CCTV Camera- Working, Applications & Future

As CCTV cameras evolve substantially since the last decade, we are now looking at latest technology, features and types of CCTV security cameras. Getting help from a marketing consultants could be a just a waste of time, as they throw in the most polished words to make you buy their CCTVs making your decision even more difficult.

So, if you are looking to buy the BEST CCTV Camera for your home or office, you should have a brief idea as to what you are exactly looking for. Let’s have a look.

What is a CCTV Camera?

CCTV stands for closed-circuit television and is commonly known as video surveillance. Closed circuit meaning broadcast transmitted to a closed (limited) number of monitors, unlike a Regular TV, which broadcasts to a public at large.

CCTV cameras are used to detect and deter criminal or unusual activities, and record these incidents, but they also have other uses. Developed in 1942, CCTV technology were made to monitor the testing of atomic bomb and the launch of V2 rockets initially.

Applications of CCTV Camera

Here are a few applications of using video surveillance system at home or in office.

1# Street Monitoring

As you can find CCTV cameras at traffic lights and several other places throughout the city or community, it helps in monitoring people in order to gather traffic statistics for footage for speeding, to collect real-time data or to monitor the weather and environment.

Using some sensory nodes of the system, you are able to analyze images and help in recording any unusual or criminal activity taken place in the public or on the streets of the city. Some public images are used by senior researches in order to develop a computer vision software, but it meets certain resistance due to privacy watchdogs.

2# Crime Management

By using a CCTV camera, you can deter and detect potential criminal activities taking place around you. Whenever a crime occurs, this footage helps the law enforcement to investigate and provide evidence to the court of law. Using CCTV video, audio, thermal and other sensors, one can alert the officials to identify occurrences out of the ordinary. For instance, firing of a gun, or rape or sexual assault.

For officer purpose, CCTV’s can be used to monitor in-house criminal activities. In prisons, video surveillance helps in preventing drones from delivery of drugs or other contraband to prisoners. They also secure places which are not easily accessible such as rooftops.

3# Disaster Management

With the use of CCTV cameras, you are able to identify emergencies and call out for services and rescue workers in time to assess and monitor real time disasters through videos recovered by the disaster management teams.

This includes using the tape of a burning house, inside of a cave, destruction caused by a natural calamity, or flying a helicopter over the scene.

4# Behavioral Research

For a very serious purpose, CCTV’s have been used since decades to research suicide. It was found that 83% of people attempting suicide were analyzed on CCTV footage and are now used to alert the watchers against specific behaviors.

Surveillance networks used by researches help record crowd movement at public places and help in preventing anti-social behaviors. For example, cameras used at schools for security in order to record bullying or play ground instances on video.

5# Medical Monitoring

As 43 muscles are used in order to express a facial expression or thoughts or feelings, there smart software’s help in the diagnosis of such feelings. With the use of CCTV cameras, one can identify these expressions such as depression, anxiety, panic or pain from the images and videos extracted.

CCTV cameras also help in monitoring children or the elderly in order to identify any potential health crisis such as a stroke, asthma attack or a heart attack.

6# Market Intelligence

Video surveillance of customers helps in analyzing the buying trends enabling enhanced strategizing. For instance, analyzing how people shop, which aisles they use the most, how much is the call to action and how many products they pick to evaluate.

Such heat maps can show the highs and lows of shopper traffic at specific locations in a store, helping the stores in identifying peak buying times, preferred promotional activities and staffing requirements in order to boost sales.

Working of CCTV System

As analog and digital systems work quite differently, modern CCTV systems use the conversion software and hardware to convert analog to digital, by the process of retrofitting.

A traditional CCTV network consists of the following:

• One or more cameras
• Image sensor equipped lens for each camera
• Recorder
  • Direct Video Recorder (DVR)
  • Standard Video Tape Recorder
  • Network Video Recorder (NVR)
• Cables – RJ45 or Coaxial
• One or more monitors to monitor images & videos

Here is the Process of Working of a CCTV Camera-

• Firstly, the camera of the CCTV system records the images through the lens using the image sensors.
• Then, these images with or without audio, are transmitted to the recorder or the tape, either wirelessly or using a cable. The recorders may use the analytical software or other smart technologies in order to scan the data to send automated alerts to humans, or other systems and devices.
• The Video Management Software (VMS) records the footage, stores it and analyzes the video feeds. The VMS software is known to be self-learning, using the machine learning (ML) algorithms which help in utilizing functionality such as motion detection, face recognition, counting people and much more.
• Lastly, the monitors are passively or actively monitored using a smart software or by people. CCTV cameras are only of use if monitored at all times to identify real-time threats.

The Future of CCTV Network

The future of CCTV holds more autonomous and proactive surveillance processes. As of now the CCTV systems are called masters in video surveillance as it includes facial recognition, linked cameras, intelligent hardware, license plate readers, drones, police body cameras and the IoT. But, in the future the CCTV network looks at expanding the passive surveillance, the ability of systems to raise alerts and mass surveillance with a greater presence of security cameras.

Now, with complete knowledge about CCTV camera’s, you are ready to make the right choice before buying!