Security with the power to learn
Cameras are about to change the way we live and work and all for the better. With security cameras around the world predicted to reach one billion in 2021, the combination of Artificial Intelligence and the latest generation open camera technology will change the world’s perceptions from Big Brother to big benefit.
AI and open camera systems are a true game changer. Imagine a world where the cameras are not just watching and reporting for security but having an even wider positive impact on our lives. Where they switch on and off street and building lights as people come and go, where traffic jams are predicted and vehicles are automatically rerouted, where more tills are opened just before a queue starts to form and where cameras identify our personal shopping habits and show us how we might look in the latest outfit based on our likes as we browse.
In the technology world, we call this AI at the Edge. The very latest generation of cameras are capable of running three different AI applications at the same time and can effectively observe and process information and instigate actions all based on our wishes. The changes to daily life described earlier may seem subtle but they can very quickly accumulate to massive social benefits, for example, in the areas of energy and environmental conservation. There are also major economic benefits for industry. These types of intelligent camera applications are the very basis for automation and the introduction of industry 4.0 where processes are automated, monitored and controlled by AI-driven systems.
Many have been concerned about the potential impact of cameras and AI on individual privacy and worry about a potential Big Brother influence, but the use of AI technology in the camera system is about the ability to generate and analyze meta data to quickly recognize patterns of information - rather than a focus on individuals and their identities. The technology provides us with better, faster and more accurate information. It is then up to organisations to decide how they best use that information.
