SURVEILLANCE SYSTEMS
Sensing change
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How is the camera market responding to automation?
n an effort to automate or augment mundane human-based tasks, such as monitoring CCTV, production lines, or driving vehicles, existing computer vision solutions are largely based on outdated camera systems. But are these the best tools for the job? Traditionally, cameras were the go-to for autonomous applications as they are widely available in the market place, offer high resolution
42 | February 2022 | IN SECURITY
output, and, more importantly, are cheap and easy to use. They are also well-understood by humans because they generally work in visible light – the same range as the human eye. Additionally, they offer a level of variation, such as multispectral or hyperspectral modalities which can move beyond the normal frequencies of visible light into infrared and ultraviolet spectrums, which is an attractive prospect. However, they
are still fundamentally similar to how a human sees the world. For many use cases this is a good thing as the camera image is easily interpretable by human users and can also be used as evidence if misconduct was recorded in a monitored area. But in some ways this immediate similarity can be limiting when it is a machine that is the end user. By breaking this link to human-based perception, we open up
