Smart
CCTV Identifies Suspicious Activity in Beijing
Security firms are working in Beijing to install surveillance
systems that have the ability to identify suspicious people and objects.
The cameras have motion detectors, which allow computers to focus on images
where something is moving.
The cameras can also differentiate between people, vehicles, and small
animals, to determine whether movement is associated with a potential
threat. Some systems can even analyse the way that people move to determine
if they could be a security threat.
The Security Industry Association estimates that China will spend $30
million on video security in preparation for this summer's Olympics. This
is in addition to the $6.5 billion that China spent over the past seven
years on the Grand Beijing Safeguard Sphere, with most of that money spent
on video surveillance.
Experts believe that the presence of smart surveillance technology could
have prevented previous attacks on the Olympics, including the 1996 pipe
bombing in Atlanta and the 1972 attack on the Olympic Village in Munich.
Smart cameras already monitor monuments across the world, including the
Statue of Liberty and the Eiffel Tower, and the US Department of Homeland
Security uses the technology for border security.
Security companies expect that the use of smart video will spread over
the next few years to shopping malls and other retail areas. Although
there are some privacy concerns about surveillance cameras, system makers
hope that the public will see the usefulness of the technology and accept
its presence in public places.
