Integrator tips: multi-sensor cameras with AI analytics
Multi-sensor cameras are a great fit for wide areas -- outside and in parking lots, but also hallway intersections, large warehouses and anywhere there’s a large area to protect. The rise of 4K sensors that make resolution high enough to positively identify people and vehicles from far away has driven adoption of these cameras.
AI-based analytics make multi-sensor cameras even more powerful. They can be installed on each sensor, allowing more customization in terms of using analytics in multiple directions. An installer might use one direction to count people coming through a door, while another direction might notify how many people are in a checkout line. A third direction could monitor unauthorized access to a restricted area.
Here are some learnings and tips to help you make the most of the combination of multi-sensor and AI-based analytics technology for your customers.
Know which AI analytics are included in the multi-sensor camera you’re installing. This varies widely by manufacturer, so make sure the camera you choose can deliver on the project requirements. All i-PRO AI camera models include video motion detection analytics for humans, vehicles, bicycles and other objects. These include line crossing, intrusion detection, wrong way detection and loitering. i-PRO’s AI Privacy Guard and AI Scene Change Detection analytics (which include object appear/disappear) are also available for free.
SoC’s with strong compute power may be needed to run the AI. When processing analytics on the edge like i-PRO does, it’s important to have a powerful, flexible SoC that can support multiple analytics processes in parallel while consuming very little power. Because the field of AI is changing so rapidly, i-PRO has chosen the Ambarella AI SoC which is also advancing the technology behind autonomous vehicles, IoT and robotics. Of course, the results are only as good as the image provided to the algorithms, so it’s critical to have quality optics and image processing to get the best result from any AI-based analytics.
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When choosing a multi-sensor AI camera, consider PPM, low-light color accuracy, and VMS support. To maximize accuracy and performance of AI-based analytics, consider the PPM (pixel per meter) density the camera can resolve when calculating the coverage area requirements. The higher the resolution, the more pixels available for the analytic to process. The higher the frames per second, the smoother the motion.
The camera must be able to capture accurate color in low light to maximize object attribute detection. Once a camera goes into IR mode, it wil likely change to black/white and lose the ability to discern object color. Most importantly, the AI-camera must pair with a VMS system that supports all the metadata that the camera is generating. If the VMS can’t support all the data from the camera, then the system is limited from the start. i-PRO offers our Active Guard plugin to install in popular VMSs such as Genetec and Milestone so they can display and work with every attribute the camera can detect.
Installation tips. Look for lower profile multi-sensor cameras that allow for wider deployment options. For the best AI-based analytic performance, don’t mount the camera too high. A well-placed multi-sensor camera can easily replace three or four standalone cameras at the corner of a building or a hallway intersection. For hallways, it’s also important to choose a camera that can optimize the aspect ratio to display more hall than wall. Depending on the distance to be covered, it may be useful to specify 4K sensors to ensure the pixel density is high enough to discern faces and other distinguishing features.
i-PRO offers a range of multi-sensor cameras, from dual sensor models all the way to a four multi-sensor array plus an auto-tracking PTZ camera in one small housing -- all equipped with AI-based analytics. We’re happy to help you deploy exactly the right fit for your customers’ projects.