Perimeter security is critical as it serves as the first line of defense for end user organizations. In this regard, AI-based video analytics can play a key role. This article looks at how AI can make perimeter security smarter and more effective.
Perimeter security is critical as it serves as the first line of defense for end user organizations. In this regard, AI-based video analytics can play a key role. This article looks at how AI can make perimeter security smarter and more effective.
Importance of perimeter security
The perimeter of an organization is the outer boundary of that organization. As such, it needs to be properly secured to deter intruders at the outset.
“Perimeter security … is about setting clear boundaries and protecting everything inside – the people, the property, the assets. A good perimeter doesn't just keep people out; it also helps you manage and control who comes in, guiding traffic to the right entry points where you can easily observe them,” said Todd Dunning, Director of Product Management, Video Security and Analytics at
Pelco.
“It's amazing how much a visible and well-maintained perimeter can do,” he adds. “A strong fence, a well-placed gate, and visible security cameras all send a powerful message to potential intruders. In fact, there's a statistic out of the UK that really drives this home – sites with no easy public access points are almost 15 percent less likely to be targeted, showing how much of a deterrent a strong perimeter can be.”
Challenges with perimeter security solutions
Yet having perimeter security solutions in place is not all smooth sailing. A key challenge with perimeter security solutions is the high false alarm rate.
“Conventional motion detection systems generate 50,000+ false alarms per monitoring station daily. Even at 90 percent filtering efficiency, operators still face 5,000 false alerts to process,” said Albert Stepanyan, President and CEO of Scylla AI.
“Above all, costly false alarms are a major concern as they drain budgets, pull teams off real incidents, and create alarm fatigue,” said Mats Thulin, Director of AI and Analytics Solutions at Axis Communications.
Even with video surveillance in place, operators still face daunting challenges if the system is not supported with advanced analytics.
“Security operators miss up to 45 percent of screen activity after just 12 minutes of monitoring, and 95 percent after 22 minutes. This creates dangerous security gaps during critical threat windows,” said Scylla.
“Observing complex sites in real-time is tougher than ever. With modern systems, you can cover a huge area with remote cameras, but someone still has to watch those feeds. On a large or complex site, an operator might be responsible for dozens of cameras and a host of other duties. It’s a lot to manage,” Dunning said.
AI to the rescue
To address these challenges, AI-based video analytics can play an effective role.
“A big advancement we're seeing is the ability for AI analytics to move beyond simple detection. It can now leverage site-specific information to provide actionable security insights. This isn't just about spotting an event, but understanding its significance and helping teams continuously enhance their perimeter security and access operations,” Dunning said.
“For example,” he adds, “AI video analytics can factor in additional credentials and even behavioral patterns to streamline access management. This allows for smoother, more efficient facility access for authorized personnel without compromising existing security protocols."
Meanwhile, AI can help reduce false alarms significantly in perimeter security. “Advanced edge processing helps on two fronts – the picture and the interpretation. Enhanced image processing cleans up noisy frames and handles low light and glare, which cuts nuisance triggers from foliage, reflections, and headlights. That gives analytics a cleaner picture to start with. Then AI-enhanced object classification distinguishes between people, vehicles, and animals, so teams get fewer false alarms, clearer priorities, and fewer needless callouts,” Thulin said.
Stepanyan used his company’s perimeter security solutions as an example. “Scylla's ScyllaNet architecture delivers mean time-to-alert of 0.78 seconds – 5x faster than competing systems. Our proprietary AI achieves 99.9999903 percent specificity (tested over 287 hours with only 5 false positives), eliminating the noise that drowns operators in conventional systems,” he said.