ABOUT REKOR SYSTEMS, INC.
Overview
Rekor was founded in 2017 and first entered the roadway intelligence business in 2019, with the acquisition of a company pioneering the development of computer vision software for roadway data collection and analysis. The software analyzes images and provides contemporaneous data about vehicles moving on the roadway, such as direction, speed, color, make, model license plate and other characteristics. The software uses a form of generative artificial intelligence, or AI, that employs neural networks to filter and identify patterns within the images and is continuously updated through machine learning that expands its capabilities and allows it to adapt to changes in the vehicle pool and other elements of the roadway environment. Rekor has continued the development of this software and has also developed a proprietary supporting operating system, which we identify as Rekor OneTM. This system addresses privacy concerns and facilitates the analysis and distribution of relevant data to multiple users through edge processing and other techniques. Using Rekor OneTM, we can collect, aggregate and analyze roadway data in combination with data from other sources. This analysis provides insights that are distributed to a variety of customers through our own proprietary platforms, as well as through those provided by others. While our primary customers are located in North America, products and services we provide are currently used in over 90 countries around the world. Our primary customers include national, state and municipal public agencies, as well as large commercial users, who employ our products and services for traffic studies, transportation management, public safety, perimeter security and tolling, as well as parking system operations. Our ultimate vision is to become the premier provider of roadway intelligence and data-driven mobility insights in the world.
Our operations are conducted primarily by our wholly-owned subsidiaries Rekor Recognition Systems, Inc., Waycare Technologies, Ltd. and Waycare Technology Inc., or Waycare, Southern Traffic Services, Inc., or STS, and All Traffic Data, LLC, or ATD. We integrated Waycare into our operations as part of a collaborative process of developing Rekor CommandTM, a platform used by traffic management centers. In addition to award winning incident management tools, Waycare brought us a valuable network of established third party data sources such as weather forecasts, transit schedules, event information and other data that provide insights through predictive analytics to our traffic management customers.
The acquisition of STS in 2022 allowed us to join forces with one of the leading data suppliers to state level Departments of Transportation, or DOTs, in the United States. Throughout its history, STS has pioneered an increasingly popular “pay for data” model of conducting traffic studies for DOTs. Using our Rekor DiscoverTM platform, STS has been able to dramatically improve the quality, scope, efficiency and reliability of the data it supplies to DOTs. As more fully described under “Traffic Data Collection”, STS currently has contracts with several states, with a strong footprint in the Southeastern United States. We are currently engaged in discussions, including conducting proof of concept demonstrations, with more than 10 additional states to provide similar services.
On January 2, 2024, we acquired ATD, which collaborates closely with numerous traffic engineering firms, metropolitan planning organizations, municipalities, and state DOTs, in locations where Rekor previously lacked a sales presence. ATD is actively involved in data collection across a wide-ranging geographic area, encompassing states like California, Colorado, Arizona, Nebraska, Nevada, Oregon, and Washington. This addition expands the coverage of our urban mobility operations across the country’s western region and further strengthens our position in the Southeast, providing ready access to experienced urban mobility personnel and operational facilities to support the expansion of our Internet of Things, or IoT, network.
A New Operating System for Roadways
We believe there is a significant need for the innovative products and services we have developed. The current condition of national transportation infrastructure systems is a matter of concern, particularly in the United States. According to a 2021 infrastructure report from the American Society of Civil Engineers, or ASCE, U.S. infrastructure has been graded a C minus, indicating that there is significant and urgent need for improvement. Over 43% of the 4.3 million miles of U.S. roadways are rated in poor condition, which impacts the safety of drivers and passengers. The issue of congestion is also a serious concern, estimated to cost U.S. citizens $120 billion per year in economic and productivity losses. Transportation-related greenhouse gas emissions – motorists’ emissions, particularly when trapped in traffic – account for a significant proportion of the country’s total emissions and are a leading contributor to declining sustainability, which has far-reaching environmental impacts. Addressing the road
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