Adding business intelligence components in camera and video software can meet security or business intelligence needs for users in various fields.
Cameras and
video content analysis (VCA) software have played an important role in keeping places safe and secure. But more and more, they can also enhance business intelligence for users in various verticals, from retail to manufacturing.
That was the point raised by
Beseye, a participant at Computex held in Taipei from June 5 to 9 this year.
According to Ken Chio, Product and Project Manager of Beseye, the company’s solution encompasses cameras and
video analytics software and serves two major purposes: security and business intelligence.
In terms of security, the system
detects people who are not supposed to appear at certain places. “After an end user entity closes, or outside a house in the middle of the night, there shouldn’t be anyone near. So if the presence of an individual has been detected, the system will send an alert to the user immediately,” Chio said. “This is useful for homes, public spaces, enterprises, offices … any end user organization that has a need to secure people and properties.”
Security aside, the solution can also play a safety function. One major user scenario cited by Chio is keeping rail tracks empty when incoming trains approach. “When the barrier comes down at rail crossings, the system will check whether anyone or any object is on the track. If it detects something unusual it will instantly issue an alert to the command and control center or the engineer on the train,” Chio said.
According to Chio, the system is already deployed by Japan’s Tokyu rail company, which operates various lines, including the Toyoko line, in the metropolitan Tokyo area.
Beseye’s video analytics employs skeletal positioning analytics which can detect various movements. “This is our main differentiator. Most solutions utilize
facial recognition, which requires cameras to be placed strategically. Other limitations have also been cited. But our solution can detect when someone falls and when they are climbing a wall,” he said. “Applications are wide-ranging, from
school safety to elderly home monitoring to access control at
factories. When an elderly person falls at a nursing home, for example, the system can detect it and send an alert to the medical staff immediately.”
Beseye is working on a total healthcare solution with one of the largest system integrators in Taiwan, Chio said.
Business intelligence
Besides security, Beseye’s solution can also help improve operational efficiency and business intelligence. One example Chio cited was factories where production line workers may need to find their foreman. With the solution, all the staff needs to do is to raise their arm, and the system will detect it and issue a push notification to the foreman who can then attend to the worker immediately.
Another application is
smart retail where the system can analyze a shopper’s various features. “At a retail environment, we can recognize the sex, age and emotion of the customers and inform the storeowner, who can then conduct the necessary merchandising or marketing activities accordingly. We can also calculate people flow and where they are staying, and create heatmaps based on those data. Further, the system can also be integrated with point of sale so that the storeowner can find out how many people came versus how many people actually made a purchase,” Chio said.
According to Chio, the intelligence resides on GPU-based servers instead of on cameras, whose computing power is inadequate to run various smart functions. The software can be hosted on premise or in the cloud, depending on the customer’s preference and specific requirements.
Besides Japan, the company now has a presence in North America, EMEA and Southeast Asia, Chio said.