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BEING SMART WITH ANALYTICS
Q: I am increasingly seeing scenes such as this being presented by companies who offer video analytics. Under the cover of night, a man stealthily approaches a large military facility. As he nears the perimeter fence, his image appears on a monitor in the security office and an alarm is triggered. Within minutes, he is picked up by military police for questioning. Can you explain this trend in intelligent video?
A: Sophisticated software analyzed video from infrared cameras covering the perimeter and noticed the man's motion. This software, which comprises the hot new technology known as intelligent video or video analytics, is becoming a major part of many new security installations. Two years ago, there were only three or four providers of intelligent video software. Today, there are at least 20 companies offering products built into a camera, an edge encoder, a DVR, an NVR or a standalone box.
Intelligent video relies on complex algorithms that sort through the constant stream of video. These algorithms are highly complicated and while you do not have to concern yourself with how they work exactly, there are a number of things to be aware of when adding video analytics to a video surveillance system.
For the software to be most effective, it is vital that the input be of the highest quality. Utilize cameras with wide dynamic range, high resolution and good optics.
Placement of those cameras is also critical. It requires more cameras be placed in areas where you would not normally think of placing them.
The environment and lighting conditions found in outdoor applications also make setup more difficult than an indoor job. Clouds, wind-blown tree branches—even car lights—can pose a challenge to the installing system integrator. It can take a lot of fine-tuning to achieve reliable performance.
Also, it is important to take into consideration what the software will be expected to analyze. Some intelligent video software requires more than 100 pixels to track and display an object. Other software can do so with as few as four pixels. That difference may be important to the end user.
The amount of video that the average mid-sized or large corporation collects is massive. Making sense of it all can take a major effort. Intelligent video software offers a way to make better use of this valuable data by automatically analyzing it and noting user-defined alarm situations. Object tracking, people counting, facial and license plate recognition, and more, are all possible with intelligent video software.
There is no doubt that the technology has arrived and will only grow in importance to the industry. As costs drop and product features are added and refined, intelligent video will find its way into smaller installations outside of the government and large corporations.
New and more complicated technologies such as intelligent video offer a chance for a systems dealer integrator to show how smart you are. An informed integrator can answer clients' questions and help select the best products to make a successful transition to this new video technology.
RON WAXMAN is president and chief operating officer of Frisco Bay Industries, a 37-year-old Canadian based security integration firm. Frisco Bay, with offices from coast-to-coast in Canada, specializes in the design, furnishing and servicing of integrated security systems to the Fortune 500. Waxman is also a longstanding member of SecurityNet, a group of independent security system integrators chartered in 1991.
author: By Ron Waxman