See our  Disclaimer/s” 

AI Technology, (Artificial Intelligence)

The common misperception of CCTV is that it’s a security system!, this can’t be farther from the truth. CCTV is primarily a surveillance tool, however, CCTV can be incorporated into a security system when connected to approved security sensors/devices etc, (this currently does not include AI technology).

Surveillance or Security?

  • ‘Surveillance’ is the monitoring of behaviour, activities, or information for the purpose of information gathering, influencing, managing, or directing.
  • ‘Security’ is freedom from, or resilience against, potential harm (or other unwanted coercive change) caused by others.

AI Technology, (Artificial Intelligence)

AI (Artificial intelligence within video surveillance) is relatively new, if you were going from ‘John o’ Groats’ to ‘Lands ends’ you would not have left Scotland yet, (see yellow mark on map).

Many of today’s cameras & recorders utilises computer software/firmware to help analyse audio and/or images from CCTV cameras/recorders to recognise humans, vehicles, objects, and events.

AI either uses a chip to learn or are limited to what they can learn. As time moves on, this will endeavour to improve, but for now we will have to patient and work with what each product can do, (limitations).

Just a few acronym’s you are likely to encounter:

  • IVS, ‘Intelligent Video Surveillance’
  • SMD, ‘Smart Motion Detection’

AI will help in reducing the number of false alarms when using just MD, ‘Motion Detection’, such as adverse weather conditions, (trees, leaves or even washing blowing in the wind, rain etc) along with good old nature such as spiders, moths, animals etc. You could say its old fashion motion detection on steroids 😉.

In general, only 1 AI function can be used per channel, (sometimes per recorder). Also, it will depend on what model of camera you are using.

Most common AI functions used are:

  • ‘Tripwire’ (will detect if there is any object crossing the warning line, it can support different direction selection, such as A->B, B->A and bidirectional)
  • ‘Intrusion’ (is used to detect that some sensitive areas cannot be casually entered, exited, or crossed in the monitoring scenario)
  • ‘FD’, Face Detection (is to detect if there is any human face appearing in the video, and capture the face then send it to the recorder for analysis and processing)

AI Technology is more likely to be called: SMD, (Smart Motion Detection) or IVS (Intelligent Video Surveillance) depending on the product you are using. But they nearly all contain the following options: Line Crossing, Area Intrusion, Face detection.

All sounds good, but remember these 2 points:

  1. AI technology is not to be used as a security sensor/detector.
  2. CCTV is a Surveillance product which can be connected to a Security system via approved Security sensors/devices.