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Home > The coming video surveillance revolution -- trends for 2006 and beyond
January 2, 2006
By: Alice Osborn
What looks like a video surveillance revolution after
last year's London terrorist bombings is here with us to
stay. In fact, the consulting firm Frost & Sullivan notes
that by 2010 video surveillance cameras will be a $4.09
billion market. Moreover, in city of London, there are over
500,000 security cameras and video cameras have been in use
since the 1960s. The WSJ stated that a person could expect
to be recorded 300 times a day in the city according to one
study.
Future video surveillance trends will invite more cameras
into our lives in the name of public safety and security,
but at what cost to our personal liberties? As the use of
CCTV (closed circuit TV) cameras expands in the marketplace
and in our daily lives to prevent and fight crime, the
future for CCTV indicates a growing reliance on surveillance
technology use to quickly and unobtrusively track down the
identities of crime suspects.
New CCTV surveillance trends for 2006
The CCTV trends of 2005 will continue to be relevant in
2006 and will focus on identity tracking to catch criminals
and terrorists. These hi-tech developments include the UK's
video surveillance tracking systems for cars with ANPR
(automatic number plate recognition) cameras, biometric
technology and improved digital CCTV systems that use GSM
wireless technology.
- Automobile tracking using ANPR camera recognition
technology
In Great Britain, the Home Office will compile a
database of license plates from its current network of
CCTV cameras that will be equipped with ANPR capabilities
to read plates along highways and gas stations. Once the
daily 35 million license plates are gathered, they will be
sent to a central police database. This database will stay
active for five years, so the police can determine the
driving patterns of suspects, and then can take the
necessary steps to apprehend these persons.
Since criminals use getaway vehicles that are sometimes
stolen, these ANPR cameras will prove indispensable for
capturing them once the CCTV cameras track their patterns.
Says Frank Whitely, the Chief Constable of Hertfordshire,
"In simple terms, criminals use vehicles." The Home Office
wants the CCTV surveillance cameras to be in plain sight,
so that citizens know they are being watched, as well as
protected.
Using data from test runs conducted between 2003-2004,
the ANPR cameras did help police track down criminals
using the more numerous stationary cameras and a few
mobile units. To help capture suspects, the ANPR cameras
alert police to expired plates and uninsured cars, which
can sometimes lead them to further investigations.
- Biometric technology for video identification and
facial recognition
While the UK Home Office uses ANPR cameras to gather
license plate information, they are also trying to improve
computer facial recognition, or biometric technology.
Biometric identification equipment assigns a numerical
value to every subject captured by the CCTV cameras and
these values are then submitted to a central database that
can match new images with the images that are on file.
Biometrics identifies the spacing between the ears, eyes,
and nose, as well as allowing for variants such as facial
hair and glasses. Instead of having the CCTV cameras on
the highways, these video surveillance cameras would be
positioned in public places to help identify suspects.
The future for biometric technology will involve the
further development of 3-D infrared (IR) facial
recognition to include greater camera illumination,
real-time facial recognition passive surveillance, and as
well as improving the accuracy of the captured video
images to rival fingerprinting accuracy.
- Global GSM (global system for mobile communication)
wireless systems
Already in several European airports, CCTV cameras pick
up wireless video feeds to beam the data into handheld
PDAs. In addition, these video streams can also be
transmitted to central control rooms. This GSM technology
and its software will improve by combining greater
portability with greater image quality through
compression, as well as swiftly detecting exceptions in
the video images. For example, the CCTV software can be
programmed to pick up faster moving objects or subjects
carrying certain-sized suitcases.
Future of video surveillance: crime prevention versus
privacy
The tracking of automobiles and faces breeds controversy
where civil liberties are concerned. For instance, why
should innocent people's license plates and their driving
patterns be subject to scrutiny? Because we live in a world
with the threat of terrorism, governments believe that
improved security will save lives.
The ACLU and other civil liberties groups are against the
widespread use of these surveillance technologies, although
they acknowledge the necessity of their presence in airports
and after the London bombings. Says Jay Stanley, an ACLU
privacy coordinator, "We're against turning our public
spaces into constantly monitored, constantly videotaped
arenas where nobody has any privacy anymore and is watched
by the government every time they clean their ears." In the
future, these groups will continue to serve as a
counter-balancing force against any surveillance that steps
out of line, such as the use of video surveillance that only
targets homeless residents of a city.
About the Author
Alice Osborn 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.
Also See:
[ CCTV -- what are the
advantages? How do I decide, what I need? ]
[ Nannycams -- miniature, micro
& pinhole video cameras for child safety ]
[ Security camera
systems for CCTV surveillance and remote monitoring ]
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