Reality check
Video content analysis (VCA) is big on claims, but can it really deliver? Colin Edwards spoke to suppliers to find that the jury is very much still out on the technology
The movie industry would have us believe that, as in Tom Cruise´s Minority Report blockbuster, crimes can be stopped before they happen; destruction-proof Robocops can be sent out to check out intrusion alarms; and CSI-type crime labs can identify a car´s number plate from a blurry shot taken 150 metres away by a camera shrouded in smoke.
Dream on. Intelligent CCTV might get there one day, but the reality right now is that intelligent CCTV is not as clever as some suppliers claim or would have us believe. Video content analysis (VCA) software – the technology that enables cameras to interpret events before alerting guards – is getting cleverer, but not that clever.
The technology depends on IP networks and the relatively large volume greenfield IP sites in the Middle East puts the region at risk of being taken in by the promises. As Gerard Otterspeer, product marketing manager CCTV EMEA at Bosch Security Systems says: "There are forces in the market that do overhype VCA and say, for example, that they can find a face in the crowd from 300 metres away. They might be able to do that kind of stuff in a specific perfect environment with a team of engineers backing them up.
"What we always say is that you really need to take a good look at what you want to detect and what is achievable. So first of all you need to be clear what VCA can and cannot do and then great care needs to be taken to things like positioning and lighting of the scene." The overhyping of the technology has forced IMS Research to revise its VCA market expectations downwards. Over-selling of the technology´s capabilities, coupled with technical limitations, have slowed uptake of the technology it said in its World Market for Video Content Analysis - 2009 Edition. Only, 3% growth is expected this year instead of 6%.
John Honovich, founder of IP Video Market Info, a website dedicated to video surveillance, wrote: "With so much hype and now so much disappointment, the state and future of intelligent video can be difficult to judge. I consistently hear business people in the industry ask questions about prospects and opportunities in intelligent video/video analytics."
Even so, Baraa Al Akkad, regional manager, Axis Communications ME says: "We see increased interest for intelligent video applications in the ME particularly in transportation, city surveillance, education and other industry segments. The security supply industry is meeting the region´s needs by developing applications that bring extra value to various target groups, and as a result, make it possible for integrators and end users to select the best combination of camera and application, or encoder and application."
VCA is criticised for producing too many false alarms because triggers can be set off by wind or shadows. While guards can normally check such false alarm visually, there is a danger of a ´cry wolf´ syndrome creeping in so Bosch has focused development on perfecting the alert algorithms and making them more reliable and easier to use. "We´ve spent a lot of effort making the user interface and calibration interface easier. If it is easier to use and calibrate then there´s less chance of false alarms," Otterspeer says.
One supplier which has focussed on reducing false alarms caused by the harsh outdoor environments of the Middle East, is SightLogix, the maker of long-range, intelligent video analytics cameras. Its solutions were recently chosen for a 15.4km perimeter security contract for the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) in Saudi Arabia. The system was integrated by Abdulla Fouad Holding Company for Sumitomo Corporation under the prime contractor Saudi Aramco.
"The original design called for the use of analogue cameras with external video analytic encoders, which has been the standard approach for intelligent video surveillance. When SightLogix demonstrated their video analytic surveillance equipment integrated with GPS target location, Saudi Aramco took the extraordinary action to revise the project´s design," said Ousama Kabbani, Abdulla Fouad´s Industrial Security & Safety Division´s general manager.
The 74-camera KAUST deployment included alarm data triggers and pan/tilt/zoom cameras for close-up visual identification of detected targets. The systems can operate in harsh outdoor conditions with a temperature range of -50C to +70C (-58°F to +158°F). This was an important consideration for the desert environment where fine dust might otherwise play havoc with optics and electronic circuitry.
One Dubai-based retail outlet, Galeries Lafayette, has taken the VCA technology plunge with its use of an Axis IP-based intelligent security system using Milestone software at its recently opened store at the Dubai Mall. The system is able to run numerous software applications including intelligent and analytic software video packages. The prime need was for image quality – a challenging requirement because of the store´s extreme backlight conditions in certain key areas. This could have resulted in poor video quality and false alarms in many systems on the market.
Axis Communications´ local partner, Secutronic Dubai designed the successful solution following the French department store´s study of the surveillance market that included testing other competitor´s products as well as viewing several other Axis and Secutronic reference sites in the UAE.
But Otterspeer warns that some suppliers would have users believe that VCA enabled cameras can detect a pickpocket in action - not so, not yet anyway. That´s still up to the human monitoring of the event to identify the crime and sound the alarm. Bosch is keen not to oversell the power of VCA. It wants to position it as a guard assistance tool. Clever – yes, and getting cleverer every day, but at the end of the day, a tool.
Where he sees VCA developing beyond its major use in the Middle East for perimeter control is in the area of forensic search. Video searches for specific events - say of all people in a seven-day period who entered a room wearing red - could take weeks, if not longer.
"Without setting any rules, or metadata, with our VCA you are able to search hours and hours of video in seconds to find when that person entered the room and use it for evidence. We are one of the few, if not the only company, who store all metadata, regardless of the rules set, within the device so you can carry out searches easily and quickly (without setting the search rules before hand)."
Recorded video analytics is one of the advantages of a 116 camera intelligent IP system installed at a 5-star Qatar hotel. The IndigoVision system allows identified incidents to be searched quickly. Evidential quality video clips of the incident can then be exported for use by the police if required.
The CCTV surveillance system at the 350-roomed Movenpick Hotel in Doha, installed by Capital Technology, is integrated with a GE access control system enabling the hotel to speed up incident response.
Citing an example, the company said that should the access control system detect an attempted intrusion an alarm automatically triggers a relevant camera to video the incident. The recorded incident is ‘bookmarked’ and a full alarm initiated. It is possible to lock down the area remotely from a click of a mouse.
Another novel, but critical application for intelligent security technology is in its use for video-based fire/smoke alarm system in the road tunnel on the Palm Jumeirah in Dubai. The CCTV-based VSD (video smoke detection) solution supplied by BSS-ME, the Middle East partner of D-Tec uses FireVu units and can respond to potential fire incidents rapidly, unlike conventional solutions which struggle in the confines of a tunnel.
The IP based solution comprises 28 fixed CCTV cameras positioned strategically throughout the tunnel and can also be used for security and other surveillance tasks – such as traffic management – thus maximising the return on investment and widening the scope of VCA. Also being IP-based means that in alarms can be relayed across the internet to remote devices such as mobile phones or PCs as well as allow for remote management.
So where is the industry going? Axis´ Baraa Al Akkad sees a future where: "intelligent video, systems can be set up to deliver far more targeted and specific information. In future there will be far less reliance on manned guarding. Intelligent video will also create a platform for a more pro-active approach to surveillance. By configuring intelligent video systems to specific parameters, it is possible to get instant alerts when pre-set parameters have been breached, thus delivering early warnings to staff."