Video analytics were originally hailed as the answer to just about everything in the world of CCTV when it first came to the fore some years ago . The concept that an intelligent camera that was able to look at a scene , interpret the difference between human activity and and other forms of movement such as foliage or wildlife was both appealing and very exciting news for the CCTV industry. In essence video analytics spelt the end of the use of PIR sensors and fixed beam technology , manned guarding would be made redundant and the biggest issue of all false alarms would be eliminated.
As installers of course there is always a learning curve and entering into video analytics at an early stage would be risky but potentially very rewarding. So how did the early pioneers fair ? Well not so good really, Analytics promised much more than it was actually able to achieve . Demonstrations were always impressive but when it came to the real thing, an installation out in the field, false alarms plagued the early external systems.
Internally it was a different storey a more sterile environment coupled with smaller areas of coverage meant that video analytics proved both accurate and rewarding. People counting, intrusions into secure areas and missing objects were easy to both alarm and action so all in all we would highly recommend using video analytics for this purpose i.e internally .
Externally though the technology is still blighted to the point where it becomes unusable for unmanned systems . Spiders, rain,snow, moving side curtains on lorries and foliage still seem to be insurmountable issues for the manufacturers although if the system is manned this minor interference is nothing but a nuisance factor for an operator .
So in summary, internally brilliant. Used in conjunction with manned security then it is satisfactory . Unmanned for remote monitoring we are afraid to say video analytics still have a long way to go , in fact there has to be doubt whether it will ever be reliable enough at all .