Video Analytics: The What’s and the How’s

Video surveillance systems are an essential part of many businesses and industries, but without the right software it can be difficult to get the most out of your camera’s footage. In order to get the most bang for your buck, it’s important to choose a video analytics software that you can integrate into your existing video surveillance system to help you understand and act on the information presented in your footage. The following guide will help you choose the right video analytics software for your business or industry.

Why do you need video analytics?

In most business environments, there is only a small amount of information to be gleaned from analyzing video footage. However, with intelligent video analytics software, you can gather intelligence about both what is happening in an environment as well as who is interacting with it. Now that businesses have access to software that can recognize people and behaviors, they have new opportunities for applications ranging from retail to sports to law enforcement. For example, an intelligent system could detect if a person enters a store repeatedly and then leaves without purchasing anything; such actions would indicate potential theft on their part. By providing insights into potential problems before they happen or after they occur, you’ll be able to better protect your business—and help deter criminal activity too. 

Intelligent Video Analytics Software

First, there was video surveillance software. Then came intelligent video analytics software. And now, there's cognitive video analytics software. So, what is it? Simply put, cognitive video analytics is an advancement in our ability to process videos quickly. Cognitive processing can be thought of as learning algorithms built into a system that allows it to learn patterns over time – making more accurate decisions based on those patterns with each pass. This makes cognitive video monitoring very effective at preventing security threats while reducing false positives by constantly improving itself as time goes on...all without human intervention!

Video Analytics Applications

There are many applications for video analytics, from event detection to crowd density measurement. For example, you can use them to count people who walk through doorways, turn left or right in hallways, or stop at kiosks. They can measure in real time how many people are waiting on line at a bank teller or a coffee shop counter. They can detect moving objects such as cars and pedestrians, monitor employee traffic flows during company break rooms throughout an office building during lunch hours. They can even be used to calculate space utilization within a warehouse by tracking how much space is being taken up by merchandise that is shelved. In short, there is no limit to what these systems can do.

Benefits of Video Analytics

Video analytics are a way of analyzing video content by applying computer vision algorithms to automatically detect, recognize, and track events in a given video stream. One of their major benefits is that they provide an objective method for quantifying activity in security videos, compared to human observation. Video analytics also allow organizations to perform risk assessments without relying on assumptions or estimates that may become outdated over time. Most systems are fully automatic, requiring little human intervention once they’re up and running. This means less work for security personnel but it can also lead to more false positives.

Limitations of Video Analytics Software

Although video analytics software can be very powerful in allowing you to search through large volumes of footage, there are some limitations that you should be aware of before you begin to implement them.

·          First, you will need a well-lit, high-quality camera for every corner of your building or office if you want to capture all potential activity.

·          Second, it's important to note that video analytics software cannot actually control your cameras.

If someone is tampering with one of your cameras at any time during your surveillance period, then an alarm won't go off on screen—and could potentially put yourself or others in danger. Video analytics software may be effective for general security measures but does not serve as a perfect replacement for other forms of security monitoring equipment.

Conclusion

Now that you know about video analytics, it's time to start thinking about how you want to make use of them. There are endless possibilities when it comes to incorporating video analytics into your company's operations. Video analytics could be used as part of a security system in your lobby or even just sitting on your dashboard, recording everything going on around you while you drive.

Depending on what type of business or organization you're working for, they might have specific needs or wants regarding video analytics. Before implementing any new software into your existing set-up, be sure to discuss all requirements with IT staff so they can find the perfect solution for both their needs and yours!