Vidient announces new improvements to its SmartCatch video analytics software
Changes include new ways to recognize congested traffic, suspicious behaviors; software now includes XML standard templates and an icon-based map manager
Sunnyvale, California-based Vidient Systems anounced this week sophisticated improvements to its SmartCatch behavior recognition and video analytics software. Most prominent among these changes are new ways to recognize congested traffic, enhancements to the software’s ability to identify and sort standard behaviors, and the ability to associate a suspicious package with a particular person. The SmartCatch software also includes the new industry
standard XML behavior template that speeds the creation and import of new behaviors and adds a new easy-to-read, icon-based location map manager.
Vidient’s success demonstrates the growing strength of the video analytics sector as it moves beyond simple motion detection. Today the technology uses complicated algorithms to recognize different things — a person, a car, a fire, or anything else which a programmer can write an algorithm to recognize. This, however, is only the first step: Once an object has been defined, today’s sophisticated video systems allow users to set rules for action: If an object (a person, a vehicle) has crossed a predetermined line, for example, an alarm is sent to a security post and officers are dispatched to the scene. The systems can send alerts to pagers, emails, cell phones, or any other predefined device.
The direction of the technology: Develop complex algorithms which will recognize suspicious behavior of individuals in public places, identify suspicious objects, etc. Also, as is the case with WiFi access points, a debate is beginning on whether to embed the system’s intelligence at the edge (that is the camera itself), or in a central server.
