Artificial intelligence for security camera systems
In years of economic recession, the level of property crime tends to grow rapidly. If you are concerned with safeguarding the well-being of your employees and protecting your property, then installing systems to enhance security may be a smart move. Theft and fraud cost American businesses more than $ 40 billion a year.
The use of security surveillance has become widespread as more people want to protect themselves from harm. A 2007 ABC News / Washington Post poll found that 71 percent of Americans favor increased video surveillance. Already in the United States, there are more than 30 million surveillance cameras that shoot more than 4 billion hours of video recording each week.
When planning a security camera system, you need to ask yourself: what is the goal? Do we want a video log so that it can be reviewed in the event of an anomaly, or do we want the ability to react in real time (to an ongoing event)? Any of the objectives can be achieved, but the system will have to be more sophisticated if the objective is to react in real time.
Mounting video cameras is cheap, but funding human resources to observe the result is expensive. Like many problems, the solution may be computer technology. Computers can’t do the job themselves, but they can analyze the images and automatically alert a human operator to any suspicious events.
“It is impossible for mere mortals with eyes and brains to process all the information we are collecting,” says Stephen Russell, CEO of 3VR.
The progress of artificial intelligence (AI) techniques has been largely driven by our efforts to combat terrorism. This technology is called “Video analysis”. Facial recognition software is already in use in hotels, banks, airports, etc. This software is far from perfect, but it is a “force multiplier”, that is, instead of 100 humans monitoring 20 video screens each, the computer software screens for suspicious behavior, and a single human can monitor 2000 cameras. The system can be integrated with the Internet, so that the human being does not need to be on the site.
The technology used by Homeland Security is leaking into the systems used to monitor businesses. It is a much easier task for the software to detect suspicious activity at a loading dock or warehouse during a period when it should be idle than it is to determine suspicious activity in a busy environment.
Formerly dominated by burglar alarm companies and camera experts, the field of video surveillance is fast becoming an industry of information technology integrators, who can offer a more sophisticated approach. Revenue generated by surveillance software is projected to increase from $ 245 million last year (2008) to more than $ 900 million in 2013, according to a report by ABI Research.
It is important that we are realistic with our expectations of video analytics. Computers have limited visual intelligence and can perform some video analytics functions reliably, but only by restricting the application. Computers are good at locating possible events and humans are good at validating those events.