An intelligent surveillance platform for large metropolitan areas with dense sensor deployment

Producción CientíficaThis paper presents an intelligent surveillance platform based on the usage of large numbers of inexpensive sensors designed and developed inside the European Eureka Celtic project HuSIMS. With the aim of maximizing the number of deployable units while keeping monetary and resource/bandwidth costs at a minimum, the surveillance platform is based on the usage of inexpensive visual sensors which apply efficient motion detection and tracking algorithms to transform the video signal in a set of motion parameters. In order to automate the analysis of the myriad of data streams generated by the visual sensors, the platform’s control center includes an alarm detection engine which comprises three components applying three different Artificial Intelligence strategies in parallel. These strategies are generic, domain-independent approaches which are able to operate in several domains (traffic surveillance, vandalism prevention, perimeter security, etc.). The architecture is completed with a versatile communication network which facilitates data collection from the visual sensors and alarm and video stream distribution towards the emergency teams. The resulting surveillance system is extremely suitable for its deployment in metropolitan areas, smart cities, and large facilities, mainly because cheap visual sensors and autonomous alarm detection facilitate dense sensor network deployments for wide and detailed coveraMinisterio de Industria, Turismo y Comercio and the Fondo de Desarrollo Regional (FEDER) and the Israeli Chief Scientist Research Grant 43660 inside the European Eureka Celtic project HuSIMS (TSI-020400-2010-102)

Art theft, art vandalism, and guardianship in U.S. art institutions.

Art crime scholars and art world professionals constantly grapple with determining the most effective methods by which to reduce and prevent victimization by art thieves and art vandals. Despite the numerous accounts of this form of criminality, there is a dearth of empirical studies focused on the security and care of art collections. Using Routine Activities Theory to guide the research, the present study explores the relationship between social and physical guardianship practices and the prevalence of art theft and art vandalism using questionnaire data collected from 111 American art museums and art galleries. The results indicate an overwhelming lack of statistically significant association between the majority of the guardianship measures and art theft and art vandalism victimization, a pattern consistent with the possibility that social and physical guardianship practices are not implemented until after an act of vandalism has already occurred

Enhancing camera surveillance using computer vision: a research note

$\mathbf{Purpose}$ - The growth of police operated surveillance cameras has out-paced the ability of humans to monitor them effectively. Computer vision is a possible solution. An ongoing research project on the application of computer vision within a municipal police department is described. The paper aims to discuss these issues. $\mathbf{Design/methodology/approach}$ - Following the demystification of computer vision technology, its potential for police agencies is developed within a focus on computer vision as a solution for two common surveillance camera tasks (live monitoring of multiple surveillance cameras and summarizing archived video files). Three unaddressed research questions (can specialized computer vision applications for law enforcement be developed at this time, how will computer vision be utilized within existing public safety camera monitoring rooms, and what are the system-wide impacts of a computer vision capability on local criminal justice systems) are considered. $\mathbf{Findings}$ - Despite computer vision becoming accessible to law enforcement agencies the impact of computer vision has not been discussed or adequately researched. There is little knowledge of computer vision or its potential in the field. $\mathbf{Originality/value}$ - This paper introduces and discusses computer vision from a law enforcement perspective and will be valuable to police personnel tasked with monitoring large camera networks and considering computer vision as a system upgrade

Benefits and barriers of construction project monitoring using hi-resolution automated cameras

A more rapid and widespread use and implementation of technology in construction often fails since its benefits and limitations remain somewhat unclear. Project control is one of the most variable and time consuming task of construction project managers and superintendents, and yet continues to be mostly a manual task. Controlling tasks such as tracking and updating project schedules can be assisted through remotely operating technology such as hi-resolution cameras that can provide construction management and other users with imaging feeds of job site activities. Although construction cameras have been around for many years the costs, benefits, and barriers of their use have not been investigated nor quantified in detail. Subsequently, definitions and understanding vary widely, making it difficult for decision makers at the organizational level to decide on the investment in camera technology. This thesis reviews the status of hi-resolution cameras and their present use in construction. Results of a multi-phased survey to industry professionals were collected in order to identify benefits and barriers and develop a cost-benefit model that can be used for implementation technology in construction.M.S.Committee Chair: Jochen Teizer; Committee Member: Ioannis Brilakis; Committee Member: Michael Meye