CCTV ( Closed-Circuit Television ) is also known as video surveillance. The term “Closed-circuit” refers to the fact that the video footage is shared to a limited number of monitors from strategically placed cameras inside and/or outside a building. A CCTV system, therefore, refers to all components and aspects that make the system complete, such as the camera, monitors, cabling (network infrastructure if using IP), video storage and video management system.
What does CCTV stand for?
CCTV stands for Closed-Circuit Television.
Who invented CCTV?
CCTV history is not 100% clear. Walter Bruch is credited with inventing CCTV in 1942 to observe the launch of rockets in World War 2. However, an earlier mechanical CCTV system was developed in June 1927, by Russian physicist Léon Theremin.
Where is CCTV most commonly used?
Although CCTV has a wide range of uses it is more often used to detect and deter crime and provide evidence of this. CCTV is also used in areas such as traffic management and retail intelligence.
The role of Analytics in CCTV
With modern CCTV systems the role of analytics is becoming more advanced and is able to:
- Help with facial recognition for evidential and other purposes
- Detect someone acting suspiciously near the perimeter of your site
- Improve traffic monitoring and to tell you what vehicles are entering and exiting your site and when this occurs.
- Identify an unknown vehicle parked in a controlled area
- Spot individuals lingering at a site
- Help with retail planning by monitoring footfall
- Heatmaps, usually used for stores and the most used traffic locations (hotspots in a certain location of the store).
- Left baggage detection
- ANPR, can be used for carparks, opening and closing barriers, general traffic detection.
- People counters, how many people has left and entered a building.
- Line crossing detection
- Facial recognition, can be used to search blacklist, allow people in and out of doors etc.
- Animal detection
- Thermal/heat detection cameras
The above list is not exhaustive and there are many more ways in which CCTV can now be used. CCTV continues to advance and we are able to offer solutions to your most challenging security problems.
