AI Is Added to a Russian Service for Finding Missing Children
A new system developed in Russia uses artificial intelligence to speed up the search for missing children and has already been recognized with a national safety award.
Russia’s Novosibirsk region has become the first in the country to integrate artificial intelligence into a service for locating missing children. The project was recognized at the inaugural National “Safe City” Award.
The joint initiative of the regional Ministry of Digital Development and the Novosibirsk regional police was launched in 2025. It is based on a biometric video identification system. In an emergency, a parent calls emergency services and then uploads a photo of the child via a secure link. The image is integrated into the Safe City system.
Photo-Based Search
AI within the database analyzes information about the child and initiates biometric identification. Law enforcement units automatically receive an alert, allowing the search to begin in record time. Over ten months of operation, the technology helped locate 121 missing children.
The project won in the “Caring for the Future” category. According to regional officials, the Safe City hardware and software complex has also helped detain more than 2,800 individuals wanted by law enforcement.
