IP Cameras are getting very intelligent. Should we be worried?
There is a transformation taking place in IP Camera Systems. One that could change the way we think about surveillance.
The latest IP cameras are getting very smart. Smart enough to recognize different objects, such as people, vehicles, and animals. Intelligent enough to reduce false alarms, increase awareness and response time, and even deliver information for demographics (Business Intelligence) purposes.
The addition of Artificial Intelligence (AI) provides a much more effective and efficient IP camera system. This AI provides critical alarms and reduces the time it takes to review and find the vital video. This article reviews the new capability of IP surveillance cameras that include artificial intelligence.
I think that I shall never see
a computer made like me.
What is Artificial Intelligence?
Artificial intelligence (AI) is described in Britannica as a digital computer or computer-controlled robot that can perform tasks commonly associated with intelligent beings. It mimics human responses to their environment. To be more precise many people have categorized several levels of AI capability. Some have said there are four levels, and others think there are several levels. The article Understanding the Four Types of Artificial Intelligence provides a summary of these capabilities.
Reactive machines
The most basic types of AI systems are purely reactive. They do not include the ability to remember events nor to use past experiences to inform current decisions. Deep Blue, IBM’s chess-playing supercomputer, which beat international grandmaster Garry Kasparov in the late 1990s, is the perfect example of this type of machine.
A me that wears an overcoat And likes a risky anecdote.
Limited Memory Machines
This Type II class contains machines include a memory of past events. Self-driving cars do some of this already. For example, they observe other cars’ speed and direction. The vehicle’s calculations must observe its surroundings and identifying specific objects and monitor them over time.
Artificial Narrow Intelligence (ANI)
This type of artificial intelligence represents all the existing AI, including even the most complicated and capable AI that has ever been created to date. Artificial narrow intelligence refers to AI systems that can only perform a specific task autonomously using human-like capabilities. These machines can do nothing more than what they are programmed to do, and thus have a very limited or narrow range of competencies.
Theory of Mind
This type of AI is found more in theory rather than practice. Theory of mind AI is the next level of AI systems that researchers are currently engaged in innovating. A “theory of mind” level AI will be able to understand better the entities it is interacting with by discerning their needs, emotions, beliefs, and thought processes.
A me that taps his foot and grins
whenever Dixieland begins.
Hanwha’s IP Cameras with Narrow Artificial Intelligence
Hanwha’s latest intelligent IP cameras provide “narrow artificial intelligence” capability. They are capable of making decisions about objects they observe and categorize them into classes. This classification capability provides several advantages such as better motion detection, reduction of false alarms, and providing information about the attributes of the objects observed.
Enhanced Motion Detection
The object information enhances motion detection, and this allows the IP camera system to detect the motion caused by a person and ignore the motion caused by your pet dog. This is a dramatic improvement over the current pixel motion detection, which is described in our article about How Motion Detection Works in IP Camera Systems.
A me that likes martinis dry,
And on the rocks a little rye.
Reporting the Attributes
The camera is intelligent enough to determine if the object is a person, vehicle, or animal. Once the item is analyzed, it can define various attributes about the object. These attributes can then be sent to video management software. This metadata can be used to enhance the surveillance and safety provided by the IP camera system.
For example, a person can be categorized by gender, clothing type, or clothing color. The Face attributes can classify people by age or that they are wearing glasses. Vehicle’s characteristics include the classification by color or vehicle types such as trucks, buses, or bikes.
| Model | Attributes | Supported Attributes Items |
|---|---|---|
| Person | Gender | Female, Male |
| Upper(Color) | Black, Gray, White, Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Purple (up to 2 colors at the same time) | |
| Lower(Color) | Black, Gray, White, Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Purple (up to 2 colors at the same time) | |
| Bag | Carry Bag or not | |
| Vehicle | Type | Car (Sedan/SUV/Van…etc), Bus, Truck, Motorcycle, Bicycle, Train |
| Color | Black, Gray, White, Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Purple (up to 2 colors at the same time) | |
| Face | Gender | Female, Male |
| Age | Young/Adult/Middle age/Senior | |
| Glasses | Wear Glasses or Not |
Do you need to find a person who was carrying a bag? Or, maybe you want to look for a woman with a blue shirt. All these attributes provide information that can quickly be found in the database, making the security process much quicker.
Best Shot from the Surveillance Camera
The “bestshot” capability allows you to find such things as people’s faces, vehicles, and license plates in the recorded video.
For example, you may have lots of videos of the vehicles traveling down the road, and you would like to get the best shot of a particular license plate. By searching for a red car, you quickly narrow the search. Once you find all the red cars, you can ask the IP camera system to select the best shot of the license plate.
IP Camera Systems are Supercharged with AI
When IP camera systems are more intelligent, they increase security and reduce the labor required to discover alarm conditions. Object-oriented intelligence reduces false alarms. This means the alarms have more meaning and are not ignored. The time needed to find specific video segments is dramatically reduced because of the attributes that help in the search.
IP Camera System AI Summary
The latest IP camera systems from Hanwha have added Artificial Intelligence. This is a gamechanger that provides much more surveillance capability. The ability to identify objects allows the IP camera system to reduce false alarms, detect people, vehicles, and other items, increasing the efficiency of the IP camera system.
And, here’s the end of our poem about computer intelligence:
They make computers for a fee,
But only moms can make a me.
If you would like help selecting the right IP camera system with AI, please contact us at 800-431-1658 in the USA, 914-944-3425, everywhere else, or use our contact form.