CXO Bytes

Video analytics: Enabling safer environments and smarter business decisions

Image Credit : graymatics.com

In the modern world, digital technology especially AI, data analytics and cloud-based tools are increasingly resolving most social, personal and business needs. This growing integration of digital technology and machine intelligence has incredible benefits for us in every field. For instance, alongside economic growth, our world has also unfortunately become less safe in many ways. There are threats to personal safety and security and economic risks caused by frauds and acts of sabotage. The pandemic has significantly enhanced health-safety risks as well.

Business organizations as well as civic authorities and local governments/law enforcement agencies etc., need to proactively take steps to protect people and assets. This is where AI-powered video analytics solutions are going to be an effective, easy to deploy and manage option across use cases. Even when the security challenges and management needs of all these verticals are different, there are commonalities in the risk factors. And video analytics is a technology that can be modified to address all these needs. For instance, it can track people, vehicles, spot unidentified objects, flag unusual behaviour, monitor sensitive areas, storage spaces, detect frauds or traffic violations, raise alarms for crowding and provide business intelligence inputs to retailers.

Top-of-the-line video analytics platforms work as holistic video surveillance systems and offer automatic real-time event detection, ability to analyse an event or video feed and extraction of quantifiable data from the feed. An advantage of advanced cloud-based video analytics systems is that they can be integrated with existing CCTV camera networks and deliver unmatched intelligent video analytics. The power of AI enables them to automatically and continuously monitor video feed and analyse or detect as per the set parameters. Also, it has been observed that the human monitoring of continuous CCTV feed especially when there are multiple cameras involved becomes monotonous thereby reducing the chances of proactively spotting and responding to events. On the other hand, AI analytics systems don’t miss any event, irrespective of whether they are watching one camera feed or ten. For a commercial or government building or a storage facility, the video analytics systems can offer various security services such as:

  • Perimeter protection and site intrusion detection
  • Preventing loss due to system downtime
  • Protecting company and brand reputation
  • Suspicious behaviour and activities
  • Loitering at car parks, around important buildings or restricted access areas

The systems can be trained to detect unfavourable events as well. In the dynamic and uncompromising environments especially in cities all over the world, the video analytics solutions prove to be key enablers of safety and intelligent business decisions. Usage of such technology can benefit different users in deploying desired security and safety measures. For instance, if we look at the needs of a warehouse, public building, commercial or manufacturing facility then the video analytics platforms would enable:

  • Proactive protection and crime prevention
  • Round-the-clock perimeter protection
  • Stronger surveillance of storage, personnel and vehicular movement
  • Integration with other security systems such as fire alarms
  • Reduced guard deployments with greater responsiveness
  • Simplicity of usage
  • Protection of assets and valuables

AI-powered video analytics systems can analyse real-time events and monitor objects as well as people. The video feed can also be stored for later reference or post-event analysis. The cloud-based systems can be seamlessly integrated with other security and information systems across the premises or even be connected to city/area wide grids. The power of cloud ensures scalability of system from a handful of cameras to several hundred of them, and extraction of data insights from stored feed. Such insights can be game-changers for business leaders as they are based on real-time observation of actual consumer behaviours. For instance, in a retail store setup, the video analytics can provide information such as:

  • The products that sell the fastest
  • The products that receive maximum customer attention
  • Products that are not gaining enough visibility
  • Impact of in-store promotions on the customers
  • Average time spent on checkouts
  • Average time spent in each section and so on

Such insights can help business decision makers identify the strengths and weaknesses of existing processes and take steps to optimize operations, reduce costs and increase profitability.

Video analytics is an emerging technology today, but it certainly is the future of surveillance and public management systems globally. As is with any evolving technology, the early adopters stand to gain the most from it!

(The author Mr.Abhijit Shanbhag, President and CEO, Graymatics and the views expressed in this article are his own)

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