Wednesday, 31 December 2008
No sooner has the CCTV future arrived ... then it's past.
So much has happened in the world of CCTV this year, that it's difficult to look back and accept that 12 months have passed quite so quickly.
Whilst the technology moves on apace, particularly in the areas of recording and video analytics, the general level of improvement in system design and deployment doesn't actually seem to progress to any great degree.
That may well be down to an over reliance on the latest technology being used, to offset a lack of knowledge in how best to apply what's already available.
That said, 2008 has certainly been a very busy year for me, with growing interest in my TRUSTED CCTV Improvement project (the TRUSTED Camera Assessment documents are also gaining in popularity), and of course the new VIPER Image Evaluation service has also generated bucket loads of interest from right around the world, so that's very encouraging.
Towards the end of the year, it has become increasingly noticeable how many businesses in the wider security industry, have been significantly affected by the general economic downturn; something which is possibly only a relatively short term phenomenon for some, given that crime tends to increase rapidly when economy's move into recession.
But that aside, looking ahead to 2009 business confidence may well take an increasing hit, but then particularly in the security industry, this tends to encourage a focussing of minds, to hopefully deploy and operate more cost effective and efficient systems.
The days of naively throwing large sums of money at video surveillance projects, are over for the time being, and whilst that may help to improve standards more quickly, there is no doubt that the next year or two are going to be painful for many key players in the industry.
On the technology side, predictions of IP Video wiping out analogue, and in some cases the assertion that CCTV in it's conventional sense is all but dead, will be proven to be nothing more than misguided wishful thinking on the part of those, more in love with the technology, than the operational objectives for which it is used.
Many security managers will be faced with a very simple decision, upgrade to digital to look cool, or leverage their existing analogue equipment, to improve their security operations at a much reduced cost.
Whilst it may not be trendy to admit that conventional CCTV still has a lot of mileage in it, the fact that it will become increasingly difficult to justify going fully digital in many situations, is an unpalatable but necessary technological fact of life.
The wise will hopefully look at the most cost effective ways of improving or upgrading what is required to meet their objectives, whilst the foolish will continue to stick religiously to a utopian dream of technology that solves problems, as if by magic.
There is no such thing as a free lunch, but then there's a world of difference between what a Michelin starred chef can do with a bag of ingredients, and an average canteen cook.
Choose your recipes wisely my friends, and whatever you do, don't be tempted to cook the books :-))
A very Happy, Healthy and Peaceful New Year to you all!!
Labels: CCTV, CCTV Consultancy, CCTV Market forecast, Closed Circuit Television, Digital CCTV, IP Video, TRUSTED CCTV, Video Analytics, video surveillance, VIPER evaluations
Sunday, 26 October 2008
From CCTV to CSI, the search for elusive evidence goes on ...
Most people tend to think of the CCTV industry as a high tech business solely concerned with selling "state of the art" surveillance systems, almost guaranteed to catch crooks and increase public safety, as if by magic.
Whilst it's true that globally Closed Circuit Television, and specifically IP Video based surveillance is growing at a more than healthy rate, there are actually two specific areas which are destined for much greater attention in the years to come.
Somewhat paradoxically, Video Analytics and Forensic Surveillance usually occupy their places of merit, at completely opposite ends of the CCTV spectrum.
In recent years, there's been an increasing awareness that enhancing the use of surveillance within a 'digital' domain, is only likely to make quantum leaps in terms of efficiency on the back of rapid developments using powerful image analytic and target tracking systems.
In time, they may not only replace much of the the routine input of a human operator, but will also increase their efficiency and capabilities by automating many aspects of the humble video monitoring and recording process.
Definitely a subject to be revisited in more detail very soon; but of more immediate interest, the role of the Forensic Video Analyst in extracting evidential images from video recordings that aspire to be appalling, is rapidly increasing in importance, particularly as the volume of CCTV 'product' being recovered post incident continues to increase at an exponential rate.
More cameras may well equal more recordings, but for the merry band of experts tasked with recovering usable images, perhaps the only absolute certainty for them is that when it comes to coping with an exploding workload, the demand for more highly skilled technicians will undoubtedly continue well into the foreseeable future. Which in itself creates a wealth of new employment challenges ...
The specialist role of a Forensic Video Analyst has really only existed for a relatively short period, and whilst organisations like the Law Enforcement and Emergency Services Video Association (LEVA) have done much to develop this area of expertise, there are only a relatively few top "experts" working within the field.
One such highly respected member of this rather exclusive 'club' is Jim Hoerricks, the Senior Forensic Video Analyst (FVA) for the Los Angeles Police Department. Having authored his book "Forensic Photoshop" as a working bible for analysts keen to learn about the techniques and tricks used in enhancing video images, his latest development just launched is an online training course entitled "An introduction to Forensic Photoshop".
The course is available through the American Institute of Forensic Education, and will no doubt prove to be an invaluable step for any technicians setting out on a challenging career as an FVA.
Which is very opportune considering the slowly growing recognition here in the UK, that Forensic Surveillance may well in the not too distant future, eclipse the potential for both DNA and fingerprint analysis, in providing the vital edge in crime detection and case resolution.
Labels: CCTV, CCTV Training, Closed Circuit Television, Forensic Surveillance, Forensic Video Analyst, Video Analytics, video surveillance
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