the picture.

That is what Woodcock AI does. It connects to the cameras and recorders a site already has, over ONVIF or RTSP, and runs AI detection on an on-site edge server or in the Woodcock AI Cloud. When it sees smoke, flame, an intruder or a safety risk such as missing PPE, it sends an alert with the clip, in the Woodcock AI app, by email or SMS, with phone-call alerts and alerts to a monitoring centre (ARC) available as options.

Our mission

To make every existing CCTV camera useful in the moment, so smaller problems are caught before they become serious ones.

• Works with the CCTV a site already has, so most sites need no new cameras
• Alerts that say what happened, with the clip, instead of a stream of motion alarms
• Supplements, and never replaces, certified fire alarms

How we work

Five steps take a site from first conversation to alerts that improve over time.

1. 1
   Free site assessmentWe look at your site, your cameras and the risks you want covered, and tell you honestly what will and will not work.
2. 2
   Connect your camerasYour existing ONVIF or RTSP cameras connect to an edge server on site or to the Woodcock AI Cloud. We help you set everything up, on site or remotely.
3. 3
   Learn your siteA self-learning AI is fitted to your site and learns each camera's view: its lighting, weather and everyday activity.
4. 4
   Alert the right peopleDetections go to the people you choose, with the clip, so they can check and act straight away.
5. 5
   Feedback and retrainingEvery detection has a feedback button. Your answers feed into retraining, so the AI keeps getting better on your cameras.

See how it works, from camera to alert

An AI fitted to each site

Every site looks different, so we do not rely on one general model alone. Each site gets a self-learning AI that learns its own cameras, and your feedback on each detection feeds into retraining.

A steam vent, a floodlight or a dusty loading bay can look like smoke to a general system. When the AI is fitted to the site and people mark detections as right or wrong, those everyday scenes are learnt as part of normal life on that site. Detection stays focused on what matters: smoke and fire, intrusion and people, vehicles and PPE such as hard hats and hi-vis.

Working with installers

CCTV installers, integrators and fire-safety companies can add Woodcock AI to the cameras they already fit and look after, and sell it as a recurring monthly service, under their own brand or ours.

We set up the accounts, analytics and recorder in the background, with commissioning done remotely, so there is nothing extra to configure on site. Installers keep the customer relationship and the existing cameras, and we look after updates and tuning. Read about the reseller programme.

Based in Manchester, working across the UK

Woodcock AI is based at Swan Buildings, Manchester M4 5JW, and works with sites across the UK.

Most connections are made remotely, and we help on site where it is needed. You can reach the team at office@woodcock.ai or through the contact page.

Responsible AI and data protection

AI should help people make faster, better decisions, not make them on their own. These are the principles we work to.

• People stay in chargeEvery alert comes with the clip, so a person checks what happened before acting.
• Honest about limitsWe say what the AI cannot do, and it never replaces a certified fire alarm or your own procedures.
• Feedback you controlYour feedback on detections is used to improve the AI on your site.
• Data protectionCCTV footage is personal data under UK GDPR. We work with each site so that cameras are used for clear safety and security purposes, and we are happy to answer data protection questions at office@woodcock.ai.