Artificial Intelligence to change surveillance technology
Panasonic recently launched AI vested i-PRO S-Series security cameras. Hidetoshi Kaneko, Director & Division Head, System Solutions & Communications Division, Panasonic Marketing MEA talks to SNS MEA on the scope of AI in physical security and the role played by them.
Artificial Intelligence is the buzzword of the industry with a lot of scope in various sectors. What is the role of AI in physical security?
Far beyond conventional motion detection analytics, AI-powered security cameras provide enhanced situational awareness in the physical security application. In addition to capturing and airing visuals, AI cameras come with intelligent analytics that can detect and identify intruders, loitering, the direction of an object’s movement, suspicious objects left behind, scene change if a camera is moved or covered etc. But the real benefits of AI-powered security cameras was exponential in fighting COVID-19 as these devices can do people counting, heat-mapping, and gauge distance between people.
The robust suite of intelligent analytics further increases security and safety. The possibilities are endless. The use cases can go beyond, and retailers utilise them to enhance the customer experience; in smart cities for traffic monitoring and smart parking; and by event organizers and transports hubs to monitor and ensure safety.
How receptive is the GCC market to AI-based surveillance?
GCC countries like the UAE and Saudi Arabia are building smart cities and have already successfully implemented AI technologies in the telecom, automation, and security industries. These countries are making sure their residents stay safe during the pandemic, and I am sure we all are thankful for living in this safe country. AI technologies like i-PRO make it possible. Some privacy concerns are discussed globally, but ideally, these technologies are neutral and are in place to help people make better and informed decisions.
What are the disadvantages of using AI in physical security? How to overcome these?
Artificial intelligence gives surveillance cameras digital brains to analyze what they capture live with no humans necessary. This is good news for public safety, helping police and first responders. But it has created questions about the future of privacy. However, AI has not advanced enough to replace humans, and I think the pros in this aspect greatly outweigh the cons.
Seeking to understand and appreciate privacy concerns, one of the AI applications that Panasonic developed was i-PRO AI Privacy Guard that generates data without capturing individual identities, following European privacy regulations that are among the strictest in the world.
How will AI in physical security change the surveillance industry in the future?
Combining artificial intelligence and the latest generation open camera technology will further change surveillance technology. New applications will emerge as the existing generation of cameras are updated to the new open and intelligent next-generation devices.
Users will increasingly use AI and cameras with much higher accuracy to prevent false alarms and proactively prevent incidents. It could be used to monitoring and alerting when health and safety guidelines are being breached.
The i-PRO AI-capable cameras are using open platform technology that is designed for third-party application development. Therefore, applications can be built, tailored or upgraded to the needs of an individual customer. We have turned around our strategy by making our i-PRO security cameras open to integrate applications and analytics from third-party companies. Which is the way to go, I believe.
What makes Panasonic’s AI vested i-PRO S-Series security cameras different from its competitors?
Panasonic i-PRO enables users to go beyond traditional security to deliver insights and intelligence, enabling them to improve their business operations. Even though the solution focuses on ensuring security, many of its features are driven by health safety challenges faced in today’s world. They help detect and identify individuals not complying with face mask mandates and so on. This is a critical feature for facilities and businesses that require masks to be worn upon entry.
Panasonic i-PRO Video Insight VMS and intelligent Panasonic i-Pro AI cameras, security professionals can benefit from audio analytics that detects screams, gunshots, explosions and glass breaking, along with environmental sensors that detect noxious fumes and gasses, smoke, vibrations from explosions or earthquakes and more.
