Neural Networks to Keep Trucks Out of Residential Courtyards in the Moscow Region
The Safe Region (Bezopasny region) system, already familiar to residents of Moscow and the surrounding region for identifying criminals and traffic violations, has received a digital upgrade. In the Moscow Region, neural-network modules can now do far more than recognize license plates and silhouettes.
They have learned to distinguish passenger cars from multi-ton trucks and major highways from residential courtyards. The results of the first digital enforcement campaigns have already proven impressive.
A Small Camera Versus a Multi-Ton Truck
More than 1,000 smart cameras will be used to identify heavy trucks parked for longer than 60 minutes. The cameras record the presence of a truck in a prohibited location, determine its coordinates and license plate number, and transmit the information to the Traffic Safety Center, where a violation notice is generated. Fines issued to companies and individual entrepreneurs are then automatically sent to the vehicle owner.
The neural network has already identified more than 170 violations involving illegal parking and standing of heavy trucks. Large vehicles were occupying residential courtyards, lawns, sidewalks, and internal access roads – places where heavy transport should not be operating.
Each such violation can result in damaged stormwater infrastructure, deteriorated pavement, and obstructed visibility for drivers. More importantly, a courtyard blocked by a truck may become inaccessible to emergency services, including ambulances and fire crews.
Previously, proving systematic parking violations by heavy vehicles was extremely difficult. An inspector would arrive and the truck would leave; once the inspector departed, the truck would return. Video monitoring systems, by contrast, operate around the clock.
A Cleaner View From Every Window
The Safe Region system now includes more than 170,000 cameras across the Moscow Region, making the region one of Russia’s leaders in digital governance and smart-city deployment.
Since last year, the Moscow Region has operated an artificial-intelligence system that identifies vehicles parked on lawns. The initiative has become an effective tool for protecting green spaces and improving accessibility for people with limited mobility. During its first four months alone, the neural network detected more than 580 cases of repeated illegal parking. Authorities impounded 250 vehicles. In locations monitored by AI, repeat violations have effectively disappeared.
The region is also in its second year of operating another AI-driven initiative. Through 548 cameras, artificial intelligence detects vehicles blocking waste-collection sites. If a vehicle remains within a waste-removal zone for more than 10 minutes, the system records its license plate, after which the owner may receive a fine. The smart platform has identified 4,000 violations and demonstrated measurable effectiveness. As a result, the number of such incidents has fallen by 40%.
AI is also monitoring outdoor lighting. Using data from more than 66,000 Safe Region cameras, neural networks identify malfunctioning courtyard lighting. The algorithms have helped detect and resolve 15,000 issues. More recently, the Safe Region platform has also begun monitoring cleanliness at children's playgrounds throughout the Moscow Region. Illegal dumping in these areas is likewise subject to fines.
The Next Step: Smarter Systems
Over the past three years, the number of artificial-intelligence projects operating in the Moscow Region has increased more than fourfold, rising from nine to 38. The economic impact of AI deployment has exceeded 2.5 billion rubles (about $32 million).
The Moscow Region continues improving residential environments by maintaining continuous oversight through machine-vision technologies. At the same time, these AI tools help reduce citizen complaints.
Russia’s Artificial Intelligence Development Center brings together the country's most effective and advanced practices so they can be replicated elsewhere. Safe Region has emerged as a benchmark for high-quality smart territorial management and is expected to serve as a model for other regions. The number of cameras and video-analytics scenarios will continue to grow, covering everything from truck parking enforcement to monitoring courtyard sanitation, illegal waste dumping, obstructions affecting emergency vehicles, and other violations. Digital technologies are increasingly becoming a guardian of public order.
