Trends in Video Surveillance Give DSP an Apps Boost

Literally millions of video surveillance cameras tracking our every move just about everywhere in the world.

The Mineta San Jose International Airport upgraded its video surveillance system earlier this year, from a primarily analog to an IP-based network system that enables security personnel to query up to six cameras at a time and synchronize them. In the New Meadowlands Stadium in New Jersey, security officials will have access to special bracelets for children. If children get lost, the stadium’s video surveillance system can almost immediately locate them on a TV screen. Video camera-equipped unmanned aircraft are used in the war zones of Afghanistan and Iraq to collect intelligence and to monitor the southern borders of the United States. Indeed, advances in technology are turning video surveillance into a growing opportunity for the digital signal processing (DSP) community.

To learn the technology trends, new tools, and the critical roles that DSP can play, in the area of video surveillance, read the November 2010 “Special Report” column of the IEEE Signal Processing Magazine Nov 2010.