Video Analytics - The Future?

There's a lot of chatter about video analytics, that revolutionary security camera feature that will change CCTV and IP surveillance as we know it. But how does video analytics actually work? What actually can a camera with video analytics do?

Video analytics systems consist of cameras programmed with specific analytics software. Algorithms in each piece of analytics software analyze a security camera's footage pixel-by-pixel for certain specific features (e.g. facial recognition, motion detection, etc). Ultimately, the completed security system is composed of layers of different video analytics algorithms. This hodgepodge construction means that unlike other security cameras, IP cameras with video analytics are completely customizable.

An analytics system works much like a standard IP security camera system. Wireless digital IP cameras would be configured and networked together, all transmitting their footage back to a main control room. Footage would be broadcast over a computer, and recorded onto a digital video recorder (DVR) or a network video recorder (NVR). However, when the algorithms in the surveillance camera detect a certain characteristic or action, the cameras or the security software notify an operator who can investigate the situation further. In non-analytics systems, footage must be constantly monitored for suspicious behaviors. This difference is key, and circumvents a crucial problem with security camera monitoring - short attention spans of security guards.

Let's say you manage a large water treatment plant. Your see your main threat as an attack or infiltration on your storage tanks . A large amount of poison or other insidious chemical in a water supply could spell disaster for a local population. Your security guards do a good job, but you want to bring more flexibility to their job and make your whole facility more secure. Replacing your old analog CCTV system with IP cameras enabled with video analytics could afford you many secure advantages. A camera with video analytics enabled with motion detection capabilities with a built-in notification feature could notify your security guards when the camera detects a presence near a certain area. Instead of having to watch the cameras constantly, this would allow security guards to perform foot patrols and do other duties.

An analytics camera could also help with your filtration process. Many industrial processes are delicately balanced and require precision in their execution in order to maintain safety and produce a quality product. Video analytics cameras can be programmed with a time tracking feature, which could monitor the amount of time that water or sewage is in a certain stage of processing. The possibilities are endless.

One area where video analytics promises to extremely popular is airport security. Airports must screen thousands of people each day for threats of terrorism or violence. Security cameras enabled with analytics algorithms that identify known supsicious behaviors could be used in conjunction with human security guards to extend the security dragnet and prevent any suspicious party from entering a terminal, baggage area, or tarmack. Busy airports around the world are already starting to use rudimentary video analytics programs to help enhance their existing security systems.

Analytics' versatile capabilities are being touted as security solutions for almost every industry. Indeed, if the predictions are true, the widespread use video analytics will be an industry-changing advance that could revolutionize security as we know it. Time and technology are analytics' sole predictors, and the passage of both will reveal video analytics' true potential.