Page 25 - Security Today, January/February 2020

“Advanced AI security technology allows security operators to be more proactive than reactive, directing operators’ attention to where it matters most.”
the example of Independent Express Cargo Ltd. (Independent Express Cargo), one of Ireland’s largest pallet delivery operators, serving as a national transport network hub and full third-party logistics supplier with 25 depots across the country, 1,000 active clients and a turnover of €35 million annually. As 4,000 pallets are moved through its Dublin site daily, security and the ability to track between 8,000 to 14,000 pallets of storage at any given time for its clients is essential for the integrity of its services.
To improve security and surveillance throughout its Dublin site, which consists of 180,000 sq. ft. of warehouses on a nine- acre site, Independent Express Cargo Ltd. installed a complete AI-enabled integrated security surveillance system.
By presenting transport managers with the ability to detect people and vehicles in unusual areas, self-learning video analytics do the heavy lifting by providing alerts for further verification, helping to enable faster response when needed. Then, if the per- son or vehicle who was last seen with a missing pallet needs to be located throughout the site, the transport managers can use technology that searches by appearance to quickly locate them.
Focused Attention, Greater Detail
Human attention spans have natural limits. Research shows that after 20 minutes of staring at a video screen, we tend to lose fo- cus and our attention spans decrease significantly. In fact, a study found that even after 12 minutes of continuous video monitoring, an operator will often miss up to 45 percent of screen activity, and after 22 minutes of viewing, up to 95 percent is overlooked.2
For decades, security operators used pixel motion detection to analyze the changes in pixels from one screen to another. While pixel motion detection technology detects motion, it does so in an unsophisticated way: the pixels change for irrelevant motion, such as leaves blowing or a change in lighting.
Just as high-definition imaging has become essential to today’s video security cameras, so have AI tools. AI brings relevant atypi- cal events that require further investigation to the forefront of se- curity operators’ attention, allowing them to focus on the critical questions at hand: who, what, where and when.
Today’s AI security systems are able to detect motion in com- plex and varied situations. AI-powered video analytics and mo- tion detection can determine what information is most impor- tant and presents it to the operator in an easily interpretable way, making the system smarter and its response times faster.
Motion detection technology uses advanced AI to detect and refine typical activity that could otherwise go unnoticed in secu- rity video; it continuously learns what typical activity in a scene looks like and flags any unusual motion. Whereas an older sys- tem monitoring a fence line might be programmed with a rule to track movements suggestive of someone jumping a fence, a modern system has the capability of assessing dozens of other potential movements and events that may be of equal or greater importance to the security of the site.
While it is possible for operators to come up with a range of rules and permutations to apply manually over time to the above scenario, advanced AI and motion detection technology does the work for them more quickly and efficiently from the start and keeps improving as it continuously learns and adapts to the scene.
Keeping Criminals at Bay
Newer, long-lasting integrated security systems are helping make vulnerable communities safer places to live. Long Beach Housing Authority in Nassau County, Long Beach, New York, is commit- ted to helping people lift themselves out of poverty, and its Chan- nel Park Homes and Sol Scher Apartments provide life-changing support for those in vulnerable situations. However, low-income neighborhoods all across the nation can face issues related to crime and vandalism, and the area around LBHA is no different; in fact, it’s the only neighborhood in Nassau County designated “high risk” on the crime index. With a mandate to ensure the well-being of its tenants, LBHA knew it had to find a more ef- fective way to keep its residents, employees and the surrounding community safe.
To gain the level of protection they were looking for, LBHA upgraded to a more modern, integrated system with cameras equipped with enhanced image quality and video analytics, pro- viding the community with a much higher level of protection. These new cameras include loitering detection, automatically de- tecting people who linger in an area past a certain time threshold and alerting security operators to potential threats.
Today, officers have the ability to stream and download video directly from the site to their headquarters and on mobile de- vices. Whenever a resident alerts them to gang-related activity, officers have immediate access to recorded video for investiga- tions and evidence—evidence which now meets the standard to be admissible in court.
What’s Next?
Advanced AI security technology allows security operators to be more proactive than reactive, directing operators’ attention to where it matters most. Modern, AI-equipped security systems detect motion in more complex and varied situations than ever before, making intelligent assessments about the most relevant information to present to operators in an easily accessible way.
These tools empower operators to make better critical deci- sions in high-stakes situations, immediately conveying the most important events and insights. The systems are smarter and orga- nizational response times can be faster as a result.
The threats aren’t going away. Leveraging the power of AI into your overall security ecosystem is one way to help to better keep your organization and stakeholders safer.
Alex Asnovich is the head of global marketing, Video Security for Motorola Solutions.
1. Suss, J. et al. (2015): Don’t overlook the human! Applying the principles of cognitive systems engineering to the design of intelligent video surveillance systems, presented at: 12th IEEE International Conference on Advanced Video and Signal Based Surveillance (AVSS).
2. Ainsworth, T. (2002): Buyer Beware, in: Security Oz, Vol.19, pp.18-26.
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