MAIJA: Innovative Technologies for a Secure Prison System

The MAIJA research project aims to develop an innovative mobile application for the prison system. Currently, data collection and processing in prisons is often time-consuming and manual. MAIJA improves this process by providing important information on mobile devices used by the prison guards. This not only supports prisons in their administrative tasks, but also the entire prison system in Austria. MAIJA enables important information to be retrieved quickly, which is particularly important in crisis and emergency scenarios to maintain security.

MAIJA is a further development of the successful DIGDOK research project, which explored the digitalization potential of currently still analogue, inmate-related documentation processes. Together with the information already available digitally, the data collected in these analog processes represents a valuable source of information for day-to-day decisions in prisons. Currently, however, this can only be accessed through research in analog media or, at best, through time-consuming manual searches at stationary workstations.

Innovative technologies: from artificial intelligence to biometric identification

The main objective of the MAIJA project is to explore how innovative AI-supported technologies, such as object recognition, augmented reality, text synthesis and decision support systems, can be combined in a mobile assistant to support the daily work in the prison system – while ensuring the protection of fundamental rights and without replacing humans as decision-makers.

“MAIJA represents a significant step in the evolution of prison intelligence and will contribute significantly to ongoing research in the field of digital assistance systems. Our aim is to contribute to increasing security in prisons in the future by integrating innovative technologies,” says Zeynep Girgin, who is involved in the project as project manager for UAS Technikum Wien.

The project builds on the findings of the successful KIRAS research project DIGDOK by further developing the potential of digitizing inmate-related documentation processes. According to Girgin, the findings generated by MAIJA will “not only increase efficiency in prisons in the long term, but also improve the safety and well-being of all those involved. We look forward to working with MAIJA to help shape the future of digitalization and innovation in the prison system. “

Various artifacts are being researched as part of the MAIJA project, including:
-) Object and text recognition using mobile devices and visualization via augmented reality
-) AI-based text synthesis through the automated addition of multimedia messages
-) Secure, mobile authentication and identification and their validation

The project partners who are making this groundbreaking research possible are the Federal Ministry of Justice (also the project sponsor), ASCOM Deutschland GmbH Austrian branch, University of Applied Sciences Technikum Wien, PKE Holding AG, Vienna University of Technology Computer Vision Lab and VICESSE Research GmbH.

Mobile digital assistant for fast and effective communication

The MAIJA app is an application created as part of the research project that runs on specially developed mobile devices provided by ASCOM. These devices enable fast and efficient communication and access to important inmate data. For example, by using text synthesis, verbal communication can be converted into written form, which saves time and facilitates documentation.

Furthermore, object and text recognition on mobile devices enables effective identification and administration of (unwanted) objects or information in prisons. ASCOM is largely responsible for providing the technological basis of the MAIJA app, the basic infrastructure and end devices.

Distribution of tasks among the project partners

As a provider of security systems for prisons, PKE Holding AG is ideally positioned to test new applications in the prison system. The University of Applied Sciences Technikum Wien is leading the consortium and is working on AI-based text synthesis and the secure mobile identification of users.

Another project partner is the Computer Vision Lab of the Vienna University of Technology, which conducts research into object recognition, document analysis, biometrics and image sequence analysis, while VICESSE Research GmbH contributes expertise in the field of critical AI research and social science analysis of technologies. The Austrian Federal Ministry of Justice is the project sponsor for this pioneering project, which is funded by the Austrian Federal Ministry of Finance (BMF) and the Austrian Research Promotion Agency (FFG).

Printable image here in the cloud folder:
here in the cloud folder.
(Photo credit: UAS Technikum Wien)

In the pictures: In mid-January, the project partners met at UAS Technikum Wien for the kick-off of the MAIJA (Mobile Artificial Intelligence Justice Assistant) project.

Query note:

Hannes Huber
Marketing & Communications
FH Technikum Wien
+43 664 889 609 58
hannes.huber@technikum-wien.at