How Artificial Intelligence Changes the Way We Secure Stadiums

Protecting tens of thousands of spectators is no easy feat. The ability to effectively monitor large crowds across an ­entire stadium increasingly relies on advanced video surveillance solutions that not only incorporate high definition (HD) cameras, but sophisticated artificial intelligence (AI)-driven video management software, designed to help operators ­efficiently identify and respond to potential security events.

As the surveillance industry has evolved, stadiums and other large venues have benefited from a greater adoption of higher resolution cameras that provide both broad coverage and excellent image detail. This shift was an evolution from the industry’s previous reliance on networks of hundreds of analog or low resolution IP cameras, which often forced security personnel to make a tradeoff between field of view and image detail. With solutions such as Avigilon’s HD Pro cameras, however, users are no longer faced with this dilemma.

Fewer Cameras, Higher Definition
Security operators can leverage the exceptional image quality of Avigilon’s HD Pro cameras to cover the entire seating area of a venue with fewer cameras, while simultaneously zooming in with enough detail to get a clear image of a visible individual or event in question – all without sacrificing situational awareness. For instance, a single Avigilon 7K (30 MP) HD Pro camera can replace up to 99 VGA resolution cameras, giving broader coverage with fewer cameras to enhance crowd monitoring.

Technology and the Layered Approach to Stadium Security
A layered approach to video surveillance that combines video management technology with trained staff and access control systems is necessary to help security operators effectively detect and deter suspicious events both within and outside stadium walls.
Avigilon’s video management software, Avigilon Control Center (ACC) software, is designed as an easy-to-use end-to-end high definition system, allowing operators to quickly search, identify, mark and capture the details necessary to positively identify a person, object or vehicle of interest. This technology is designed to help stadium security staff keep spectator incidents to a minimum while complying with strict industry regulations. It offers security staff the ability to monitor and analyze footage in real time and to provide their front-line security employees with the information they need for enhanced screening and crowd management – particularly at stadium entry points where crowds typically gather.
For venues such as Miami’s 65,000-seat Hard Rock Stadium, installing a complete Avigilon security solution has enabled staff to more effectively monitor and protect crowds by giving security operators the ability to accurately identify and respond to potential security issues in a proactive manner. Similarly, the Avigilon solution deployed across multiple spectator venues at the 2016 Summer Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, helped to protect the hundreds of thousands of attendees, volunteers and participants. Avigilon’s advanced video surveillance solutions allowed security personnel to zoom in on activity within large crowds and provide detailed video evidence and information in real time.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) – The Future of Video Analytics
As we’ve seen, high definition video footage and enhanced video management technology have provided the necessary video evidence and detail needed to assist stadium security staff in responding to security events. However, the vast majority of this recorded video data is never viewed. This isn’t for a lack of interesting content or inadequate resources, but rather a gradual decline in human attention spans. Attention is a scarce resource and there is an imbalance between the amount of video data collected and the human attention available to effectively search through that data.
As security technology continues to evolve, exciting developments are taking place with the inclusion of artificial intelligence (AI). Powerful tools are being created that will allow us to modify our approach to video search and free up security personnel to do what they do best: make critical security decisions.

Avigilon Appearance Search and Unusual Motion Detection
Through the power of AI, Avigilon has developed technology that better focuses human attention on what matters most, allowing security staff to answer the critical who, what, where and when of an investigation with decisive action. Advanced video analytics technology, like Avigilon Appearance Search technology, provide security operators with enhanced search capabilities and are designed to help improve response times. Using sophisticated deep learning artificial intelligence, Avigilon Appearance Search technology can sort through hours of footage with ease to quickly locate a specific person or vehicle of interest across all cameras on a site. It can save time and effort during critical investigations as it intelligently analyzes video data, helping to track a person’s route and identify previous and last-known locations.
Innovative new technologies like Avigilon Unusual Motion Detection (UMD) technology will also use AI to bring a new level of automation to surveillance. By continuously learning what typical activity in the scene looks like, UMD is designed to help focus the operator’s attention on atypical events needing further investigation. For instance, UMD is able to automatically detect unusual events, such as a vehicle moving in the wrong direction in front of a stadium, or a stationary stadium crowd being suddenly disrupted, and alert security staff. This technology will allow operators to quickly sort through volumes of video footage with ease, revealing events that might have otherwise been missed.

Looking to the Future
Using AI in video search can help reduce hours of work to minutes, managing resources so that stadium security is more effective and efficient. The continued evolution of AI will provide security personnel with even more powerful tools not just for forensic purposes, but for real time event response. By designing video surveillance search technology to be as simple to use as searching the internet, Avigilon is better focusing human attention on what matters most, helping to dramatically change the way users interact with their security systems.