Video analytics: Why organizations should crave for it?

Published January 29, 2019   |   

Video analytics has become the need of an hour as the technology has progressed, offering various applications in terms of security, monitoring, and motion sensing. Along with offering a better view of what is happening, video analysis has begun providing practical and robust solutions to real-world problems. The surveillance challenges can be addressed with a collection of entire data with accuracy and consistency.

There are new ways in which video analytics will provide advantages over the conventional security systems. It has become a valuable asset for organizations. These systems would offer a better return on investment (ROI) as they are applied across the organizations as compared to current systems. Many businesses have realized the importance of deploying video analytics systems for various applications.

According to the research firm Allied Market Research, the global video analytics market is expected to reach $13.38 billion by 2023, growing at a CAGR of 25.7% from 2017 to 2023. There are certain advantages that would improve the security of organizations and locations to become a valuable part of the business:

Facial recognition

This feature enables identification of individuals in the real-time through a cross-reference of unique characteristics of individuals from public and private databases. Moreover, it can be used for identification of criminals trying to escape from a particular place. Cheaters at the casino, shoplifters at shopping malls, and others can be determined with the application of this feature. In addition, this technology can be implemented to detect high profile people who need to be given VIP attention at various places. Some of the faces can be matched with those in the database and special attention and treatment can be given to people once they are identified and spotted. This feature helps in avoiding chaos and preventing uncertainty at public places.

Heat mapping

This feature enables the measurement of motion in an image and edits that image by recoloring for determining the motion in a particular area. This would help in making effective business decisions based on the data offered. For instance, the flow of people entering a shopping mall can be determined through heat mapping. Moreover, it can be used to determine the area in which there is the most customer involvement. Shop owners can also gain information regarding the days and times of the day when the shopping is done in high volumes. This feature would help owners in making the calculated decisions based on product sales and personnel allocation.

Intrusion detection

This feature allows organizations to detect intruders who attempt to climb over the fence or other facilities. The virtual line is created along the perimeter of the physical area and if any person or an object tries to cross the line, it will notify security personnel about the intrusion. The video analytics system will alert the security team regarding suspicious activities taking place in real time and the team will allocate the resources accordingly for a prompt response. In addition to detection capabilities, these virtual lines can be implemented at different locations in warehouses or manufacturing plants to alert employees about the time at which some materials or people crossed the work zone areas.

People counting

This feature counts the number of people passing or exiting the area. It offers the real-time count of people. This feature is effective at sports and entertainment venues for management of staffs and security personnel based on the number of people present at particular locations such as entry or exit points, ticketing areas, and others. If people gather at a particular point in huge amount, the arrangements to manage them can be made instantly. This will prevent mishaps or chaos in advance.

Motion detection

This video analytics feature will offer security personnel an advantage to secure precious things. For instance, if there is a statue, and people try to get closer or pass into the restricted area, this will alert security personnel to take necessary action. The security team can set up any zone or area of any shape or size under surveillance. The motion under the area of surveillance will give an alert and the movements outside the area can be ignored. This will help in the prevention of theft or damage to the properties. This feature can be utilized for protecting homes from theft.

Occupancy estimation

This feature helps in determining how many people are present at a particular location of the venue. This data will help in better management of the available space, planning the staff, and manage the lighting or temperature conditions. Whether it is the location of the concert, office building, or a mall, event planners can determine the ways in which space can be utilized optimally. In case of emergency, the most appropriate response can be determined based on the data. Furthermore, the data of few days or months will provide the insights, based on which, the appropriate arrangements can be made for the events.

As technology has advanced, the conventional video analytics systems have upgraded. These systems are no longer expensive or luxurious part of an organization. Moreover, there is no need for huge processors. The systems have become more powerful and smarter as compared to the conventional systems. The cost required to employ a video analytics system in a camera is less.

Artificial intelligence (AI) algorithms have been implemented to enhance accuracy for classification and detection of various objects and people in different ways. New technologies have been bringing different functionalities and offering various advantages. For instance, edge analytics eliminates the need for bringing server hardware on the site. Many basic functions are offered on the edge.

The analytics functions are related to the camera hardware and this makes it difficult to upgrade with new and improved analytics functions. As server-based analytics functions are used, upgrading server hardware becomes easy. The predictive analytics functions are in the development phase and more work needs to be done to get the required results. Nonetheless, the implementation of video analytics is gaining prominence across the world in different organizations for security and surveillance purposes.