Video Surveillance News: Manned Security Solutions Face a Revolution. Viseum UK Delivers “Guardian Angel” Technology. It Aims to Stop Another Navy Yard or Boston Bombing
The world continues to debate Edward Snowden’s revelations. Viseum UK of London, England has developed a network of autonomous surveillance cameras. The network spots crime. Human operators see the video only when harmful activity looks likely.
Stuart Thompson is the owner of Viseum UK. He reflects that Britain has more surveillance cameras per capita than virtually anywhere else in the world. He notes a gap between that idea and current practice. The CBS series Person of Interest featured an all-seeing crime-fighting machine. Conventional video surveillance in Britain works differently. It floods thousands of police and video surveillance operators with information. The volume overloads them and can infringe privacy. Thompson says:
“Conventional Video Surveillance (if working and pointing in the right direction) only overloads operators with imagery. Crimes can be hidden in a sea of routine activity, or masked by more interesting, even prurient video surveillance footage… Discerning suspicious and potentially harmful indicators within a sea of mundane and innocent routine is a needle-in-the-haystack task that human beings are exceptionally bad at. Legal challenge is now more common. No authority wants a missed or badly handled event to reach court. The risks to resources, reputation and revenue are high.”
However, the London inventor says his computer-automated AI situational awareness system is optimised for anywhere human beings live and work. Viseum’s Intelligent Moving Camera (IMC) is controlled by video surveillance software called intelligent Virtual Operator Software (iVOS). The system watches a full 360-degree panorama until it senses trouble. The IMC then uses a pan, tilt and zoom lens on its own. It takes a closer look and tracks suspicious activity at long range. These systems recognise and track a troublemaker or a terror suspect. They do this more reliably than a human surveillance operator.
The system quickly learns its surroundings and records but ignores “normal” activity. Viseum say that footage of routine events stays inside the camera unit. It is then wiped, unseen by a human. A human operator is alerted only when iVOS detects suspicious or dangerous activity. The operator then sees an edited replay of what iVOS spotted. The operator alerts the authorities, emergency services or security patrols. At the same time iVOS switches to evidence collection mode. The moving camera captures forensic quality images of the event and the people involved.
Viseum technology appears often in video surveillance news. Several major UK police forces and town councils use it, including London. The impact on crime and antisocial behaviour has been positive. Viseum say the same approach applies to streets and malls in the United States. It can strengthen homeland security in busy cities, ports, transport hubs and at national borders. Viseum technology could counter public disorder, riots. Street crime, while unobtrusively safeguarding school and college kids or elderly, vulnerable citizens and patients.
Viseum’s technicians and security experts were recently invited to visit the GovSec West expo in Dallas, Says, Thompson:
“The UK and USA have remarkably similar security concerns. As beacons of democracy and opportunity, we attract illegal immigrants, international criminals, and violent extremists. We also face home-grown challenges on our streets, ranging from antisocial behaviour,
criminality, assault, radicalised citizens and even public disorder. Countering these threats while protecting personal freedoms is not easy. Manned guarding is an expensive and unreliable option, especially over large areas with numerous entrances. Police and security patrols cannot be everywhere at once. Conventional video surveillance also creates tension between security and public privacy.”
Viseum’s Find, Fix, Follow (F3) capability uses behavioural algorithms, plus face, person. Vehicle number plate recognition technology, to spot and track a perpetrator or suspect wherever they go within the Viseum network. Viseum iVOS spots other events just as well. Examples include an abandoned bag, agitated behaviour, a neglected patient or a person harassed late at night. When nothing unusual happens, the images stay on the system hard drive. They are then overwritten at a set time. They explain:
“We designed our Intelligent Moving Cameras and iVOS to act as virtual guardian angels. They watch over daily life without intruding. They are ready to intervene when people are threatened. The technology is also perfect for discrete protection of schools, campuses, hospitals and care homes.”
Viseum met a wide range of US security professionals. Sheriffs and police department chiefs were impressed by the technology. So were heads of campus security, gated communities and care home owners. Homeland security and military experts agreed. Each faced the same problem. They had to identify unusual, harmful or suspicious activity in a busy space. Any incident might later reach court and affect reputation. Thompson reassures:
“The events vary widely. They range from a Navy Yard or Boston attack to antisocial behaviour, a mugging, or a confused patient leaving hospital. In each case we give security practitioners continuous awareness of their area of responsibility. We achieve this without draining their resources through hundreds of AI surveillance cameras, expensive infrastructure, and valuable monitoring staff. Viseum offers automated instantaneous forensic analysis of a previously unknown perpetrator’s movements before and after the event. We give patrols, incident commanders and the courts an unbroken record of video surveillance evidence. It shows what is happening and who is involved.”
Viseum video surveillance improves and supports the human response to security incidents. It frees people to do what they do best, which is deal with other people. It can also offer further savings in terms of security architecture support costs and loss prevention. Intelligent cameras can be configured for close quarters in a hospital room. They can also scan an airport. They can survey an area the size of an Olympic Park. Watching over busy places, with 360-degree coverage, the Viseum Intelligent Moving Camera. IVOS never blink, never get tired, look in the wrong direction or become distracted.
For further information, visit www.viseum.co.uk
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REF: VIS692 – GUARDIAN ANGEL