OPINION
re-allocate public transport from low-volume routes to deal with sudden peak demand – outside sports stadiums, for example. Cameras could also detect accidents and send first responders to handle medical needs and manage traffic while clearing the scene to minimise congestion. But cameras on their own still require humans to watch screens and pick up events. Generally, dashboards and reports tend to be retrospective. City leaders want and need a view of events as they unfold, with automatic alerts when thresholds are exceeded, and automated processes initiated in response to events. Using analytics to identify people and events becomes exciting when camera technology connected to
around them. AI systems learn continuously, and proper analytics can cut down the need for human monitoring by about 70%. Those people can be reallocated to more important tasks, or tasks that really require human intervention. With AI, machine learning and process automation, important alarms are raised, and key contacts alerted automatically. Mean time to respond (MTTR) to critical events can be massively reduced while
H igh crime rates are a reality in South Africa. For that reason, a number of cities have already created camera-based monitoring systems to deter criminals or identify and prosecute them if they transgress the law. One example is Safe City Msunduzi, an entity of the Msunduzi Municipality which monitors 169 CCTV cameras across Pietermaritzburg. Some are going even further, like the City of Cape Town which is building on its camera-based system to deploy drones, gunshot sensors and a tech- heavy Highway Patrol Unit that will automatically scan number plates. STEPPINGSTONE TO A SMART CITY Camera-based security provides a natural springboard for strategic smart city management systems which also use cameras, but add sensors and analytics engines – ideally consolidated in a command and control centre. IoT-based monitoring systems can use smart data analytics to collect, correlate and flag relevant data. Machine learning can identify trends and outliers in critical infrastructure to automatically dispatch technicians to deal with outages, or even predict outages and prevent them in the first place. Smart technologies are being applied in areas such as transport, where cities use smart sensors in roads to improve traffic flow, and connected buses give commuters accurate travel times. Such systems could monitor and automate a broad range of city processes and intelligently allocate By Gregg Sanders, GM Digital Solutions at NEC XON
14
15
eliminating human error and ensuring process adherence.
CHALLENGES TO OVERCOME
Without connectivity, cameras can’t feed into a real-time smart city system. Connectivity must be built-in, but in a country affected
by loadshedding, redundant power supply is also a necessity.
PROGRAMMED TO RESPOND
How AI and ML systems handle real-world situations Average MTTD (Mean Time To Detect) reduced from >2 hours to <1 second • Average MTTR (Mean Time To Respond) reduced from >6 hours down <2 hours • Monitoring staff reductions from >400 to < 170 (staff were re-deployed to more critical areas of the business)
A smart system should provide centralised command and control with feeds from all sensors in the city’s ecosystem. In South Africa, many city departments operate in silos. South Africa needs to build on camera-systems by deploying IoT- based monitoring systems for water, electricity, the environment and safety. We need to drive community involvement in smart city efforts to educate the public about the possibilities, and to illustrate convenience, build trust between local government and citizens,and ultimately drive adoption.
a smart backend can kickstart the process and help city authorities understand events and the patterns
“Using analytics to identify people and events becomes exciting when camera technology connected to a smart backend can kickstart the process and help city authorities understand events and the patterns around them.”
Cameras and sensors could kick off SMART CITY strategies for SA
resources for greater efficiency and better services to citizens.
During large events, a combination of camera-based monitoring and backend analytics could automatically
Made with FlippingBook Ebook Creator