With 2018 almost over, people are watching what technologies will be trending in security next year. As far as video surveillance is concerned, video content analysis, facial recognition and edge computing are expected to stand out in 2019.
Video Content Analysis
Video content analysis has evolved from over-promised technologies of the past to major innovations that enhance security as well as business intelligence, and their role in security will only become more significant in 2019.
Video content analytics software that incorporates artificial intelligence (AI) and deep learning technology is now valuable for much more than after the fact investigations. Because of the incredibly fast speed and intelligent capabilities, many are finding new ways to use it. Examples include Retail businesses leveraging it for proactive and strategic planning to create a better shopper experience that results in greater sales and loyalty; Healthcare organizations using it to address operational issues such as finding unauthorized people in restricted facility areas; and transportation hubs improving passenger flow and municipalities proactively keeping city streets safer.
While it’s being suggested that today’s analytics lack a predictive element – they can’t really predict that someone is going to do something bad – advances in analytics do contribute to better crime prevention. For example, through the use of big data, law enforcement agencies can better analyze crime patterns and trends to ‘forecast’ where security events will take place, and staff accordingly. The use of video analytics in post event investigations is critical for finding perpetrators, better understanding crime scenes and locating missing persons, and this data unlocks the intelligence needed to proactively deter crime.
Facial Recognition
Facial recognition is a big development that is here to stay. Made possible by deep learning and AI technology, facial recognition can log you into your smart phone and identify your friends in your social media photos. And, as we think of video content analysis, facial recognition is playing an increasingly significant role. In 2019 we’ll see more law enforcement organizations using video analytics with facial recognition to solve incidents much faster and retailers immediately identify shoplifters. As it proliferates throughout our world, and the technology becomes more readily available, we expect significant adoption in 2019.
While there are certain concerns or ethical issues surrounding facial recognition, they will be ways to properly address them.
Face recognition introduces meaningful use cases, with face matching based on an image within a video or an external image provided to the system (as part of a watch list or as an individual image). The public has seen one too many ‘Minority Report’ type references to face recognition, and the reality is that there is no image enhancement, no connection to any personal data, and no relevance to any other images of the person anywhere outside of the video in which the face is matched. That said, we will likely see stronger government oversight to proactively develop policies to regulate the use of these technologies and to define the rights of opting out of being tracked digitally.
Finally, edge processing and cloud computing will be playing a bigger role in accelerating the adoption of advanced video content analytics. As video continues to gain popularity, the need to conserve bandwidth is driving a surge in cloud migration and edge computing. This opens up the possibility for advanced video content analytics that process data collected from cameras and devices. In 2019, we anticipate a continued migration to cloud computing and edge processing and as a result, we’ll see AI-backed video content analytics become much more widely adopted in many industries such as transportation, higher education, healthcare, retail and more.
Adapted from a&s Magazine and Wikipedia