By Ralph Spickermann, CTO, Oyla Inc.
One of the most critical elements of any AI-based video security is its ability to accurately identify potential threats. Traditional security systems fall short on effectiveness and reliability due to the frequent occurrence of false alarms. Along with high costs, operators often themselves stuck with a surveillance system that fails to deliver return-on-investment (ROI)—and makes smart security more of a headache.
AI analytics are increasingly applied to surveillance video streams to automatically flag unusual activity in real-time. But, when existing technology misses the mark on accuracy, the risks posed can progressively become detrimental to the entire security operation: a high rate of false alarms, wasted time and resources on nonexistent threats, alarm fatigue resulting in response latency, difficulty in real-time tracking, poor quality in extreme weather or bad lighting and overall inconsistencies when protecting areas like critical infrastructure is imperative.
It’s All About Fusion
Oyla’s approach is fundamentally different. By obtaining better data as input to the AI engine in the first place, all video surveillance capabilities improve in accuracy and reliability. To this end, Oyla has developed a unique AI-based video surveillance system that augments the video with an inexpensive 3D sensor and proprietary coding. 3D information is collected across the video field of view using the remote sensing method LIDAR (Light, Detection, and Ranging), which is integrated with the video sensor at a hardware level.
LIDAR is a sensing technology that measures the distance of an object by firing pulses of lasers. An extremely accurate 3D representation of the object or person is generated using the time and wavelength of the reflected beam. This environmental data captured provides a truly complete view of any user-defined space.
Oyla’s solution keeps the 3D data gathered via LIDAR sensors independent of the video stream and doing so statistically improves the accuracy of the AI and analytic models is powers. However, it is not just that there is LIDAR and a camera in the same housing. These two technologies are inherently put together in such a way that the technology actually fuses the data; they operate cooperatively along with the AI to provide more intelligence.
In essence, the speeds and feeds behind the Oyla solution are driven by the fusion of video, AI, and 3D sensing technologies (LIDAR). So, how does this technology empower users to analyze data, optimize security and identify what’s around the corner?
Intrusion Detection
Whether monitoring a perimeter or other critical area of interest, intrusion detection is a crucial security application for any organization because it proactively and intelligently monitors whether an unauthorized person has accessed, or attempted to access a protected area. Oyla’s 3D-aware video surveillance system can detect people and other objects in world view space, providing automatic alerts when a user-defined perimeter has been crossed or if there is a presence in a user-defined area or volume space. Quality and accuracy are never compromised due to difficult or insufficient lighting. But, the key differentiator from other manufacturers? It’s not reliant on error-prone motion detection methods, meaning accuracy is virtually guaranteed because of the data received from LIDAR sensors. True spatial intelligence.
Social Distancing & People Counting
One of the key benefits of having access to dynamic security data in real-time is the ability to automatically track, identify, classify, and measure individual people. With that, the intelligence gathered offers up so much for investigation and proactive monitoring: real-time locations, patterns of behavior, and nearby risks—just to name a few. Oyla can detect people and other objects in 3D space, measure the instantaneous distance between them from standoff distances of 40 meters or more and also track the motion of the individual persons of interest in a gathering or elsewhere. The practical advantages of this technology range the gambit, from crowd monitoring to social distancing.
Envisioning Security Driven by Accuracy
Today, the market is rapidly adopting AI-based video analytics, but overall performance, as well as effectiveness, are inconsistent at best. Oyla delivers the missing piece to a more accurate solution. With a 3D LIDAR-based video surveillance solution, organizations have the potential to position themselves with a portfolio that encompasses revolutionary technology, and users can enhance situational intelligence with improved reliability and rich visual data to make smarter, real-time choices.