Industry experts are predicting that the advancement of video security technology will lead to a general increase in demand for surveillance systems. Over the next ten years these technological advances will continue, improving existing equipment and generating new methods. This chapter outlines technologies that are currently in their infancy but are expected to be integrated into security systems in the near future.
Top1. Overview
The last decade has seen extraordinary growth and improvements in the industry of video technology. Components have been refined, analog systems improved, and multiplexers, large-scale switchers, and digital video equipment have been introduced into the market of security surveillance.
Industry experts are predicting that the advancement of video security technology will lead to a general increase in demand for surveillance systems, and they will become more widespread.
The new functions of digital technology include:
- 1.
Very high-resolution pictures that can be digitally manipulated. For example, one can add graphics and digital data.
- 2.
Video can be transmitted, viewed, and stored literally anywhere around the world.
Digital technology will soon take over analog in all security installations (Kruegle, 2007). Two-way Local Area Network LAN, Wide Area Network WAN, Metropolitan Area Network MAN, and wireless WiFi networks are used to send information. They require data encryption in all security uses.
Rapid growth has occurred largely thanks to improvements in electronic circuits. They have gotten smaller and denser with time, which has led to smaller, more capable equipment. More specifically, solid-state cameras, digital signal processing (DSP) cameras, Digital Video Recorders DVR, and hard drives have benefited from electronic circuit advances. Hard drives are now smaller and can store much more.
Over the next ten years these technological advances will continue, improving existing equipment and generating new methods.
The following chapter will outline technologies that are currently in their infancy but are expected to be integrated into security systems in the near future.
Top4. Infrared Cameras
Infrared IR imaging cameras that are equipped with IR sensors that are cooled mechanically cost anywhere from 50,000 to 100,000 dollars.
These types of cameras are generally used in the military for their high sensitivity and high resolution.
More reasonably priced IR cameras that range from 5,000 to 10,000 dollars use IR sensors at room temperature and have decent resolution and sensitivity.
The next years will see the evolution of room temperature thermal IR cameras into combined visual and infrared IP camera.
Although thermal imaging cameras are currently prohibitively expensive, a new technology will drastically reduce the price to around $1000. This technology is thermal light valve, or TLV. It converts thermal IR radiation, which is difficult to image, into light radiation. This radiation can then be translated by regular CMOS cameras.
The camera’s conversion chip was developed based on technology used in large-scale communications networks.