How to fully employ the information video provides to enhance business intelligence and operational efficiency has become an increasingly important focus for solutions providers, especially amid fiercer competition in the video markets.
For years, video surveillance has been used for security purposes, collecting footage for post-event investigation. Yet, according to various studies, this only accounts for 10 percent of data in the video. How to fully employ the information video provides to enhance business intelligence and operational efficiency has become an increasingly important focus for solutions providers, especially amid fiercer competition in the video markets.
How the hidden value of video can be extracted and analyzed to improve business processes was demonstrated during a smart city exhibition currently held in Taipei. One area where video can be of use other than security is smart parking. Acer, for example, showcased its solution entailing the use of automatic license plate recognition (ALPR) to automate the parking payment process.
The solution consists of a kiosk with an ultrasonic sensor attached to it, and a camera. The former detects whether a space is parked or not. This information can then be transmitted to the user’s app or a citywide signage system to help drivers navigate to the right lot/area. Once the car is parked, the camera captures the vehicle’s license plate and the time of entry/exit. That information, then, is transmitted to the payment system, which deducts the value from the driver’s account.
According to Jay Liu, Senior Manager for Intelligent Identification and Transaction Business at Acer, benefits are manifold. For the driver, they can enjoy a fully automated, frictionless process whereby they don’t have to insert coins or swipe cards to anything. For municipal administrators or parking lot operators, the benefit is streamlined operations, whereby the city no longer requires human workers to walk from car to car and issue parking bills/invoices. Another major benefit, according to Liu, is that the data generated by the sensor and video can be further analyzed for future design and planning purposes. “For example, if data suggests that the turnover rate on a particular street needs to be higher, then the city can raise the parking fee in that particular area,” Liu said.
Another area where video can be of use is retail, helping retailers understand more about their customers and make the necessary planning accordingly. Teco Smart Technologies, for example, showcased its smart retail solution utilizing facial recognition that detects the likely gender and age of the customer in front of the camera. The system can then display advertisement on the nearby digital signage targeting that particular customer.
Not only does the solution help target intended audiences more effectively, it can also help the retailers analyze and understand more about their customers. “It can help the retailer determine whether it’s a good idea to place a particular merchandise in a certain area. If the area is frequented by visitors who are not the merchandise’s targeted audience, then the operator can move it to a more suitable place. This is where facial recognition can come in handy,” said Steven Chen, Sales Specialist with the company.
Besides the facial recognition solution, Teco Smart Technologies also showcases its smart vending machine using the RFID technology registering each drink that has been sold. With this, retailers can quickly gain an oversight of the status of the machine and replenish accordingly.