Video security systems are improving all the time, and as a growing number of users make the adjustment to modern solutions like CCTV cloud storage, new possibilities like video analytics are also emerging. Logan Bell of Cloudview gives us his top five genuine uses for video analytics in security and business.
This technology can be used for a whole range of different purposes, from crime prevention, through to resource management. Additionally, with the emergence of Covid-19 and associated rules on social contact, it can play a valuable role in helping companies to enforce the safety guidelines and keep their employees safe.
Some of the applications we see from manufacturers can be a little ‘blue sky thinking’ meant to stimulate ideas rather than focus on real life situations that can be improved straight away.
Crime and anomaly detection
The detection and prevention of crime have always been among the most pressing concerns requiring CCTV solutions. One of the key ways in which video analytics is helping to change the game is through real-time – or close to real-time – crime and anomaly detection, helping businesses and others to react much more swiftly.
The kind of anomaly detection software needed for this works through the deployment of machine learning algorithms. According to a recent guide published by the CPNI, this then allows a CCTV system to gain a sense of what a ‘normal’ scene looks like, allowing it to more quickly and easily detect when something is out of the ordinary.
Although such anomaly detection systems are far from infallible, they can present security staff and others monitoring CCTV with the necessary ‘nudge’ needed to react quickly in the event of something unexpected taking place. This then makes it much easier to detect crime as and when it occurs, rather than responding after the damage is done.
Calculating retail footfall
One of the simpler uses for video analytics occurs within retail settings, with the technology helping to detect the levels of retail footfall. Such technology can be invaluable for businesses, especially if they operate multiple premises because it allows them to understand which stores or locations are attracting the most customers.
Going further, retail companies can use video analytics to pick up on significant trends. For instance, it may be that through a combination of CCTV cloud storage and video analytics, they are able to detect that the number of customers entering a particular store increases at a particular time of day, or at a particular time of the year.
Detection of footfall in such a way can also be useful for other reasons. As an example, a store might be able to use video analytics to detect which areas of their shop floor are busiest. When this information is analysed and compared across different premises, it becomes much easier to identify the products customers are interested in.
Read the full article in the September 2021 edition of PSI magazine here
