Smart Cameras are Watching You
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Businesses and government agencies have been using surveillance cameras for decades. But these days, the technology is getting a lot smarter, with cameras not only able to see what is happening but actually interpret it. This article will take a look at these smart cameras and how they're being used.
Call it “intelligent video,” “video analytics,” or any of a number of other buzz phrases you may hear. Since at least 2004 (and probably earlier), a number of companies have been making video surveillance systems that feature cameras that either have microprocessors onboard or are connected to computers with special software. Computer algorithms are loaded into the processors or computers that help the cameras interpret what they see. Such algorithms can help cameras spot unattended bags, people walking into restricted areas, or other things that raise warning flags.
Such algorithms can also distinguish facial features and a person’s gait. If there are certain individuals for whom the FBI or other law enforcement agencies have put out an alert, the algorithms can sift through the data from cameras to spot suspects. They can also be used to spot suspicious behavior. For example, people who are carrying heavy objects and people who are unencumbered walk with different gaits. If someone is walking as if they’re carrying something heavy but there is nothing visible, a smart camera could pick it out – and alert human security guards or other law enforcement officials in real time.
“If you think of the camera as your eye, we are using computer programs as your brain,” explained Patty Gillespie, branch chief for image processing at the Army Research Laboratory in Maryland. Naturally the military has been involved in smart surveillance research. But it isn’t just police and military organizations that have made use of smart cameras, and some of the uses to which they have been put have nothing to do with security.
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