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Home > Video surveillance in 2010 -- IP technology set to power economic growth
December 31, 2009
By: Bob Whitehead
Despite an initial slow down in the market earlier in
2009, new forecasts suggest that IP based video surveillance
is poised for significant economic growth, not only among
end users, but also larger organizations, including cities
and governments. Although interest in video surveillance has
been building fairly steadily for the past decade, the
installation of comprehensive video surveillance systems in
cities and by individuals around the world has accelerated
the pace of the growth. Privacy concerns, which long slowed
the widespread implementation of video surveillance, have
started to be redefined to accommodate the desire for an
all-encompassing and rapid security. The increasingly common
integration of video analytics in surveillance allows for
almost instantaneous identification of anomalies in a
variety of environments, from large town squares to
residential streets. With an estimated growth rate of over
200% in the next three years, video surveillance in 2010 is
expected to become both more widespread and more
technologically sophisticated.
The popularity of IP networks over CCTV networks
The increasing popularity of IP video surveillance can be
linked to the gradual
erosion of support for CCTV based
surveillance, or analog closed circuit television. Use of CCTV, by
its very nature, does not possess the flexibility or
integration with computer networks that a wireless IP
surveillance based system does. Frost and Sullivan, a
globally recognized consulting firm, observe that
growth in
IP technology can be partially linked to how incredibly easy
it is to use and install. Unlike a CCTV system, the
flexibility of IP allows for data to be quickly analyzed
from anywhere. As the speed of identification becomes
increasingly important, a larger number of companies and
individuals are buying or even replacing their CCTV systems
with IP.
Affordability and integration of video analytics
The increased sophistication of video analytics is
another driver of economic growth. This software, which can
rapidly identify anomalies and help with the detection and,
in some cases, prevention of crime, has encouraged companies
that would otherwise not invest in video surveillance to
purchase systems, especially in the
utility industry. The
rapid analysis carried out by the software tends to function
better with IP based systems than CCTV systems, although
video analytics do function on both.
Video surveillance spreads to military applications
The widespread acceptance and use of IP video
surveillance in all other sectors of public life has begun
to make government organizations that do not possess the
technology seem at best, out of date, and at worst,
unacceptably insecure. The United States recently armed its
war planes with video surveillance equipment to help
identify potentially dangerous situations in Afghanistan.
The technology will allow each equipped aircraft to take in
10 simultaneous video feeds, and then project those feeds to
10 individual ‘users.’ Some stationary ground posts will be
able to receive up to 50 simultaneous feeds, in an effort to
gather as much information about the state of affairs on the
ground without involving any more troops than is absolutely
necessary. The U.S. government only plans to increase its
use of video surveillance, with a projected goal of 65
simultaneous feeds by 2014.
City and community installations
While an increasing number of cities have been installing
video surveillance systems, individual subsets of those
cities, such as educational facilities, have begun to
install systems of their own. In Plainfield, Illinois, a
school district has installed a video surveillance system
that will link each branch of the district and allow
simultaneous monitoring. The National ICT of Australia,
which functions as the country’s information and
communications technology research center, was recently
awarded $1.01 million dollars to
develop video surveillance
technology for the
Port of Brisbane, one of Australia’s
busiest commercial ports. The system, which will include
video analytics, is a test model funded by the Australian
government, in hopes that the technology developed at the
Port can be adapted for other important civic locales.
Accommodation of privacy concerns
The increased presence of video surveillance has prompted
many people to begin try to redefine the notion of what can
and should be private. Many people agree that while the
legalities of public videotaping are still somewhat murky,
anyone who is in a public space must accept that he or she
relinquishes the rights to total privacy. The privacy debate
has now shifted to defining what levels of privacy are
sacrosanct in public. For example, a person may expect that
he or she will not be physically invaded without cause, but
they must also understand that their movements, facial
expressions, and visible possessions are all subject to
being recorded and analyzed. With these concerns in mind,
the Department of Homeland Security has begun to recommend
that recipients of video surveillance camera installation
grant money provide
assessments of their privacy procedures,
in order to preserve an acceptable level of privacy for
private citizens.
Conclusion
Ultimately, this combination of sophisticated technology
and thoughtful planning, both on the part of those who
install video surveillance, and those who seek to maintain
acceptable levels of privacy, bolsters the forecasts of
significant economic growth in the coming year for IP video
surveillance.
About the Author
Bob Whitehead is a successful freelance writer and
contributor to Video-Surveillance-Guide.com. Your definitive
guide to video surveillance equipment, CCTV cameras and
wireless security systems for home and business.
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