Page 56 - Security Today, August 2017

Securing the City
How a new generation of video analytics is empowering the next generation of superheroes
BIy Gregg Rowland
t happens every day. In the blink of an eye, a car accident can happen, gunshots go off, or an innocent bystander is assaulted. Thanks to the brave women and men who don their uniforms every day and put everything on the line to protect and serve the public, we can all worry a little less about the dangers of the
world. But while these people are superheroes in their own right, they don’t possess superhuman capabilities—at least not yet, anyway.
Thanks to new advancements in video analytics technology and powerful Internet of Things (IoT) edge devices; these superheroes can now be armed with new superhuman capabilities to better protect us.
The Journey to a Smarter City
Sight is one of our first lines of defense and awareness is key. We look both ways before we cross the street. We avoid nefarious or aggres- sive-looking strangers. We keep a vigilant watch on those we care for when we’re out in public.
But our ability to leverage sight to keep us safe is limited.
When a crisis occurs, we must rely on our memories and limited field of vision to piece together who, what, where and why. The pieces can often feel like they don’t fit together or some may be missing en- tirely. As a result, devising how to respond to an emergency or inves- tigate a crime becomes more reliant on intuition than cold hard facts.
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Enter video. In 1951, the first Video Tape Recorder (VTR) was used to record live images from a television camera. By the mid-1960s closed-circuit video surveillance that could remote PTZ to monitor public spaces was becoming more and more common across cities. The technology enabled authorities to watch crowds for suspicious activi- ties, take a closer look at crime incidents to better investigate cases and keep an eye on public events where crowds might become a target for threats. The capabilities, while limited, set the foundation for the con- tinued use of video within the field of security and public safety.
Computer Vision Powers Superhuman Intelligence
With the progression of technologies like artificial intelligence, machine-learning and computer vision, video is quickly becoming more than an eye in the sky. Advanced analytics capabilities are now transforming video into IoT data to provide rich insights, offer real- time alerts and enhance safety like never before. These insights help us respond faster, act proactively to solve or prevent crimes, and help us make plans that make us more effective in the future—much like a superhero.
Until recently, the long-held industry standard for video analytics was pixel color recognition. The software would analyze individual
SMART CITIES
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