Axon's new body-worn camera
Axon (Nasdaq: AXON) announced Axon Body 5 on Oct. 24, a body-worn camera for officers that the company says is built to bring processing, connectivity and assistance to the scene of a call. Axon said it is offering two versions of the camera for the first time, Axon Body 5 and Axon Body 5 Pro. Rick Smith, the company's founder and chief executive, said officers would not have to choose between receiving information and watching the scene in front of them.
Processing power and battery life
Both models carry 25 times the AI processing power of earlier Axon body cameras, the company said, through a new computing architecture intended to run current and future AI features on the device itself. Axon also claims improved low-light video, connectivity in urban and remote areas with more precise location, and 20% more battery life than the previous generation.
The Pro model's additions
The Pro version adds a dedicated near-focus lens that lets an officer scan a driver's licence without returning to the patrol vehicle. It also has four front-facing speakers to carry real-time translations from Axon Assistant over traffic or crowd noise, and more memory to run several AI tools at once. Axon said the Pro will keep gaining AI capabilities as they arrive through its AI Era Plan.
Guardian, oversight and availability
Axon also described Axon Guardian, a set of AI features within the AI Era Plan built to work with body and in-car cameras. Guardian is designed to flag potential risks as situations develop and raise alerts when more attention may be needed; the company listed Escalation Detection, which alerts Axon Fusus for a human to review a livestream, and Approach Alert, which notifies an officer when the door of a stopped vehicle opens. Axon said both the camera and Guardian were developed under its responsible innovation framework, with human oversight and agency control over data. General availability dates for both are to be announced, and the company said features vary by configuration.
