MIAMI & NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Helios and Matheson Analytics Inc. (NASDAQ: HMNY) and its wholly-owned subsidiary, Zone Technologies Inc. (“Zone”), creator of the RedZone Map™ app, today announced a collaboration with the Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IIT Madras), one of India’s most prestigious universities. IIT Madras’ new high-tech, social-listening project gives RedZone Map access to up to 80 million daily Tweets. HMNY and Zone will analyze the information to source and share crime information with users of the RedZone Map app. A range of crime information will be examined – including hate crimes, shootings, assaults and thefts – from Twitter accounts belonging to individuals, media outlets, law enforcement agencies and more.
“This collaboration is just the beginning of how we can use social listening to report crime in real time,” said Ted Farnsworth, Chairman and CEO of HMNY and Zone, and creator of RedZone Map. “As we continue to develop our technology we will seek new frontiers in the types of crime we detect, including international crimes such as human trafficking. I believe this technology will have numerous additional ground breaking applications over time.”
How It Works
The encrypted data will be used to automatically drop a real time corresponding pin onto the RedZone Map when a crime is detected using social listening on Twitter. This will give RedZone Map users worldwide real-time access to crime information contained in Tweets related to their specific location.
RedZone Map will use its proprietary computer learning and artificial intelligence technology to detect and define Tweets containing crime information, including videos, trends and hashtags. The project is RedZone Map’s most significant enhancement to date.
“Through this collaboration, IIT Madras’ social-listening feed from Twitter will provide RedZone Map users with a wealth of important crime data that can have a significant impact on their daily lives,” said Dharanipragada Janakiram, PhD, professor in the Department of Computer Science and Engineering at IIT Madras, who is spearheading this project. “I believe this is a game changer. For the first time ever, through RedZone Map, the average person will have access to real time, worldwide crime data in a navigation map format, providing users with a powerful tool to enhance their personal safety.”
The Collaboration
The collaboration is in the form of a three year license agreement between IIT Madras and HMNY’s wholly-owned Indian subsidiary, Helios and Matheson Global Services Pvt. Ltd (“HMGS”), whereby IIT Madras is licensing its proprietary TweetMap program to HMGS for the purpose of mapping incoming Tweets based on their location and information related to crime.
TWITTER and TWEET are trademarks of Twitter, Inc.
MEDIA, PLEASE NOTE: To request data, images, or an interview with Theodore Farnsworth, founder of RedZone Map, please contact Greg Bortkiewicz at (415) 359-2306 or redzone@landispr.com.
About RedZone Map
RedZone (Zone Technologies, Inc.) is a state-of-the-art mapping and spatial analysis company with operations in the U.S. and Israel. Its safety map app enhances mobile GPS navigation by providing advanced proprietary technology to guide travelers to their destinations. The app incorporates a social media component allowing for real-time “It’s happening now” crime reporting coupled with real-time data from over 1,400 local, state, national and global sources. RedZone Map is currently available to iOS and Android users. More information is available on the RedZone Map website.
About Helios and Matheson
Helios and Matheson Analytics Inc. (NASDAQ: HMNY) provides information technology consulting, training services, software products and an enhanced suite of services of predictive analytics. With its client roster including Fortune 500 corporations, HMNY focuses mainly on the BFSI and Technology verticals. HMNY’s solutions cover the entire spectrum of IT needs, including applications, data, and infrastructure. HMNY is headquartered in New York, NY and listed on the NASDAQ Capital Market under the symbol HMNY. For more information, visit us www.hmny.com.
About Indian Institute of Technology Madras
Indian Institute of Technology Madras is one among the foremost institutes of national importance in higher technological education, basic and applied research. IIT Madras is a residential institute with nearly 550 faculty, 8000 students and 1250 administrative & supporting staff and is a self-contained campus located in a beautiful wooded land of about 250 hectares. It has established itself as a premier center for teaching, research and industrial consultancy in the country. The Institute has sixteen academic departments and a few advanced research centers in various disciplines of engineering and pure sciences, with nearly 100 laboratories organized in a unique pattern of functioning. A faculty of international repute, a brilliant student community, excellent technical & supporting staff and an effective administration have all contributed to the pre-eminent status of IIT Madras. For more information, visit www.iitm.ac.in.
Cautionary Statement on Forward-looking Information
Certain statements in this communication contain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 or under Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (collectively, “forward-looking statements”) that may not be based on historical fact, but instead relate to future events, including without limitation statements containing the words “believe”, “may”, “plan”, “will”, “estimate”, “continue”, “anticipate”, “intend”, “expect” and similar expressions. All statements other than statements of historical fact included in this communication are forward-looking statements.
Such forward-looking statements are based on a number of assumptions. Although HMNY’s management believes that the assumptions made and expectations represented by such statements are reasonable, there can be no assurance that a forward-looking statement contained herein will prove to be accurate. Actual results and developments may differ materially from those expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements contained herein and even if such actual results and developments are realized or substantially realized, there can be no assurance that they will have the expected consequences or effects. Risk factors and other material information concerning HMNY are described in its Annual Report on Form 10-K, as amended, for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2015, its registration statement on Form S-3 declared effective on January 13, 2017 and other filings, including subsequent current and periodic reports and registration statements, filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. You are cautioned to review such reports and other filings at www.sec.gov.
Given these risks, uncertainties and factors, you are cautioned not to place undue reliance on such forward-looking statements and information, which are qualified in their entirety by this cautionary statement. All forward-looking statements and information made herein are based on HMNY’s current expectations and HMNY does not undertake an obligation to revise or update such forward-looking statements and information to reflect subsequent events or circumstances, except as required by law.
