Alex Popof ‘10, CEO and founder of Visual Labs, demonstrated the company’s body-worn cameras that officers from the Fontana Police Department use at a press conference Tuesday.
Following the presentations, guests had the chance to try on the cameras to experience the technology.
A typical body camera allows a police officer to record and store video that can be downloaded at a later time. Visual Labs’ software allows any Android smartphone to act as a fully-functioning body-worn camera, Popof said.
The Fontana Police Department purchased the cameras from Visual Labs after reviewing the technology for two years. The software acts as a digital camera and a voice recorder, which gives employees more versatility, according to a Fontana Police Department media advisory.
“Due to the internet connectivity of phones, supervisors can use our website to remotely turn on cameras and view live video streams should the need arise, such as in an active shooter situation,” Popof said.
While at Harvard Westlake, Popof participated in programming and won both the computer science and economics awards as a senior.
“After hearing he was majoring in computer science at Stanford, I thought he might one day become a software engineer or CTO [chief technology officer],” Popof’s programming teacher Jessica Kaufman said. “I did not predict he would start his own company and become a CEO in his early 20s. I am thrilled to hear [Popof] is doing well and am incredibly grateful he continues to stay in touch with [Harvard-Westlake].”
Popof said he is grateful for the knowledge he gained at Harvard-Westlake that has helped him later in his career.
“Life as an entrepreneur requires a lot of focus, time management, and prioritization,” Popof said. “Spending four years in a challenging environment like Harvard-Westlake helped build the fortitude to take on challenges and deliver high quality work to our customers. In today’s world, the stakes are high when it comes to public safety and security, so it is always important to be on top of your game, just as I had to be each day at Harvard-Westlake.”
