An Ultimate Guide to Video Analytics: Applications and Opportunities

There was a time when installing a CCTV camera in an office, residential building, stadium, or any other public place was considered the best security measure. These CCTV cameras uninterruptedly record video footage, but they are completely dependent on human monitoring and analysis to identify suspicious behavior, ensure security, and serve other purposes for which it is installed. 

These CCTV cameras definitely enhance security, but they lack in delivering real-time insights to ensure proactive security and a timely response to events. That’s when AI video analytics comes into play. Video analytics leverages AI, computer vision, and machine learning to facilitate real-time monitoring, automated detection of suspicious behavior, objects, and patterns for quick and intelligent decision-making. 

The immense potential of video analytics can be understood from the Grand View Research report, which highlights that its global market size is anticipated to reach USD 37.84 billion by 2030. 

But what is video analytics, how does it work, and what are the unique video analytics applications for different industries? This blog provides answers to all these questions in detail to make you understand intelligent video analytics inside out. Let’s quickly begin.

What is Video Analytics- Simple Definition

In simple words, video analytics is a technology that can analyze video footage captured by CCTV cameras in real-time. That too without manual intervention! In traditional settings, videos recorded by CCTV cameras are analyzed by human analysts, which may take hours or days. 

Intelligent video analytics does the same task in real-time. You read that correctly. There is no need to pile up video footage; the real-time video analytics automate analysis of live video content to detect, track, and categorize people, vehicles, and other items. It offers proactive monitoring by identifying patterns and unusual behaviors and providing critical insights. 

How does Video Analytics Work

Before we check out the top applications of video analytics, let’s explore how exactly this technology works:

1. Video Capture: CCTV cameras show live footage. 
2. Preprocessing: The smart video analytics system enhances the video to minimize noise for accurate analysis.
3. Frame Extraction: The captured video is categorized into different frames for an in-depth analysis.
4. Object Detection: Video analytics algorithms recognize and locate objects or behavior.
5. Object Tracking: Detected objects are tracked further to keep an eye on their movement.
6. Behavior Analysis: This involves analyzing the behavior of detected objects or people.
7. Event Detection: In this step, the video analytics algorithms flag particular events such as unauthorized access. 
8. Alerting and Reporting: Smart video analytics systems send real-time alerts and generate reports.

Also Read: How Does AI Video Analytics Help Detect Threats in Real Time?

Industry Applications of Video Analytics

Video analytics is increasingly holding a permanent position in the security and surveillance systems of many industries. Apart from upgrading security, intelligent video analytics can be used in numerous ways across industries. Let’s explore these video analytics applications or use cases in detail:

Retail

Traditional monitoring done by CCTV cameras is reactive, prone to human errors. It doesn’t always provide accurate insights. Limited insights that even after spending hours to analyze video content may become a roadblock to real-time decision-making. Video analytics can overcome these challenges and can revolutionize retail in the following ways:

• Customer Insights: With smart video content analytics, retailers can look into customer behavior, such as the time and number of customers who visit the store, the time they spend in the store, the aisles they spend the most time in, etc. Based on these insights, retailers can optimize store layouts and marketing strategies.

• Theft Prevention: With video analytics equipped with traditional surveillance systems, security personnel at retail stores can automate the detection of suspicious behavior like shoplifting gestures and unauthorized access. With live alerts, they can minimize the chances of financial loss without increasing the number of security staff.

• Conversion Rate Optimization: Video analytics provide retailers with details on how customers interact with products and displays. Based on this, they can optimize merchandising and store layouts for increased sales and enhanced customer experience. 

Security and Surveillance

Security and surveillance are integral parts of every industry. Security and surveillance services provider companies face several challenges, as human analysis might miss critical incidents due to high volume. With video analytics integration, such companies can do:

• Intruder Detection: Intelligent video analytics automatically recognize unauthorized entries and raise an alert if it detects perimeter breaches.

• Access Control: By equipping conventional surveillance systems with smart analytics, security services providers can ensure authorized access to restricted premises. The analytics system utilizes facial recognition to verify identities.

• Crowd Management: With video analytics-powered security cameras, it is easier to monitor crowd density and flow to avoid unwanted situations such as overcrowding, mainly during public events or at public places.

Explore More: How to Build AI-Powered Crowd Monitoring Systems? CCTV Security Solution

Healthcare

Manually observing patients is a resource-intensive task. Moreover, it doesn’t guarantee accuracy and timely action taking. With video analytics, healthcare professionals and organizations can ensure the following:

• Patient Safety: Video analytics can immediately detect falls or even prevent ones by observing unusual movements or signs of distress. Such systems can immediately raise an alert to ensure faster response by caregivers.

• At-Home Monitoring: With AI-powered video analytics, caregivers can ensure complete remote monitoring for elderly or disabled individuals. AI-powered video surveillance immediately recognizes risky behaviors and alerts in real-time for prompt action.

• Emotion Recognition: With video analytics, healthcare professionals and caregivers can analyze patients (especially those with mental health issues) for their expressions and unusual behavior. 

Explore More: AI Fall Detection for Hospitals and Elderly Care

Smart Cities and Transportation 

Manually managing traffic and transportation in smart cities requires a lot of resources. It is not efficient as well. With AI video analytics, authorities can do the following:

• Traffic Management: Computer vision video analytics analyzes vehicle flow and identifies congestion patterns to automatically optimize traffic light timings and prevent the occurrence of traffic jams.

• Parking Management: The technology can detect available parking spots in real-time and help manage parking, especially in multi-level parking spaces or large spaces.

• Public Safety: Video analytics, when installed with public CCTV cameras, can detect unattended objects, vehicles, bags, suspicious behavior, and more to improve public safety.  

You may like to read: AI-Powered Video Analytics for Public Sector

Sports

The sports industry faces multiple challenges due to manual video footage review, which is slow and provides limited output. Here is how video analytics can transform:

• Player Tracking- With artificial intelligence-powered video analytics and surveillance, sports professionals can track players’ positions, movements, and speed during live sports.

• Performance Analysis: Integrating video analytics in ordinary surveillance cameras can help coaches assess players’ techniques, stamina, and other aspects of performance and behavior

• Injury Prevention- Smart video analytics can identify the signs of distress or tiredness in players to immediately alert coaches and prevent injuries. 

Manufacturing and Industrial Automation

Lack of real-time monitoring in manufacturing plants and industries may lead to worker safety hazards and equipment brokedown. Video analytics can transform the industry and its operations with:  

• Defect Detection: AI-powered video analytics can identify product defects at the time of product assembly or production. It generates real-time alerts upon detecting a defect. This reduces waste and improves quality control.

• Workers’ Safety:  With intelligent surveillance, manufacturers and production supervisors can ensure each worker is using safety gear and complying with safety protocols to prevent accidents and injuries.

• Equipment Tracking: By integrating video analytics, manufacturing companies can easily track the usage, movement, and condition of machines and equipment to prevent breakdown and schedule timely maintenance. 

Education 

With traditional surveillance, educational institutions, like colleges, schools, universities, and coaching centers, find it difficult to prevent property damage and violence, and manage secure access to restricted areas. Video analytics provide real-time surveillance and help educational facilities with:

• Classroom Monitoring: AI-powered surveillance can detect unusual behavior of students and empower teachers to ensure focus in classrooms.

• Vandalism Prevention: With AI-enabled real-time monitoring of educational institutions, authorities can detect suspicious activities and gatherings to prevent vandalism.

• Access Control: Intelligent video systems for surveillance can control and monitor entry points to prevent unauthorized access to labs and other restricted areas.

Banking 

Video analytics plays a pivotal role in the banking industry, where there is a high chance of fraud. Traditional surveillance may not work due to its reactive approach. By equipping video analytics, banking professionals can ensure:

• ATM Security: With intelligent video feeds analytics, security personnel in the bank can detect suspicious behavior at the Automated Teller Machines or ATMs. These systems are capable of raising an immediate alarm upon detecting forced withdrawals or theft.

• Queue Management: Smart analytics equipped in video cameras can monitor customer queues, anticipate wait times, and alert staff if there is any need to open additional counters to manage more customers.

• Branch Premises Security: Intelligent surveillance enables bank professionals and their security teams to identify unusual activity or behavior inside the bank premises to take immediate action. 

Logistics & Warehousing

Precise shipment tracking, safe operations, and restricted access control are some things that logistics and warehousing management cannot compromise. This can be efficiently achieved with AI-powered video analytics. 

• Inventory Tracking: Video analytics-powered cameras with the potential of artificial intelligence can track goods in real-time, verify stock counts, and detect misplaced or missing items. This helps with accurate and efficient inventory management. 
• Access Control: Intelligent monitoring can ensure that only authorized personnel can access a restricted area. This enables protecting valuable assets and inventories without making an additional effort or deploying extra staff. 
• Loading Dock Safety: With AI-enabled surveillance, logistics companies can easily detect unsafe loading/unloading practices, prevent accidents, and optimize dock scheduling.

Also Read: AI Data Analytics for Supply Chain Risk Management

Agriculture & Farming

Having real-time insights contributes to improving productivity and ensuring safety. Agriculture and farming businesses can achieve this with video analytics. It also facilitates:

• Livestock Monitoring: Smart cameras, powered with AI and video analytics, can track animal movements, detect health issues, and monitor feeding patterns to prevent losses.

• Crop Surveillance: Farmers can detect pests, monitor plant growth, and assess irrigation needs in real time using AI-powered video monitoring.

• Equipment Usage: Video analytics can also help with tracking farm machinery usage, preventing theft, and ensuring proper handling of costly equipment.

You may like to read: AI Video Analytics for Infrastructure: Use Cases & Benefits

Exploring the Potential of Artificial Intelligence Video Analytics 

Well, in the above section, we have clearly mentioned multiple use cases of AI video analytics for different industries. This section covers the types of AI video analytics. You can also consider them as an example of AI video analytics:

• Object Detection and Classification: To identify and categorize people, vehicles, bags, animals, and other objects within video feeds.

• Object Tracking: To continuously track the movement of objects (that seem suspicious) across different frames.

• Facial Recognition: To extract and match facial features for the identification of people and verify them for required access controls, marking attendance, etc.

• License Plate Recognition: To detect and read vehicle license plates at tolling booths, for providing parking access, and helping in investigations.

• Crowd Analytics: To monitor crowd density, flow, and movement patterns. This type of AI video analytics can be a boon to ensure public safety, optimize venue operations, and find loopholes in security.

• Behavior and Activity Analysis: To detect particular behavior or activity, including falling, fighting, etc. Based on the analysis, video analytics tools trigger an immediate alert for security personnel to intervene.

• Intrusion and Perimeter Detection: To recognize unauthorized entries or movements within specific areas that are restricted only to specific staff members.

• Object Left/Removed Detection: To identify when an unidentified object left, for how long it was there, and when it was removed from a place.

• People Counting and Demographics Analysis: To count the number of people visiting or passing through a particular space. Advanced video analytics can even estimate demographic traits to help businesses make better marketing strategies.

• Gesture and Pose Estimation: To comprehend human body positions and gestures to prevent the chances and ensure quick intervention in case of violence, vandalism, and other emergency situations.

• Thermal and Low-Light Analytics: To analyse video from thermal cameras that are installed specifically in dark places or places with adverse weather conditions.  

You may like to read: How AI Video Analytics is Disrupting Traditional CCTV Monitoring

Backbone of AI Video Analytics: Key Technologies

Capturing and analyzing video content in real-time (video analytics) requires several technologies to run in the background. If you wish to implement video analytics in your business operations, it is crucial that you have an understanding of these technologies. Let’s walk you through the same:

• Artificial Intelligence: Enables video analytics systems to understand visual data smartly to recognize patterns, classify events, and automate sending real-time alerts and making data-backed decisions.

• Machine Learning: ML algorithms empower video analytics solutions capable of learning from labeled video data for accurate output and self-improvement.

• Computer Vision: This technology enables AI video analytics systems capable of seeing and interpreting video streams to detect, track, and classify objects, human beings, vehicles, and more.

• Deep Learning: Deep learning enables intelligent video analytics systems to recognize highly complex patterns in videos for facial recognition, vehicle counting, and activity recognition.

• Edge Computing: Edge computing processes video data right where it is generated. In video analytics, this source is CCTV cameras. This minimizes latency, bandwidth usage while ensuring quick analysis. 

• Data Analytics: Data analytics makes it possible to fetch insights from structured data. These insights could be related to operations, future market trends, operations, and other aspects of a business.

Trends and Opportunities in Artificial Intelligence Video Analytics

Now that you know almost everything about real-time video analytics or AI video analytics, let’s explore emerging trends and opportunities in video analytics. 

1. Multi-modal Video and Sensor Fusion

In the upcoming time, we may see a combination of multi-modal video and sensors (audio, LiDAR, RADAR, etc.) to ensure that video analytics systems have a multi-dimensional understanding of the surroundings. For instance, combining thermal imaging with video analytics can improve object detection even in low-light areas or at night.

2. Big Data Integration and Predictive Analytics

The next big trend we may see is merging big data and predictive analytics with video analytics to forecast trends and identify risks before they happen. This can be a game changer for many enterprises and industries. 

3. Explainable AI in Video Analytics

With increasing demand for transparency and interpretability, we may also see the use of explainable AI in video analytics. This will help users to understand the reasons behind the video analytics tool flagging a particular behavior or activity.

4. Edge AI Processing 

In the future, we may see limited use of the cloud in the case of video analytics. With edge AI processing integration, video analytics systems would be able to process video content or feeds on edge devices like smart cameras and local servers.

5. Integration with IoT

The next big trend and opportunity in AI video analytics is the integration of video analytics software with IoT devices to get a holistic view of certain events and automated responses for quick action taking. 

Check this out: Intelligent Video Monitoring Systems Development: A Complete Guide 

How Quytech Empowers Industries with Intelligent Video Analytics

Quytech is a leading video analytics services provider that is proficient in building video analytics systems from the ground up and integrating AI-powered video analytics into your existing surveillance systems. We have dedicated experts with expertise in AI, video analytics, deep learning, machine learning, computer vision, edge AI, and other technologies that can help process raw video data into actionable insights for diverse use cases.

We have built 100+ video analytics solutions powered by artificial intelligence for healthcare, retail, smart cities, logistics, education, manufacturing, and other industries. Here is a glimpse of our video analytics expertise: 

• AI-Powered Fall Detection System

Analyzes body movements and uses motion detection to detect a fall and raise an immediate alert to authorities. 

• AI-Powered Fire Detection System

Instantly detects smoke and flames in a space to trigger an alert to ensure a rapid response, minimize damage, and improve safety.

• AI-Powered Accident Detection System

This advanced system utilizes AI and video analytics to identify vehicle collisions and other accidents and trigger an immediate alert. 

Conclusion

AI-powered video analytics has become a crucial part of almost every industry that used to rely on traditional and reactive surveillance or security measures. AI video analytics immediately processes video feed and provides actionable insights for quick response and informed decision-making. 

From retail showrooms and manufacturing floors to airports and smart cities, AI-powered video analytics is helping businesses proactively address challenges, find new growth opportunities, and outdo competition. Read this blog to know everything you need to know about AI video analytics, its applications, and opportunities. 

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