Enhanced Video Surveillance Systems for “Signal for Help” Detection on Edge Devices

The COVID-19 pandemic triggered a concerning rise in violence against women and children, known as The Shadow Pandemic. To address this, a Canadian foundation introduced the “Signal for Help” gesture to discreetly alert others in danger. However, the effectiveness of this approach depends on individuals recognizing and responding to the signal. In this paper, we propose an innovative solution that adopts the technology available in smart cities to detect the “Signal for Help” in real-time through surveillance footage. We developed and implemented a recognition algorithm on an affordable device that achieves accurate detection of the signal in 94 % of cases. This approach has the potential to improve the response to instances of violence, providing a reliable means of alerting authorities and support networks.