Modern CCTV systems have a lot of different uses and perhaps one of the most surprising ones is that of helping to defeat terrorists hoping to cause some damage in public areas. We aren’t talking about an old fashioned, human controlled security system here but rather a cutting edge type of technology.
Smart Analysis
There is now CCTV technology available which is intelligent enough to analyse a sequence of events and look for anything untoward in it. Even if the stills footage shows nothing worthy of attention the system will still analyse the action over a period of time and work out whether there is anyone doing anything worthy of a bit more attention.
Left Luggage Detection
Anyone who has been in an airport at times of high levels of security will know the fear caused by left luggage. Of course the worry is that a terrorist could have placed some sort of explosive device in the suitcase or bag before wandering off. CCTV cameras can now be programmed to detect these items and raise a warning.
Recognise Faces
If anyone is somewhere they shouldn’t be then the cameras can spot them. This type of system is still being developed and at the moment it isn’t entirely fool proof but over time we can certainly expect it to be of a lot of use.
Fast Image Retrieval
The days of rummaging through a box of cassettes and then fast forwarding through hours of images is long gone. Now the widespread use of digital recording technology means that the right image or the right time can be found really quickly and easily. In the event of a terrorist alert the ability to scan and find what you are after speedily could be the difference between a successful outcome and a tragedy.
Mood Detection
The final advance in this industry is one of the most difficult to get to grips with. To start off we need to imagine a busy place such as a train station or shopping centre. Lots of people go in front of the camera and they all display different attitudes and emotions. Some rush past in a great hurry while others dawdle and yet others appear to wander aimlessly. It would be an impossible task for a human operator to analyse of all these people and work out what kind of mood they are in. However, a super intelligent CCTV system can do this and quickly work out who is nervous or betraying other tell tale signs of being up to no good. This is done by analysing the person’s facial muscles to work out how they are feeling. Apparently there are 7 basic types of facial expression which are used as the starting point.