AN Eye for security

L.N. Revathy
The Hindu Business Line
You walk into a shopping mall near your house, dine at a restaurant or walk into an airport. Wherever you go, the small TV placed in a corner of the premises makes you realise that every movement of yours is under the scanner.

The recent spate of terror attacks has put the spotlight on security surveillance not only in India but also most parts of the world.

Video surveillance systems are not new. They are probably more than two decades old and represented primarily by analog technology. Better known as CCTV (closed-circuit television), the analog CCTV systems include analog cameras connected to the VCR (Video Cassette Recorder) for recording.

Surveillance today is seen to move beyond security, particularly with the advent of embedded applications in security products. The role of a camera has moved from passive to intelligent surveillance. The present day video serves as a tool for gathering business intelligence and for other applications, say industry people.

Surveillance, for instance, is used to manage traffic in cities and in retail outlets for footfall measurement. It is also used for end-to-end visibility in the production process — especially in the nuclear and chemical industries.

“Video analytics is an emerging trend, tipped to drive the future of the surveillance industry. Specialised video analytics, such as automatic number-plate recognition, people counting, face recognition, etc, are going to impact sectors such as traffic management, transportation and investigation. The ongoing shift from analog to digital surveillance cameras and open standards allows the convergence of applications across various components.

We can now integrate fire alarm systems, intelligent building management systems and access control systems over a common IP-based platform, managed by a single application,” says Prakash Prabhu, Country Manager, Axis Communications.

The Swedish company says it launched the world’s first surveillance camera with connection to an IP network in 1996. The company has since come a long way, especially with the ongoing shift from analog to digital technology and with closed circuit systems of the past giving way to open and fully integrated systems. The Axis range of products includes network (IP/digital) surveillance cameras, video servers, video decoders and video management software.

As per a 2008 IMS Research Report, Axis commands a 33.5 percent market for network cameras globally.