By Gene Frantz, Texas Instruments
When people first hear the term "video analytics", many close to the technology first think about its applications in video security. In my previous blog, I focused on security first as an industry being transformed by advances in analytic technology. However, the impact of video analytics will extend far beyond security to enable us to enjoy a safer, cleaner life where we interact with a world in new, more personalized ways. I've said it before -- the possibilities are endless.
Let's talk about how analytics can improve energy conservation. Engineers have realized that analytics can make energy consumption more efficient and help reduce carbon footprints. For example, intelligent cameras with embedded analytic capabilities will detect the location and number of occupants in a room and send the information to air conditioning systems to automatically adjust air flow and temperature. Similarly, lighting settings will be adjusted according to occupancy.
As biometric analytics come into play, air conditioning and lighting systems will be able to tune settings to better meet the energy-conscious preferences of those in the room. These are just the simplest of examples of how analytics can reduce a building's carbon footprint.
Check out what TI is doing as a company help reduce its impact on the environment: focus.ti.com; As comforting as energy conservation is, many of us don't like the idea of being caught on camera 24/7 for the cause. It's an understandable concern. I'm the first to admit I hate being in front of cameras -- just ask the poor photographer who snapped the latest picture of me. Beyond that, people don't want to have to worry about storing endless amounts of archived video footage.
The good news is that video content does not need to be saved for many analytics applications, since smart cameras can deal in information and not just data. Here's an example of the difference between data and information. The information is the knowledge of whether a person is in a room. The data would be the actual picture of the person the room. In cases such as the energy example I mentioned, the camera is able to observe a scenario, make a decision and delete the data. The way I see it, we aren't that interesting to look at anyway, and this removes the task of actually having to manually delete the footage.
This is also how analytics systems would work in consumer-driven scenarios, like a mall. Imagine walking up to an information center, and by doing a snapshot analysis of your build, sex and age, a map would instantly highlight relevant locations in a store. If you are like me, you want expedited shopping -- in and out. If a store could also automatically make recommendations to help me overcome my stylistic shortcomings, so much the better. Read Gene's blog, "Is Technology getting more Personal or Intimate?" Link: http://blogs.ti.com/2006/03/31/is-technology-getting-more-personal-or-more-intimate/. Analytics is truly about making life easier, efficient and personalized. We will all have to make some adaptations to it, but ultimately it will be so seamlessly integrated into our lives that we won't even notice it. The sheer number and diversity of the applications are mind boggling and flexible digital signal processing platforms for deployment will continue to drive the creation of new applications for the technology. For details on TI's newest platform, check out http://www.thedavincieffect.com/. Gene Frantz is a Texas Instruments Principal Fellow and Business Development Manager, DSP.
