Don't let it go undetected - stationary object detection embedded analytics
In busy spaces – offices, educational institutions, train stations – a lot goes unnoticed. People rush back and forth, focused on the job at hand and the small details of their surroundings are absorbed into the blur that was their workday. These small details are potentially lethal, like for example a bomb left unattended in a bag or surveillance equipment of a competitor collecting intelligence to use against you on the market.
Impulse brings you world-class Industrial Grade Video Surveillance and Networking Systems, which include cameras with advanced features like Embedded Video Analytics that detect stationary objects. This feature is part of the Embedded Video Analytics suite in Impulse CCTV cameras and detects any suspicious object left under the camera’s view. The unnoticed object is brought to the fore and your team in the control room is made aware and can run a check on the object, raising the alarm and taking action to secure the area and safeguard the people and premises. This advanced software will up the standards of security on your premises and make a potential criminal’s task much harder.
Embedded Video Analytics that detect stationary objects can work through an array of different types of scientific methods. The most commonly used, Background Subtraction, which works on a system of Background initialization, then Background maintenance and finally Foreground/background pixel classification. Basically it determines whether the object is suspicious based on how much it moves or remains stationary. The second most common type is called Continuously Adaptive Mean Shift Tracking. This detects every object first and then analyses them based on one or many points by rectangles or ellipses and contours for indefinite objects. Another common method is Lucas-Kanade Optical Flow Tracking, which is great for sparse conditions.
In this video clip you can clearly see the person in the office is hard at work, does not notice the potentially dangerous object being placed in an insignificant corner and carries on with his job. This is the problem area we are addressing. What next – a bomb explodes causing harm and destruction. Thanks to the camera the object is detected as suspicious and the control room is alerted. Security arrives on the scene to investigate and takes action. In a real life situation it could lead to a bomb scare, evacuation and bomb diffusion, but here the security guard can see it is a branded box and is nothing to worry about – great this time, but what about next time?
The threat of a bomb being planted is very real, according to the National Institute of Medicine, over the past 20 years, in the United States alone 36,110 bombing incidents, 5,931 injuries, and 699 deaths were reported. There were 21,237 (58.8%) explosive bombings, 6,185 (17.1%) incendiary bombings, 1,107 (3.1%) premature bombings, and 7,581 (21.0%) attempted bombings. The 7 July 2005 London bombings, often referred to as 7/7, were a series of coordinated bomb attacks on the city’s public transport system during the morning rush hour. They were caused by triacetone triperoxide IEDs packed into backpacks.
The competitive landscape in business is a tough one, collecting intelligence on your rivals in the market has become commonplace. If you know their next move it makes yours much easier. Unethical tactics are becoming more common and planting surveillance devices in your offices is a real threat to you and your operations. Who your main customers are, how you communicate with them and the type of relationship you have with them are all clues into potentially converting them into their own customers. If this is detected early the problem is solved and what drives your business is kept safe. According to laws in most countries Competitor Intelligence is legal and the line between how ethical it is is blurred, so you are mostly on your own to safeguard what is yours. The main methods of gathering Competitor Intelligence are accessing a competitor’s property or files without permission, posing as a competitor’s employee to access proprietary information and trade secrets, wiretapping or hacking a competitor and attacking a competitor’s website with malware. In the first example they may plant a surveillance device to find out where files are kept, how to gain access to filing or server rooms, all the information that is so important to keep out of their hands. According to Kompyte there are a few industry examples of how one beat the rest on a lower budget by using competitor intelligence. They list the airlines, financial, tech and sports industries. There are methods used to do this and the best idea is to protect yourself from them.
With a well put together security system consisting of access control measures and an Impulse CCTV camera network that is part of the Embedded Video Analytics suite, this type of destruction can be avoided. Embedded Video Analytics can mean the difference between something going undetected or it being noticed and the problem being solved with minimal loss of life and destruction. A few examples of the type of camera network that can be used are a combination of Dome and Bullet cameras, you want great coverage so every corner is under the camera’s eye – these are perfect targets. You also want a high quality Video Management System, and of course great staff to monitor it!
Security, as defined by Vocabulary.com is the state of being free from danger or injury or Security means safety, as well as the measures taken to be safe or protected. Both of these definitions are comforting and bring to mind how safe we are amongst our families and friends but the harsh reality in today’s modern world is that we are not safe. Crime rates are skyrocketing, the police are unreliable and we must take measures to combat the scourge of criminal activity that is making us unsafe in our homes, places of work and leisure. As the political landscape becomes more volatile and business practices become more questionable a good security system is a must have and in order to be free from danger or injury, safe and protected, one must take measures to safeguard one’s homes and businesses. Another definition of security is freedom from anxiety or fear. Not only is there the danger of harm or injury but one must also continue to live our lives with the threat of attack, a good security system provides peace of mind in addition to being safe. Being able to relax and know your loved ones and business is protected is worth the sacrifice alone.
Impulse is a market leader in Industrial Grade Video Surveillance and Networking Systems, offering unparalleled quality and personal verification on each product to ensure the best possible end system for our partners. With teams all over the world we can offer the same high standards of support globally.
