Posted Thursday 21 June 2012
"The notion that you can tag a person and let the system do the tracking is a dream come true for CCTV operators," Professor Sergio Velastin, a specialist in applied computer vision at Kingston University and co-founder of Ipsotek, said. "The system relies on two things - firstly the identification of a person through features, such as their appearance, which different cameras can then pick up on. Secondly, it has the ability to stop cameras searching for those traits over an unnecessarily wide area."
The technology was initially developed by Kingston computer science specialists led by Dr James Orwell, who is based in the University's Digital Imaging Research Centre. "Once operators notice potentially suspicious behaviour, they can tag the person concerned by clicking on their image," he explained. "This triggers the system to go back to the database and immediately create a full route for the person concerned using notes it has stored. The technology can provide predictions about individuals' steps beforehand as well as find out where they move on to afterwards."
The technology has already been tested in Rome's Termini train station, Manchester airport and Kingston town centre with promising results. Its features enable security operators to carry out a range of activity including:
The IFSEC award not only recognises Tag and Track's innovative technology, but also the fact it is likely to make a marked contribution in the real world. "Previously university researchers would simply work on ideas in the laboratory, create papers for publication and then move on to the next idea," Professor Velastin said. "Nowadays we have to go further and demonstrate how the original research can be turned into something that will have an economic or social impact. Tag and Track is a classic example of this. Through collaboration with industry, the initial concept has now reached a point where it is poised to be rolled out to significantly enhance people's safety and security."
Ipsotek's Director Andrew Eggington said the full potential of CCTV as a crime prevention tool and investigative and forensic instrument had yet to be realised. "One of the keys to achieving this is faster and more efficient use through advanced video analytics. Developments such as Tag and Track will deliver new, high-technology solutions that make a real difference."
Andy Wright, director of technology acquisition at BAE Systems, said the company had become involved with the project as part of its Investment in Innovation initiative. "The programme enables us to work with excellent academic and business enterprises not only to accelerate the development of capability such as Tag and Track, but also to build strong relationships and share valuable learning across organisations," he said.
11 April 2024