Solution · EV charging station protection
EV charging cable theft. Give your stations a head start.
A stolen cable means an interrupted service. Videtics Perception analyses your camera feeds to flag a presence in a sensitive area and give your teams the context they need to respond.
- Existing cameras, subject to compatibility
- On-site processing
- No facial recognition
Figures reported in written question no. 19421 to the French National Assembly, published on 3 November 2026. These are complaints and estimates cited by its author, rather than a nationwide count of stations out of service. Read the source ↗
Service availability comes first
The cable is only the visible part of the cost.
Damage to a charging station involves much more than a replacement part. Protection needs to support service continuity for the operator, the site owner and the drivers who depend on it.
Repair the equipment
Parts, a technician’s visit, making the installation safe and checks before returning it to service.
Restore charging service
Unavailable charging points and an operation that needs reorganising while repairs take place.
Protect driver confidence
Drivers faced with unusable equipment, sometimes precisely when they need it most.
Build protection in layers.
Reinforced cables, access control, lighting, patrols and recorded video all have a role. Perception adds event detection and an alert with an image: useful context for a decision, alongside your physical protection measures.
From images to decisions
Detect. Verify. Act.
Someone’s presence is not evidence of theft. The aim is to flag a defined event, show the relevant team what is happening and prepare an appropriate response.
Select a stage to follow an alert through the process.
01 / Detection
Specific areas and schedules
Define the space around the charging equipment, a technical access point or a closed perimeter. Perception looks for configured object classes, such as a person or a vehicle.
02 / Verification
An image to understand the situation
The recipient receives the event context. An operator checks the situation, distinguishes normal use from an incident and decides what should happen next.
03 / Response
The right action, by the right team
Once the situation has been checked, the operator can speak remotely, activate an audible alarm, control lighting or contact the on-call team, depending on the connected equipment and your procedures. Control interfaces are qualified for each project.
04 / Review
Find, document and refine
Available events and footage help you review the incident. Access to clips, retention and export depend on your VMS, permissions and chosen configuration.
The objective is to flag an approach within a configured perimeter. Detection does not establish an intention to steal and does not guarantee an alert before every cable is cut or the outcome of an intervention.
An alert with a practical response
Detection matters. Action makes the difference.
Perception can connect to deterrence systems so that an alert leads to an action at the station. After verification, the operator has practical ways to communicate, illuminate the scene and apply your response procedures.
Perception detects
An event within a configured area.
The operator verifies
An image and an agreed procedure to support the decision.
Connected equipment responds
A command to the devices integrated into the system.
Speak to people remotely
Using the control centre’s microphone, the operator can address people through the station’s intercom and loudspeaker. A reminder of site rules or a targeted message makes the response apparent on site.
Activate an audible warning
A siren or a recorded message can be activated through the chosen supervision environment, in line with your procedures. The signal, volume and duration are defined for the site.
Switch on the lighting
Floodlights, additional lighting or a warning light can make the area more visible, support verification and provide a visible response to the event.
Bring in the right team
The control room, monitoring provider or on-call team follows the agreed procedure: verify, communicate with the site and organise an intervention when needed. Responsibilities and available actions are established in advance.
Connect the analytics to your equipment.
Integration uses the available interfaces: a VMS, hypervision platform, API or MQTT, depending on the hardware and connectors selected. Together, we qualify the complete chain, from a Perception event to successful execution of the command on site.
Keep control of every command.
You define who can activate each device, under which circumstances and for how long. Any automation is assessed with you and remains subject to the response policy approved for the project.
The pilot also measures the time between an alert, verification and the command, and checks that the audio or lighting chain works as intended. Available actions depend on the equipment and its integration; they cannot guarantee that a theft will be stopped.
Rules tailored to each station
Know what to look for. Understand the context.
Drivers may charge at any hour. Sensitive areas therefore need to be selected carefully and tested using your footage under real site conditions.
Approach within a defined area
Detect a person near the equipment during configured hours. The area must accommodate normal routes used by drivers.
Areas · people · schedulesTechnical access
Flag a virtual line crossing towards a service room, the back of the charging equipment or an area reserved for maintenance.
Virtual lines · restricted accessVehicle presence
Detect a vehicle in a defined perimeter, such as a technical access point or an aisle that needs to remain clear.
Areas · vehicle classesTemporarily closed perimeter
Activate a presence rule during a closure, works or maintenance period, according to the agreed schedule.
Scheduling · closuresSearch after an incident
Find relevant footage using Perception’s video search functions, depending on available attributes and access permissions.
Video search · contextLinking events to charging activity
Assess how a video event could be related to a charging session or a charger fault. Available data, API access and correlation logic need to be qualified with your operator.
Project-specific integrationArchitecture that supports operations
Analyse at the station. Decide in the control room.
Reuse suitable equipment, size what is missing and integrate alerts into your organisation. A small site and a motorway charging hub have different requirements.
Your cameras
Compatible ONVIF / RTSP feeds, with positioning and image quality checked.
Perception on site
A compact V-ED unit or a server sized for the chosen streams and scenarios.
Your supervision tools
VMS, hypervision platform or monitoring centre; connectors and transmitted content are defined for the project.
Your teams
Verification, on-call instructions and a shared response procedure.
Conceptual architecture. Processing capacity, networking, network separation and image transfers are assessed before deployment. Local processing does not mean that no clips will be transmitted: this depends on your supervision choices.
From a small car park to a charging network.
| Your environment | What to assess |
|---|---|
| Isolated station | Blind spots, night-time lighting, available connectivity and the on-call recipient. |
| Retail car park | Driver movements, store opening hours, technical areas and existing cameras. |
| Service area or rapid-charging hub | Number of feeds, equipment coverage, control room procedures and service continuity. |
| Multi-site network | Site priorities, common rules, local responsibilities and centralised events. |
Prove value on your own stations
Measure usefulness. Then decide how to scale.
A pilot tests the entire chain, rather than a single detection in an ideal image. We agree on decision criteria with you before starting.
Coverage
Detected events / test events performed, under an agreed protocol.
Relevance
Alerts judged useful / alerts reviewed, including the reasons for dismissal.
Responsiveness
Time between the event, receipt, verification and the decision.
Operations
Handling workload, system availability and the quality of incident reports.
Indicators to measure during the pilot. No customer result, financial benefit or detection rate is assumed.
- 01
Select
Two or three representative sites, defined areas and an authorised trial scope.
- 02
Assess
Plans, cameras, lighting, network, recipients and the legal framework.
- 03
Test
Scenarios, alert delivery, verification and response exercises.
- 04
Refine
Review useful alerts, missed events and operator workload.
- 05
Scale
Decide from the results, then roll out progressively to priority sites.
Do you operate, host or protect charging equipment?
- Charge point operators
- Motorway and service area operators
- Car parks and retailers
- Local authorities and energy bodies
- Integrators and monitoring providers
A clear scope from the outset
Protect equipment. Respect people.
The system is designed around a specific purpose, limited areas and human decisions. The absence of facial recognition does not remove the obligations that apply to images and their analysis.
No biometric identification
This project uses situation detection without facial recognition.
Local processing, controlled access
Recipients, transmitted clips, access permissions and retention are defined for your organisation.
Human verification
A person examines the alert and follows the agreed response procedure.
A prior legal assessment
Private sites, publicly accessible places and public roads involve different situations. Legal basis, formalities, information notices and any required DPIA should be assessed with your DPO and legal adviser.
For France, the CNIL explains that an ordinary video-protection authorisation does not, by itself, authorise every form of algorithmic image analysis. Deployment depends on the lawfulness of the intended use. The parliamentary question of 3 November 2026 on strategic charging stations is neither an authorisation nor an already established new status.
Read our commitments ↗Questions to ask before the pilot.
Can Perception prevent charging cable theft?
No system can guarantee this. Perception detects configured events, such as a presence in an area. An alert and human verification can help teams respond earlier, alongside physical protection and your procedures.
Do we need to replace the station’s cameras?
Not necessarily. Compatible feeds and well-positioned cameras can be reused. The assessment checks coverage, resolution, night-time conditions and the processing hardware required.
How do you account for drivers charging at night?
We start with precisely defined areas and schedules, then test normal use during the pilot. Alert relevance is measured and the rules are adjusted. A person’s presence alone is not enough to establish theft.
Who receives the alerts, and what images are available?
The recipient may be your control room, an on-call team or a monitoring centre. VMS or hypervision platform delivery, the associated image and accessible clips depend on the connectors and approved configuration.
Can the analytics be linked to charger events?
This is an integration scenario to assess with the operator: charging data availability, API access, time synchronisation and correlation logic. Someone without a charging session should not automatically be considered a thief.
Can a microphone, siren or lighting system be connected?
Yes. The operator’s microphone supports speech through the station’s intercom and loudspeaker; a siren, audio message or lighting can complement the response. Control is integrated through available VMS, hypervision platform or device interfaces. Connectors, command permissions and any automation are qualified for your project.
Is this permitted at a publicly accessible charging station?
The answer depends on the site, camera coverage, purpose and intended processing. Video recording and algorithmic analysis need separate assessment with the DPO and a competent legal adviser. The absence of biometrics does not provide general authorisation.
How many cameras are needed, and how long does deployment take?
Stream numbers, the processing unit or server and the schedule are established after assessment. They depend on the site layout, existing equipment, network, integrations and required formalities. No uniform deployment time is stated before that assessment.
Your network, your footage, your criteria
Start with your most exposed stations.
A site plan, a few camera views and your on-call arrangements are enough to start the discussion. Let’s build a pilot that measures value for your operation.
Discuss my projectVidetics, a Technis company · AI developed in France · No facial recognition
Sources and context
- French National Assembly · Written question no. 19421, published on 3 November 2026 ↗
- CNIL · Augmented cameras in public spaces: position and points to consider ↗
Sources consulted and page prepared on 6 November 2026. The figures describe the survey cited in the parliamentary question, not a Videtics customer result.