Smart video surveillance solutions for smart users

Karen Krivaa

A few short years ago, the video surveillance market was all abuzz with the promise of advanced Video Content Analytics (VCA). But the reality was, while many in the market were heralding VCA’s potential, the technology sometimes fell short of expectations.

Today, a lot has changed. Video surveillance technology has become much smarter; solutions are evolving; and the promises that once were mostly talk are now being realized. A focus on advanced video algorithms is fueling solutions that provide true video insight, translating into real results and benefits. Also, there is a clear shift away from “products” in favor of holistic smart solutions designed to help security operations prevent or mitigate risk, or aid in incident investigations.

Nowhere are these capabilities more important than in the public transportation market which serves millions daily, and where safety, security and exceptional customer service are paramount. Let’s examine how smart video surveillance solutions can effectively address three major concerns in this sector: optimizing passenger flow, securing passenger safety and reducing the cost of vandalism and anti-social behavior.

Optimizing passenger flow

In any public transport environment, moving passengers smoothly through terminals, screening checkpoints and other areas is fundamental, not just to create a positive customer experience, but for passenger safety as well. Video surveillance solutions equipped with advanced crowd detection technology can provide true insight to keep the flow of traffic moving and ensure passenger safety. Using advanced algorithms, the system alerts operators when a particular area approaches its crowding threshold, providing real-time passenger flow visualizations so officials can act quickly to improve service and minimize delays.

It’s the resulting operational insight that makes these solutions smarter. Through the identification of crowding hotspots, operations can make corrective design changes to further -- and often permanently -- eliminate overcrowding risks.

Securing passenger safety

Passenger safety is also further enhanced by today’s advanced video solutions which can automatically identify and alert to real-time situations that could be cause for alarm, such as someone walking in the wrong direction into a restricted or secure area, or someone walking the wrong way on an escalator or moving walkway (travelator). Sometimes, it’s an innocent mistake, but other times could be an alert to impending criminal or anti-social behavior.

The cost of vandalism

Very few transit and rail operations are immune from vandalism. The associated cost of clean-up can run into millions annually, not to mention the lengthy time that equipment can be incapacitated for “rehab.”

In remote train depots, where costly vandalism can often go undetected until the damage is already done, deploying advanced video content analytic capabilities with environmental filters can give transit operations 24/7 monitoring without environment-induced false alarms. Once considered ineffective due to the amount of false alarms generated by naturally occurring changes, such as weather and light, today’s advanced VCA filters alert operators to actual intruders, not to a sudden change in the wind pattern.

With the addition of PTZ-auto tracking, security operators can continuously track, monitor and record the movements of a suspicious individual or object from the moment of identification. This not only ensures speedy apprehension, but also supplies invaluable investigative data if necessary.

Leveraging new technology on existing infrastructure

 One final point. Many public transport organizations have heavily invested in safety and security systems, making rip and replace costs unacceptable. As a result, they expect (and rightfully so) that their video surveillance solutions will integrate with their existing legacy systems, while being ready for future technology -- another important aspect of today’s smart video solutions.