DVR software

United States – Revenue generated from surveillance software is expected to jump from $245 million in 2008 to more than $900 million in 2013, according to a report released by ABI Research. Recent technological breakthroughs, which have given surveillance cameras additional capabilities and wider applications, are driving this growth.

Because of the advent of such technologies as face recognition software, video cameras meshed with RFID, and Wi-Fi, advanced surveillance functions are now possible. More wireless cameras can be used outdoors and installed in locations not previously accessible through wired networks, and they can still send video streams to a central monitoring station, the report says.

Several companies, including those perceived to belong to the traditional security sector, are now participants in advanced video surveillance. IBM, for instance, claims that it is now possible to program a surveillance camera to do perimeter monitoring and automatically alert the security department if a security breach in the area has been detected.

Another software vendor, ObjectVideo, said it has developed methods for analyzing pixels and groups of pixels by the way they interact with each other in a video. Current intelligent video software endeavors to detect, track and classify objects, distinguishing itself as an analyzer of scenes instead of just pixels, the way face recognition software does.

Video surveillance intelligence has evolved in such a way that it allows cameras to detect, index and catalog movements of objects and categorize them according to size, color and shape, enabling more accurate identification.

The report also said that advanced surveillance technologies are now being used by the retail industry not only for preventing theft, but also for marketing purposes.