Video surveillance promises to offer a few interesting options to meet the rising demand for security, writes Sudhindra Holla
The world of technology is changing rapidly, and this change is impacting the surveillance industry as well. In the coming year, we will see video surveillance gaining increased traction in the country as it addresses many problems faced by the government and the citizens.
With the increase in terror attacks and criminal activities, a great sense of loss and insecurity persists. This is causing government and private organizations to look at installing video surveillance solutions to ensure greater seurity. With increasing awareness about surveillance, the industry is now tipping to all-IP, where we will see many more and much faster innovations. Some of the trends that will be seen in the coming years are listed below.
Hosted video solutions
Video-as-a-service will become a trend. A hosted solution benefits the user’s investment to a network camera and an Internet connection, instead of having to maintain a recording and monitoring system locally. The service provider will manage system maintenance as well as storage of recorded data. The solution is ideal for low camera counts per site, in single or multiple locations such as convenience stores, gas stations, retail stores, and small offices.
High quality image sensors
Image sensors are evolving at a rapid pace. The shift in the market to high-definition resolution and quality is now a fact and a major driver for IP. In the coming year, we will see analog cameras being taken down as end-users opt to move to 720p and 1080o HDTV and even higher resolutions.
Thermal imagery
With 24×7 surveillance becoming a need of the hour, thermal imaging will see increased traction. Thermal imaging can be used in environments with minimum or no illumination. It can detect movements by detecting the temperature of the approaching object, and capturing the images. It is not hampered by environmental conditions like illumination levels, snow, haze, smoke and camouflage, helping get reliable information at all times besides proving a boon for analytics providers, who face challenges of performance degradation in visible video under certain conditions.
Video analytics
The key to the future is mining all the high-quality video data that IP cameras capture, and consider new and novel uses for this information. Analytics will continue to improve – especially as software developers from all walks of life are attracted to the surveillance industry with the goal to develop applications to run inside the camera itself. Analytics will help to gather and analyze business intelligence information, in order to enhance marketing and operational efficiency. Analytics can also help reduce unwarranted alarms. Only suspicious behaviors trigger the alarms, allowing the security staff to identify if it really is a threat that warrants further action.
Edge based storage
Edge storage will become a standard and common feature, as it will get fully integrated with most video management systems. Today, as memory cost continue to decrease, a 32 GB memory card is standard, and 64 GB will soon become a common minimum, with 128 GB cards shipping now. Edge-based storage in a small camera system environment has many benefits and it will continue to get better. Today’s standard for a modern surveillance system is HDTV and if configured properly, the user will never miss a single frame. With the evolution of SD-cards, which are now available in 64 and 128 GB with more storage to come, we can easily store weeks of high quality video inside the camera or encoder in the coming years.
Sudhindra Holla is Country Manager for Axis Communications India
