Domestic Drones?

Surveillance Drones. Type that into Google search and your results will yield some heated and controversial subjects such as “Domestic Drones” and “Are they spying on us?” Enhanced video surveillance from above is not a new subject. In fact the use of unmanned aerial vehicles as a surveillance, reconnaissance tool or warfare was by the Austrians in 1849 via hot air balloon to drop bombs. Today’s drones however yield much more calculated missions with specific results in mind and this is most likely why, with  the level of sophistication involved, has brought some people to revisit their Orwellian 1984 fears. Let’s be honest here. Most people have control issues and the fear of having your every move being watched overhead is disheartening indeed. Like it or not, many local police forces are incorporating video surveillance tools of the future to protect the population. The grey area behind the line of thinking “the people need protecting” is that people inherently would rather be left to their own devices. I can hardly blame anyone who doesn't want their every move watched like a…hawk. So where should we stand on this issue? Is there a best practices use for unmanned aerial video surveillance at home? Your local neighborhood probably already employs video surveillance on light poles to catch thieves and vandals. It’s very likely that your closest city has installed red light cameras to catch road violations. Critical infrastructure protection is in place via remote video surveillance to keep your local power grid from attacks. It’s not that far fetched to think that video surveillance drones will fly our skies here at home under the guise of making sure you are safe. But is that ok? You’ve had your own reality show for more than a decade already. Smile for the camera!

Upgrading Your Surveillance Cameras Shouldn't Mean Cutting Back on Your Staff

In such a critical capture environment as security, the search for innovation must be constant. These words are spoken and written about daily by security surveillance professionals. We’ve even spoken about this in the past that critical infrastructure locations and NOC managers need to stay on top of industry trends. Camera Surveillance systems are integrating with IT to combine into smarter platforms that capture intruders in real time allowing NOC managers to sound the alarm quicker and more efficiently. But what does this mean for staffing at automated network operations centers? We think it means that human capitol at critical infrastructure locations can be more efficiently used to monitor and respond. Adding intelligent video analytics to the protection force and upgrading surveillance cameras doesn’t mean cutting back on staff. It should mean the adverse by allowing response times and coverage to expand, making the perimeter more un-penetratable. Having rapid response times to alarms can help critical infrastructure locations thwart unwanted attacks and put real feet on the ground instantly and to the exact locations in need. In today’s world, the terror strike on materials that cannot be compromised will remain a real threat. A threat that requires keeping up with the “Joneses”, and keeps workers on the job. 

Camera surveillance technology is constantly improving

Camera surveillance technology is constantly improving. Watch a crime scene investigation show or even a police drama from the 90’s and you might find yourself snickering at the grainy and obsolete footage that the director uses to identify a suspect. Jump forward only 10 more years in our movie and entertainment culture and think to yourself “How far away is Minority Report from becoming a reality anyway?" One might find through a bit of Google searching that camera technology of the modern age or 2000’s is already obsolete. Police are using video surveillance almost anywhere. And those traffic cameras you see on the light-pole? They can identify you AND given the right conditions…your cars VIN number. 

Camera technologies are merging all the time to include facial recognition with long distance recognition software. There are so many different subsets of camera technology software out in the industry right now that one wonders who might figure out how to put is ALL together. It’s an exciting time to be a part of the camera surveillance industry with it’s strong growth and multiple niches. Marketers are ready to jump on-board the facial recognition wave. Customers and consumers are afraid of it and we’re ready to embrace it’s powerful qualities to assist law enforcement and citizen protection. Here’s only a handful of articles on this very subject. 

http://www2.tbo.com/news/republican-national-convention/2012/apr/17/memeto1-details-of-security-gear-buys-kept-secret-ar-393215/

http://www.postcrescent.com/article/20120418/APC0902/204180680/Police-capitalize-video-security-set-ups

http://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/171892/face-time-on-hold.html

Doug Patterson, Marketing Director Axial Technologies