Years ago, security officers would stare at a bank of monitors with tens or even hundreds of images on the screens, waiting to notice unauthorized behavior. Most officers could only pay close attention for a few minutes until they became distracted or stopped paying close attention.
As more and more cameras populated the interior and exterior walls of buildings to the point where an operator couldn’t watch all the cameras, motion-based alarm call-up became the standard in video surveillance. This allowed security officers to only view cameras where motion was occurring.
Then, even more cameras were deployed over time, rendering simple motion-based camera call-up to become impossible to monitor as well.
Enter modern-day video analytics.
Video analytics is an often-confused term. In the physical security space, it refers to the automated process of a security camera viewing a scene and that same video being analyzed, within the camera or by a computer server, to determine if specific behaviors or subjects exist within that scene as it changes.
Pre-determined rules are pre-programmed into the analytics engine for each camera. Parameters for the camera must be entered into the system as well that indicate camera mounting height, tilt, roll, and other camera placement information. This helps the analytics to determine the appropriate size of common objects in the scene that camera sees. For example, a human will take up more pixels in the scene if the camera is closer to the ground as opposed to being mounted at the top of a building.
Common analytics rules include:
Once the video analytics-enabled system is operational, the analytics engine examines the data in every captured frame of video from each camera to determine if any pre-determined rules have been met. For example, if the system is looking for a loitering subject in a specific area, the analytics will crunch the data in every frame of video until all the parameters have been met to include an object of sufficient size or type present in a specific region of the image for a specified amount of time.
Once a set of pre-determined parameters has been met, the system will cause an action to occur. This can mean that a specific camera is brought to the attention of the security system operator or that lights may be turned on at night in that area. Even audio messages may be triggered, warning a potential intruder that he is being watched and that authorities are on the way to his location.
Video analytics not only allows security officers to view the most relevant threats, it also allows automated actions to occur faster than the officer could possibly act. Likewise, it allows organizations to use more cameras in a smart manner, thus enabling a higher level of security and safety for employees and visitors.
Video analytics can be a complicated technology to explain, demonstrate, design, and implement. The implementation of the technology varies from manufacturer to manufacturer. Some implementations are more robust than others. Lighting and environmental conditions impact performance. And expectations must be set and managed very clearly.
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