As with most things, the only sure thing is change. The surveillance industry is no exception. When we look back 10 to 15 years, a simple CCTV (Closed-circuit television) system was all you needed to bring peace of mind to your business. As we have evolved, so have our surveillance and security needs.
Advanced Video Analytics Systems
You have video cameras and video recordings, but now what do you do with it? This is where advanced video analytics systems come into play.
Advanced video analytics systems are one of the factors that lead to exponential growth in the surveillance industry. Video analytics are based on computer algorithms and are set up to automatically recognize certain things. By automatically analyzing the video feeds from the cameras it is connected to, video analytics saves organizations money by reducing the number of cameras needed to surveil the same area and frees up staff from having to sit in front of the feed to watch it.
Organizations may use video analytics for several purposes, from security surveillance to people counting. The video analytics system interprets employee and shopper behavior, generating alarms and warnings when necessary. These systems can let stores know when to check out lines are building up and an extra cashier is needed. Transportation systems can use video analytics to adjust traffic light control systems to ease traffic and mitigate the chance of traffic jams. Organizations may also use video analytics from a marketing perspective, determining where to best place items by analyzing where which types of customers tend to go in the store.
Improved Motion Detectors
Motion detectors are no secret, they have been around for years. Motion detectors have been evolving by leaps and bounds over recent years. In the commercial realm, these improvements include non-visual motion detectors.
One of the more common non-visual motion detectors is radar and sound detection technology. Radar detectors work a lot like radar systems on a submarine work by emitting ultrasonic sound waves. These motion detectors will trigger an alarm or notification when they detect interference.
Apps
It seems like there is an app for just about everything in today’s market. Over the past decade, apps have also come to the security industry. Now, you’re not able to log in to the app store and download these apps. Security companies tend to have company-specific apps. These apps enable personnel to guard, monitor, report, and track any suspicious activity. Similar to your ring doorbell app, many security apps let you watch the feeds on your by streaming camera feeds through the app. The apps also enable quick communication in case of an incident.
Camera Improvements
There have been many improvements and advances made to cameras over the last decade. For starters, cameras can now pick up the true color at night by absorbing much more visible light from low-lit conditions. True color at night allows you to see much more detail from the camera feed at night, enabling you may identify details.
Gaining a new aspect of importance in 2020 and beyond is thermal imaging from security cameras, allowing you to detect the surface temperature of objects and people. In 2020, the global Covid-19 pandemic hit, which often presented with a fever. As the world began to open back up, you often had to have your temperature scanned to enter buildings, events, and more. Thermal cameras allow you to scan the temperature of everything in the surveillance field, including people, adding an extra sense of security.
Facial Recognition
Facial recognition has come a long way over the past decade. You may be used to it as a means to unlock your phone or sort your pictures on Facebook. You also see it on your phone when it identifies faces in photos. However, facial recognition is one of the most powerful surveillance tools available. Some security cameras even afford the user the ability to create a local database of faces that visit the organization regularly; when the camera captures a face, it can determine if they are meant to be there or not.
A.I.
Have you heard of “deep learning?” Deep learning is a type of machine learning and artificial intelligence (A.I.) that is similar to the neural networks humans use to gain knowledge. Deep learning has driven advancements in many areas across the board. In regards to video surveillance, deep learning has a large impact on analytics by improving the accuracy and understanding of the video.
Predictive Analytics
Along with deep learning, predictive analytics is advancing and bringing value to the surveillance industry. According to IBM, “Predictive analytics is a branch of advanced analytics that makes predictions about future outcomes using historical data combined with statistical modeling, data mining techniques, and machine learning. Companies employ predictive analytics to find patterns in this data to identify risks and opportunities.”
Predictive analytics help make organizations more secure by making their systems more intelligent and accurate.