Security analysts IMS Research have charted a 65% annual compound growth in the surveillance video analytics market since 2004 and predict that the sector will be worth £215 million in 2009. Here, Chris Gomersall, Chief Executive Officer of London-based analytics provider Ipsotek, outlines the technology, describes on-site challenges and considers likely developments.
Security
analysts IMS Research have charted a 65% annual compound growth in the
surveillance video analytics market since 2004 and predict that the
sector will be worth £215 million in 2009. Here, Chris Gomersall,
Chief Executive Officer of London-based analytics provider Ipsotek,
outlines the technology, describes on-site challenges and considers
likely developments.
Referred
to variously as "intelligent video surveillance" or "intelligent scene
analysis", surveillance video analytics employs algorithms and vector
partitioning to detect unexpected movement or unusual behavior that may
pose a threat to people, property and infrastructure. The software
filters and interprets data captured by security CCTV cameras in
circumstances where a human observer would struggle to assess
developments as they arise. The analysis can be performed in
real-time or retrospectively in playback for evidential purposes.
Real-time messages on potential risks or situations requiring attention
can take the form of audible and visual alarms, on-screen alerts, SMS
messaging and direct communication with emergency services.
Common
scenarios observed by analytics suites include border security, abnormal
pedestrian or vehicular motion, suspect packages, platform suicide and
many forms of street crime or deviation from social norms. Such
deviation can cover prostitution, kerb crawling, drug dealing and
trackside intrusion.
Scene
analysis providers have built up a flexible core of behavioral
algorithms to create numerous generic and client-specific alarm
triggers. These can cover complex needs or be as simple as
surveillance of a sterile zone. In addition to the scenarios
described above, usage can include prevention of ATM surfing, graffiti,
vandalism, tailgating, loitering, theft of museum artifacts, station or
stadium overcrowding and platform suicide.
Combating operator fatigue
A
principal benefit of surveillance video analytics is that it removes the
problem of operator fatigue. Estimates vary but published figures
indicate that after 20 minutes the ability of even a well-motivated
security guard to concentrate on a monitor screen drops by 90%.
Mechanized observation not only eliminates human error but also requires
a low ratio of monitors to cameras with attention being focused on known
"hotspots" and previously identified issues. The technology also
produces savings in review processes since less time is spent observing
eventless footage and false alarms are minimized. Expenditure on
human resources is reduced dramatically since the numbers of CCTV
cameras to operator (typically more than 1:100) is high.
A
surveillance video analytics software suite can be "taught" to
discriminate between movement that is meaningful and motion such as a
swaying tree that is an integral part of the environment and not a
threat. Thus, swaying foliage which might need to be masked out of
the scene when using cruder systems can be distinguished from salient
movement such as an intruder penetrating a location from the same piece
of wind-effected woodland.
A
sophisticated surveillance video analytics suite can overcome occasional
picture break-up and interference (known to video engineers as "noise")
without producing nuisance alarms. Low levels of ambient light and
varying weather conditions can also be accommodated by an analytics
system that has been carefully configured. Leading analytics
solutions use object tracking to evaluate individual objects and follow
their movement. The technology's ability to chart the movement of
a single suspect in a crowded scene through vector analysis is perhaps
the crucial development that is making analytics a viable approach in
public spaces.
Combining audio with video analysis
A
crucial step forward for the analytics sector has been the use of audio
analysis in tandem with video analysis. Audio analysis can cover
detection of gunshots and airplanes as well as the sound of abnormal
mechanical processes such as a car engine malfunctioning.
A common
inner-city application is detection of shouting or screaming consistent
with assault or rape. Effective audio analysis frequently allows
security officers to intervene before an incident escalates and the
analysis can be invaluable for evidential purposes. There is also
much scope for applications within transport infrastructure and recent
audio analysis at Schipol
Airport in the Netherlands
revealed that a significant proportion of the noise cited by residents
as emanating from aircraft was in fact produced by vehicles on an
adjacent motorway.
As with
video analysis, false alarms in the audio field are an anathema to the
end-user and damage the credibility of the technology. Thus, the
ability to categorize and separate sounds, making distinctions between,
say, rowdy but non-threatening behavior outside a night-spot and audio
signals that indicate a genuine problem becomes an all-important
feature.
Distinguishing aggression using audio analytics
It is in
social deviance that surveillance video analytics holds out massive
potential for central and local government. For many years the
CCTV sector's ability to provide security officers with almost limitless
video footage has far outstripped the ability of operators to interpret
that footage. High quality, intelligent surveillance video
analytics has changed this, and a gamut of situations indicating
undesirable social behavior can be assimilated by the software to create
alarms.
Body language and pattern of movement in video analysis
Kerb-crawling and prostitutes working from cars are examples where
pattern of movement can be used to cue an alarm. Posture and
movement are also relevant to car theft and a correctly configured
analytics device in a parking lot will be able to distinguish between
the legitimate behavior of a driver walking straight to his car and
unlocking it with the contrasting behavior of a criminal hovering near a
succession of vehicles and assessing them before attempting a break-in.
Public
concern over street security, particularly anti-social behavior,
continues to escalate across Europe but surveillance video analytics now
offers viable solutions for reducing social disturbance.
Intelligent scene analysis is about to bring massive benefits to civil
servants and law enforcement bodies who are sufficiently far-sighted to
recognize the potential of the technology in this area.
Research and development
Analytics suppliers are currently addressing myriad scenarios in both
the commercial and public sectors. If the software is to continue
to keep pace with the variety of tracking demanded by end-users,
algorithms and behavioral analysis must develop continually since the
type of deviation from normal behavior against which clients wish to
discriminate is infinite. Some user needs verge on the bizarre and
Ipsotek recently received a request from a client who wished to use
audio analytics to detect sectarian chanting at football matches.
Multi-platform capability and human resources saving
One of the
principal benefits of surveillance video analytics is that it can be
installed to work with legacy CCTV systems and analog CCTV cameras.
Providing video footage is transmitted to a suitable digital video
recorder or network video recorder there is no necessity for
IP-addressable cameras though network-addressable systems are of course
becoming increasingly common.
The
financial savings on manned guarding and control room staff are enormous
and in a recent development, an Ipsotek client in the estate management
sector has expanded its use of surveillance video analytics at a cost of
35,000 when a comparable increase in manned guarding would have cost in
excess of 56,000 with the surveillance being performed at a
demonstrably inferior level.
As analytics continues to improve and the leading providers respond
resourcefully to a broad range of user demands, scene analysis will gain
wider acceptance in both government and commercial spheres. The
scenarios detected will become increasingly subtle, allowing innovative
end-users to improve public safety by employing this exciting
technology.
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