Video analytics can be one of the most valuable tools for managing a smart city, as it provides you with a wealth of data that you can use to take action. Smart city technologies are designed to improve the security and operational efficiency of urban areas. With the help of the right video analytics solution, authorities can take proactive measures to improve security and take the necessary steps after an incident occurs for better investigation and effective city management.
There are various video analytics companies that offer solutions for security and city management. But customers in this segment of the market need a set of specific features more than others. This article explores the great video analytics features that smart and secure city customers need more than anything else.
Subject identification and license plate recognition
The most important analytics available to smart cities is subject re-identification, sometimes referred to as intelligent people search.
This analytics allows you to quickly search a network of cameras for a suspect or suspected criminal, determining the suspect’s last known location or creating a timeline of events. Once the analytics identify a suspect, operators can run the analytics on other cameras to quickly “re-identify” the suspect in other images captured by the camera.
Features such as license plate recognition, which allows vehicles to be identified, are important in this market. Customers are also looking for features that allow them to track people and their behavior in public places.
In safe cities or in law enforcement, the use of license plate recognition technology is very high.
For example, to optimize parking operations, smart surveillance can use license plate recognition analytics to digitize parking space occupancy and eliminate or reduce the use of parking ticket systems and parking barriers. A smart camera equipped with LPR license plate recognition analytics can identify a specific vehicle, detect the length of stay, and integrate with online payment systems for a complete digital experience.
Traffic Operations Management Features
Smart cities start with intelligent, informed planning. This is where video analytics can again deliver valuable business intelligence. AI-powered video analytics can analyze long-term traffic data, enabling continuous planning for road layout and control.
Over time, these analytics can capture and digitize traffic data from roadway and intersection activity, providing a more efficient way to capture and interact with traffic patterns. On the other hand, these same cameras can use analytics to improve pedestrian and cyclist safety by: reviewing whether vehicles are yielding to pedestrians and determining whether vehicles should slow down to accommodate increased pedestrian traffic, or whether a dedicated bike lane would be more appropriate for the flow of traffic. These analytics can also help determine whether more crosswalks are needed or whether there is a risk of illegal pedestrian crossing.
Alerts for specific events
In addition to alerts for common issues like accidents, some cities are using video analytics to meet their own unique needs. For example, a large city in Asia needed to detect whether people were fishing illegally in one of the city’s lakes, and used analytics to detect people’s jumping movements. Additionally, tracking any suspicious behavior is important to customers.
The ability to understand where people or vehicles should or shouldn’t be and alert them if something looks suspicious is important. Suspicious behavior might be something like a pickup truck pulling into an unattended parking lot. Others include alerting them to lane crossings or detecting congestion, whether it’s pedestrians or traffic. This will help you understand whether traffic patterns need to be corrected.
Parking management
Secure and optimized parking lots and garages are another element of smart and safe cities. Traffic monitoring in smart cities is not just about vehicle flow and pedestrian movement. It is easy to identify a car that runs a red light, but in most cases a car that has parked for more than the allowed amount in a parking lot remains undetected.
Another issue is the unauthorized use of parking spaces reserved for people with physical disabilities. Smart cameras can monitor parking lots to check for unauthorized traffic in public parking spaces; this improves and streamlines operations that are often complex and costly. Video analytics applications can use computer vision methods to detect when a parking violation has occurred; upon detection, an alert is sent to operators and authorities, along with a snapshot of the incident.
Conclusion
There are other features that are better left unmentioned. The ability to summarize long videos, instantly search for subjects, and alerts for congestion, loitering, and violence are some of the features that are highly sought after in smart cities.
Smart cities are looking for alerts on congestion and traffic conditions to use for city management tasks such as garbage collection, street cleaning, and more. Smoke and fire detection are also exciting areas for the future, although legacy fire control systems still dominate this sector.
Taken from a&s magazine
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Smart City, Traffic Management, Transportation Monitoring, Smart Solutions, Smart Video System, Smart Building, Artificial Intelligence, Analytics, Video Analytics, Video Analysis Systems, Edge-Based Analytics, Image Analysis, Parking Management, Parking, Traffic, License Plate Cameras, License Plate Camera, License Plate Camera, License Plate Reader System, GeoVision License Plate Reader System, CCTV, Network CCTV, IP Camera