AI VQC

SECURITY AND IT

Designed for the plant network, not the cloud.

Information for IT departments and supplier assessments: which connections AIVQC makes, where the data is, who can access what, how the system updates and how to report a vulnerability.

AIVQC runs on the plant network: the model is built on engineers' computers, publishing goes through a local Server, and the decision is made at the station by the line. The system needs no cloud and no inbound connections from the Internet, and losing Internet access does not stop inspection.

Below is what IT departments and supplier assessors usually ask about — including under NIS2. If your company has its own supplier security questionnaire, send it to us — we will answer it before the pilot.

01

No ports open to the Internet

Communication over HTTPS on the local network. The only outside connection is optional and outbound only.

02

Data stays in the plant

Images, datasets and models are not sent to AIVQC — neither during training nor during inspection.

03

Separate identities and roles

Trainer, each station and the administrator have their own credentials, and operator, technician and expert have different permissions.

04

Signed releases

The installer, container images and updates are signed, and a backup is made before every change.

CONNECTIONS

Every connection in one table.

AIVQC components talk to each other on the local network. The Server port is not exposed to the Internet, and the only connection outside the plant — to the AIVQC Relay service — is optional and outbound: Relay never connects into your network.

ConnectionProtocolWhat it carries
Trainer ↔ ServerHTTPS, local networkVerified model packages, station registration, collecting images sent from stations
Production ↔ ServerHTTPS, local networkAssigned packages, activation confirmations, reports, selected training images, a copy of station settings
Camera → ProductionDirectly to the computer or RTSP / HTTPThe image analysed at the station
Production ↔ PLCModbus TCPTrigger, line running, reject, heartbeat, ready
Server → AIVQC RelayEncrypted, outbound only, optionalLicence and signed updates — no images, datasets or models

A plant without Internet access activates and reports status with files, on removable media.

DATA

Where your data lives.

Production images, datasets and models stay on the plant's computers — AIVQC as a company does not receive them. You set how long history and images are kept at the station.

  • Server is not a permanent image store: images from the line wait there only until they are imported into Trainer.
  • Station records survive restarts and power loss, and a storage limit keeps the disk from filling up.
  • Error reports from the applications go to your own Server with filtered logs; only the administrator can access them.
  • Frame the camera so it sees only the product — images showing people, badges or documents should not go into training.
LocationWhat it stores
Trainer computerProjects, images and videos, annotations, frozen dataset versions, models and evaluation results; training can also run on a GPU worker on the local network
AIVQC ServerSQLite database with publishing history, confirmations and reports, packages on their way to stations, and the Server identity
Production stationActive and previous recipe, local inspection history with NOK images, station settings
AIVQCLicence and activation data — no images, datasets or models

ACCESS

Everyone has their own key and only the permissions they need.

Trainer, each Production station and the administrator have separate identities. A station cannot see another line's packages, and nobody outside the list can publish a model to production — even with access to the plant network.

  • A station connects with a one-time code, and the Server certificate fingerprint is compared before confirming.
  • Permanent credentials go straight into the application and are stored in Windows Credential Manager. Trainer never receives them.
  • Revoke a package or disconnect a station with one command, recorded in the history.
  • Limits on requests, package size and disk space protect Server from accidental or deliberate overload.
  • At the station everyone has their own account — the operator signs in with a PIN, technician and expert with a password — and the history shows who ran each inspection.
Station rolePermissions
OperatorInspection, recipe selection, shift and batch, history view; threshold changes only with expert approval
TechnicianAs operator plus settings, threshold adjustment within the allowed range and collecting images for training
ExpertEverything, including free threshold changes, operator permissions, local accounts and station supervision

UPDATES AND BACKUPS

Signed releases, a backup before every change.

Every AIVQC release is signed, and updates never interrupt inspection. You decide whether they install automatically in a maintenance window or wait for approval.

  • The Server installer and container images (x86 and ARM) are cryptographically signed — the installer checks that you run exactly the released version.
  • The container runs read-only and keeps its data in a single directory.
  • Automatic updates in a maintenance window with a backup before the change and rollback to the previous version — or only after approval, or with a notification only.
  • A station never installs updates during inspection, and a new recipe never switches mid-cycle.
  • Daily encrypted Server backups with a recovery key and retention period, and restore from the configuration page.
  • Station settings are copied to Server after every change — on a replacement computer you restore them in a few clicks.
  • Health probes (alive / ready) for the monitoring you already have in the plant.

CONTINUITY

Your line does not depend on us.

Inspection and publishing run on the plant network, also without Internet access. If the connection to Server is lost, the station keeps working on the last verified recipe and stored activation, and results and reports wait in a local queue.

We also commit to the worst-case scenario: if AIVQC goes out of business, it will keep receiving security updates for at least 2 years and licences will be made perpetual.

  • Activation can be done entirely offline — with a request file and a response file.
  • A licence change never alters the result of an inspection in progress, and the station reminds you ahead of a licence ending.
  • Images, datasets, models and inspection history are on your computers, and models are stored in the open ONNX format.

SUPPLIER ASSESSMENT

A security questionnaire? We will answer it.

If your company assesses suppliers — for example under NIS2 or with questions based on IEC 62443 — send us the questionnaire through the contact form. We will answer the IT department's questions before the pilot.

The most common questions on security, data and compliance are in the FAQ, and why images do not have to leave the plant is covered in a separate article.

  • Product quality inspection is, as a rule, not a high-risk AI system, and AIVQC is not a machine safety device — more in the FAQ.
  • The camera looks at the product, and you keep images in your own infrastructure — monitoring and GDPR in the FAQ.

VULNERABILITY REPORTING

Found a vulnerability? Let us know.

We accept security reports at security@aivqc.com — in English or Polish. We will acknowledge your report, keep you updated on progress and ship the fix as a signed update.

  • Describe the component and version (Trainer, Server, Local Server, Production or aivqc.com), the impact and the steps to reproduce the issue.
  • Do not disclose the vulnerability publicly until a fix is available — we will agree on a publication date together.
  • Do not test against other people's installations or production data without their owner's permission.
  • Contact details are also in security.txt.

FAQ

IT department questions

More questions in the FAQ →
Do my images have to go to the cloud?+

No. Training runs on your own computers, and image analysis runs at the AIVQC Production station. Inspection and package publishing work on the plant network, also without Internet access. More in Why production images do not have to leave the plant.

What does the IT department need to know and prepare?+

Server runs as a Docker container on an existing server, NAS or Windows computer, and at a small site as a service on the Trainer computer. It needs no ports open from the Internet — it runs over HTTPS on the local network. Trainer, each station and the administrator have separate identities and roles. Server makes daily encrypted backups and updates in a maintenance window with the option to roll back. The optional connection to AIVQC Relay is outbound only and is used for the licence and signed updates; without it you activate offline. The full description of connections, data and roles is on the Security and IT page.

Is the inspection camera a form of employee monitoring?+

The AIVQC camera looks at the product, not at people — ideally frame it so that only the part is in the image. Images showing people, badges or documents should not go into the training set and should be deleted. If people regularly appear in the frame, include the camera in the plant's video-monitoring rules (employment law, GDPR). Images stay in your infrastructure, which makes them easier to control.

What if we lose the connection to AIVQC or to our Server?+

Inspection does not depend on our cloud. The Production station uses the last locally stored, verified version and keeps running even without a connection to Server — only downloading new versions is lost. Images, datasets, models and inspection history are on your computers, not ours, and activation can be done offline. Details on the Security and IT page.

What if AIVQC goes out of business?+

Your line keeps running. We commit that in that case AIVQC will keep receiving security updates for at least 2 years and licences will be made perpetual. Images, datasets, models and inspection history are on your computers, and models are stored in the open ONNX format.

Is AIVQC a high-risk AI system under the AI Act?+

Product quality inspection is, as a rule, not a safety component, and it is a safety function in a product covered by EU harmonisation legislation that determines high risk. AIVQC is not a safety device — the PLC program decides whether to stop the line. If you inspect parts that are critical to people's safety, assess the classification individually with a lawyer. This answer is not legal advice.

How does AIVQC help in a quality audit such as IATF 16949?+

It provides the data an auditor asks for: validation results on an independent test set, inspection history with images, and which model, recipe and configuration were responsible for each result. The procedures the standards require — measurement system analysis for OK/NOK judgements or checking error-proofing with a master part at the start of a shift — are organised by the plant, and AIVQC supplies the records and images for them.

AIVQC PILOT

Try it on your own line.

Start with a 30-day pilot on one station and see the result on images of your own product before you decide on deployment.

Have a quality engineer and IT staff? Your own team can deploy AIVQC — you pay for a licence, not for integrator hours. Sign up for the beta →

  • 1 Trainer · 1 station
  • Up to 3 defect classes
  • 30 days + free extension
  • No cloud
Join the pilot →Deploying with your own team