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Rural crimes – such as drug smuggling and people trafficking in isolated, coastal locations – are notoriously difficult to bust. But smart, energy-efficient, sensor-based video surveillance could be about to ring the changes.
The EU-funded FORENSOR project is developing imaging technology that takes high-quality, high-resolution pictures for forensic video recording, linked with intelligent, sensor-based systems that trigger the cameras only when needed. This technology is low-energy, compact, low-cost, wireless and easily camouflaged. It can be used to record video evidence that could later be used by law-enforcement agencies in court.
‘The combination of built-in intelligence with ultra-low power consumption could help law-enforcement agencies take the next step forward in evidence-gathering to fight severe crimes,’ says Petros Daras, FORENSOR project coordinator and research director at the Information Technologies Institute of CERTH in Thessaloniki, Greece.
Outdated and cumbersome
Current video-surveillance technology used by law-enforcement agencies is based on bulky video recorders connected to extensive, power-hungry infrastructure. While video evidence is vital in many court cases, the technology used is outmoded, power-inefficient and difficult to set up, particularly in remote locations.
FORENSOR’s sensor system can be camouflaged in isolated areas and only activated once the sensors detect abnormal activity. The video surveillance will then kick into action and alert local police with real-time evidence. In parallel, it will store the relevant video, location information and timing evidence.
The system uses one-tenth of the power needed for conventional systems and can be deployed in many types of locations, from detecting dangerous driving in rural areas to providing a building with high levels of security protection through multiple sensors. The devices can be managed remotely and are designed to comply with all the legal standards on privacy and personal data protection.
Smart vision sensors
‘The technology is more than 95 % accurate in detecting suspicious criminal activity, and false alarms account for less than 1 % of the system’s activation,’ says Daras. ‘It is made to resist bad weather, efforts to damage the system and attempts at evidence tampering, and can be used in both rural and urban settings.’
FORENSOR technology only processes images when necessary or when a criminal event is actually taking place. The rest of the time, the system is in very low-power hibernation mode. To make the distinction, the system uses smart vision sensors capable of sensing potentially relevant activity carried out by humans or vehicles while filtering out irrelevant movement like swaying trees.
It also uses a secure communications network that ensures all information and video evidence gathered is transmitted to the local police and stored securely.
The FORENSOR team has already built a prototype system and successfully piloted it in real-life conditions in Portugal, Italy and Spain. The partners are now planning to seek additional funding through the EU, venture capital, business networks and the European Investment Bank to take their prototype further and possibly to commercialise it.