Artificial Intelligence 'Revolution' Driven by Intelligent Video

We now live in a world in which machines and devices are visually aware and able to make decisions based upon what they see. And, according to market researchers at IMS Research, it's all thanks to the rise of intelligent video. 

Analysts at IMS have been tracking the video analytics market for more than seven years. Of course, intelligent video has already been used in the security industry for years, and many new applications are already under development: cars that are able to see road conditions and warning signs and react accordingly; consumer devices and game consoles that can be controlled by, and interact with, users through gestures and facial expressions; and digital displays that can show different content depending upon who is viewing it and how they react to what they see.

Why are these ideas finally becoming a reality today? IMS Research’s President, Ian Weightman, explains:

“The basis of our prediction is that the key elements of an intelligent video solution, including compute engines capable of processing HD digital video streams in real-time, high capacity solid state storage capabilities, and advanced video analytic algorithms, have finally evolved to the point where performance has increased and costs have fallen sufficiently to enable commercial products to be developed.”

In the future, continuing improvements in facial and object recognition -- as well as spatial awareness -- will lead to more advanced intelligence. IMS predicts that before the end of the next decade, there is the very real possibility that many machines and robots will be able to see and interact with their environment, people and other visually intelligent devices.

But will companies be willing to make the huge R&D investment needed to make this happen?

“The innovative major corporations, such as Intel, IBM, Microsoft and Sony, are already making significant investment in intelligent video," Weightman said. "This is encouraging many other companies to join the revolution. I think the momentum has already reached the point that these things will happen, the only question now is how quickly.”

More Than Half of Network Cameras will be Megapixel/HD by 2014 - IMS

The growth and adoption of megapixel and HD video surveillance equipment is one of the key trends shaping the video surveillance market toward 2014. According to IMS Research’s latest report, “The World Market for CCTV and Video Surveillance Equipment – 2010 Edition,” by 2014 more than 50 percent of all network cameras shipped will be HD or megapixel resolution.

One of the main benefits of network security cameras has been the availability of megapixel (and more recently HD) resolutions, a feature that until recently analog video surveillance products couldn’t offer. However, recent developments from the HDcctv Alliance, the organization responsible for developing the HD over coax standard (based on the industry HD-SDI broadcast standard), could see end users given a greater choice when specifying megapixel and HD surveillance requirements.

While a high proportion of new, enterprise-class projects are implementing network video security, existing video surveillance installations, which are predominantly analog, still represent a majority of the installed base. This sector of the market will be interesting in the coming years; will customers reuse their existing analog infrastructure and invest in HDcctv, transition to network security cameras, or adopt a hybrid system?

There is little disagreement between protagonists of HD video surveillance that video surveillance systems are transitioning from analog video to networked systems; however, there is discord regarding the system topology needed to achieve this. For customers looking to capture HD and megapixel video, this can be done using a “pure” network video solution or by using an HDcctv analog video surveillance solution that brings the data onto the network using an Ethernet-enabled DVR.

“HDcctv cameras will not impact the uptake of IP cameras in the short term”, said report author and video surveillance research analyst Gary Wong. “Many large and well-known vendors of video surveillance equipment have already invested heavily in developing and marketing network security cameras. It is unlikely that these vendors will adjust their technology roadmaps and marketing messages to accommodate HDcctv products into their product portfolios in the near future.” The lack of recognized brand exposure will prove detrimental to HDcctv equipment sales at the enterprise-class project level. However, HDcctv cameras could potentially limit the available market for network security cameras.

“HDcctv may gain traction in the low and middle segments of the market,” Wong said. “These market segments are serviced by small, local and regional security systems installers who have generally been slow to embrace network security cameras. HDcctv allows installers to offer the benefits of HD to their customers without having to operate outside of their technical comfort zone.”

Despite the potential impact of HDcctv, IMS Research forecasts that by 2014 worldwide shipments of HD and megapixel network security cameras will outnumber sales of HDcctv cameras by a factor of 6-to-1.