In our blog, we have demonstrably argued for some benefits
and application of the Video Analytics technology. For successful application
of Video Analytics however, empirical evidence shows that several critical
factors that need to be taken into account. According to Aimetis, a video security and surveillance
management company, lists environmental factors and computational factors as
the key determinants of a successful use of Video Analytics. Among others, camera
angel, weather conditions, background lightning levels can all impact the video
analytics algorithms. In addition, computational factors such as processing
power of the recorded segments, resolution and frame rate as well as storage capacity
all play a vita role in the final delivered value to clients using a Video Analytics
service. Nonetheless Aimetis also states that: ”repeat occurrences of false
alarms, combined with undetected events, can significantly deter end users from
using video analytics”.
With regards to previous application of Video Analytics, the
absence of sophisticated processing hardware, autonomous and intelligent camera
that can track movement transformed today’s application of Video Analytics to a
more conventional and labor intensive practice. For example, in a secure environment
using cameras, previous practice would require a classic situation room, with
security personnel to monitor and judge the video content. While Video Analytics
does rationalize some of the costs, the benefits of Video Analytics is still in
continuous development. Environmental factors described above are difficult to control
while cost of processing and detecting desired result from video analytics could
equally depend on the funds a company is ready to invest in the technology and
devise how such cost can offset conventional video surveillance methods
described above.
However, as the world continues to move toward an ever more
sophisticated information society, the development and forceful implementation of
Video Analytics Technology is here to stay and keep evolving toward higher value
and delivered results for its clients.
Video Analytics: Big Brother IS watching
Tuesday, May 21, 2013
Friday, May 17, 2013
How far can we go? (Video analytics vs. privacy week)
The application video analytics is perhaps most
often associated with is security. For some, security is the ultimate
goal, the only true value. But for others, improvements in security have to be
weighed against other values, such as privacy. As video analytics becomes
everyday and common, societies will eventually have to take a stand towards how
far can we go? When does automatic video surveillance, face recognition etc.
become intrusive? Should the surveillance data be stored? Who has access to it?
What should it be used for? Many questions remain unanswered, and it’s hardly
surprising that security companies and civil rights groups are at odds here. In
any case, the discussion that will take place during the next few years will be
very interesting and will shape the society of the future. Technology will
eventually enable absolute connectivity that will make our lives easier and
mostly better. On the other hand, this can result in almost total loss of
privacy. Finding a balance is likely to prove to be a tricky task.
How about privacy?
Our theme of the week: Video analytics and individual privacy
Here are two critical views on the topic, more to follow.
Tuesday, May 7, 2013
Let The Boston Tragedy Be The Last
The Boston Marathon Bombing left a scar in the hearts and minds of the people and reminded us that we live in a world where death might be just around the corner.
As already mentioned in the earlier posts, Video analaytics is a tool that is widely used for security purposes. In the case of the recent bombings, Video analytics was used in the investigation process to identify the suspects and locate the origin of the blasts.
The main point of this post is not to praise video analytics that helped capture the suspects in a manner of days.
With the use of video analytics we have a chance at preventing such event from happening.
Experts suggests that VA can be used to identify unattended belonging as was the case in Boston.
Let’s hope that the speed of VA development is faster than the speed of potential terrorists using new technology to unleash a reign of terror again.
Wednesday, May 1, 2013
How Intelligent Video Analytics (IVA) is changing video surveillance
Video Surveillance has been used as a
security tool for a long time. The idea of having a control room from where
guards or operators could watch what was happening at different places at the
same time made patrolling activities cheaper and more comprehensive. With time,
more and more cameras (and monitors) started being used in order to ensure that
every inch of a building or an area was being covered by the system. However,
the vast amount of images generated made it complex to manage all that
information. As it became increasingly harder for humans to deal with such high
quantities of different images in different screens at the same time, machine
intelligence then was introduced to facilitate data management. The newest
thing today is the use of Intelligent Video Analytics (IVA) to help in real
time event detection and also in post event analysis. These might include motion
and intrusion detection, asset protection, pinpoint an event in recorded video,
etc. This technology helps to increase productivity and efficiency of video
surveillance systems and the people who monitor them, focusing on automating
video analysis and security alerts, therefore reducing the need for manual work
and also decreasing monitoring costs.
IVA is becoming a vital component in the
growing surveillance systems industry and it is projected to be the most
important technology segment of that sector. The IVA market is expected to grow
to $867.8 million by 2017, according to some studies.
Check out the videos below to see a IVA system working.
Saturday, April 27, 2013
Shopping for diapers or condoms?
A strong litmus test for
shoppers: Do you enjoy the small walk from one escalator to another while shopping
in a store? If yes, you are the ‘I don’t wanna miss anything’ kind of shopper.
If no, you are the ‘I need to finish my shopping list’ kind of shopper. Shopper
you are, in any case.
However, identifying these
little subtleties in consumer behavior can be of great value to retailers. And
that’s why stores are extensively using video analytics to unlock information
on customer patterns, trends and behaviors.
Let’s say a store positions diapers
next to condoms. Through video analytics, retailers can identify consumer
behavior in terms of how long customers take to decide before making their
purchase, whether they make the purchase with/without kids, the speed with
which they walk through each section, their gender and their age.
Not only that, based on the
volume of traffic entering the store, retailers can be alerted of the need to
open additional tills proactively before queues start to form. Also, by
counting the number of people in each part of the store, video analytics can locate
‘hot zones’ – those with the most customer activity – to help maximise in-store
promotional campaigns, and identify ‘cold zones’ to determine how store layout
changes can improve customer traffic flow.
So next time you visit
your local store that suddenly has positioned diet products next to swim wear, there
is a good chance that they know you are trying to lose weight for your vacation to Ibiza this summer!
Saturday, April 20, 2013
I was Busted by Video Analytics
Recently I went on a roadtrip with some friends to south Spain. We rented a car for a few days, went down to Sierra Nevada for some nice skiing, and returned the car in Madrid happy that in over 700 Kms. driven we hadnt gotten pulled over by police. Talk about celebrating too early....
SURPRISE SURPRISE, 3 weeks later a 100 euro speeding ticket arrived in my mailbox.
Those damn traffic cameras (see one below)!
I had forgotten that with Video Analytcs technology you dont need to get pulled over by a police car to get a ticket!!!
Video Analytics software is allowing municipal governments around the world handout tickets to speeding drivers without any police intervention. The software continuously scans the video being shot by the cameras when it detects a vehicle is passing, it uses an algorithim to determine the vehicle's speed, and if they are speeding, it will snap a shot of the vehicle's license plate and trasmit the data for the ticket to be issued. All in all the ticket arrived in less than 2 weeks after the incident! As you can see the camera got a nice shot of my rent a car and included the details of my speed, time and place where i got caught, pretty impressive!
So i learned my lesson the hardway, video analytics does work and now i know to stay at or below the speed limit even if there are no police in sight!
In addition to being used for detecting speeding drivers, video analytics is also used to detect vehicles going the wrong way, drivers that burn red lights or are parked incorrectly and to provide statistics on traffic patterns.
To see more on how video analytics is assisting with Traffic Management please follow this link:
http://www.traficon.com/page.jsp?ref=principles&id=8&parentId=3
SURPRISE SURPRISE, 3 weeks later a 100 euro speeding ticket arrived in my mailbox.
Those damn traffic cameras (see one below)!
I had forgotten that with Video Analytcs technology you dont need to get pulled over by a police car to get a ticket!!!
Video Analytics software is allowing municipal governments around the world handout tickets to speeding drivers without any police intervention. The software continuously scans the video being shot by the cameras when it detects a vehicle is passing, it uses an algorithim to determine the vehicle's speed, and if they are speeding, it will snap a shot of the vehicle's license plate and trasmit the data for the ticket to be issued. All in all the ticket arrived in less than 2 weeks after the incident! As you can see the camera got a nice shot of my rent a car and included the details of my speed, time and place where i got caught, pretty impressive!
So i learned my lesson the hardway, video analytics does work and now i know to stay at or below the speed limit even if there are no police in sight!
In addition to being used for detecting speeding drivers, video analytics is also used to detect vehicles going the wrong way, drivers that burn red lights or are parked incorrectly and to provide statistics on traffic patterns.
To see more on how video analytics is assisting with Traffic Management please follow this link:
http://www.traficon.com/page.jsp?ref=principles&id=8&parentId=3
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