Penguins Under Surveillance

Yet another new and creative use of surveillance and biometric technologies. At the University of Bristol, scientists have designed an unobtrusive surveillance system that can be subtly integrated into the environment of various endangered species. The systems will help scientists observe and track endangered animals, starting with the African penguin, of which there are only 170,000 remaining. Though the project was initially designed with penguins in mind (it's called the Penguin Recognition Project), the scientists are confident it could have wide-ranging benefits for the conservation of other species.

Challenges and developments in "intelligent video surveillance"

Referred to variously as "intelligent video surveillance" or "intelligent scene analysis", video analytics employs algorithms and vector partitioning to detect unexpected movement or unusual behaviour that may pose a threat to people, property and infrastructure.

Common scenarios observed by analytics suites include border security, abnormal pedestrian or vehicular motion, suspect packages, and many forms of street crime or deviation from social norms. Such deviation can cover prostitution, kerb crawling, drug dealing and trackside intrusion. Here, ATM loitering and platform suicide behaviour are depicted.

As analytics continues to improve and the leading providers respond resourcefully to a broad range of user demands, scene analysis will gain wider acceptance in both government and commercial spheres. The scenarios detected will become increasingly subtle, allowing innovative end-users to improve public safety by employing this exciting technology.