Growing urbanisation and an increasing population growth produce demanding challenges to which decision-makers at every level have to respond effectively, by detecting situations of interest or critical events and by understanding complex scenarios. However, detection alone is not enough: it is vital to be able to collect data and extract information to support the decision-making process.
According to the 2018 McKinsey Report on Smart Cities, data-based smart solutions reduce fatalities by 8–10 per cent, accelerate emergency response times by 20–35 per cent, reduce the average commute by 15–20 per cent, lower the disease burden by 8–15 per cent, and cut greenhouse gas emissions by 10–15 per cent, among other positive outcomes.
The amount of data extracted by different sensors and cameras is overwhelming, but most of the data extracted is not used. Data is used for anomaly detection and control, not optimisation and prediction. Anomalies can be managed through an alarm system, but this does not allow additional benefits to be realised.
AI-DASH-PRO, the dashboard by A.I. Tech, provides a solution for data collection in smart environments. the application collects data from A.I. Tech video analytic plugins that enable a regular camera to understand a situation through behavioral analysis and object recognition.
Whenever a plugin detects a situation of interest, it sends data to AI-DASH-PRO, which acquires and stores data from different cameras in different locations.
Data can then be visualised in an intuitive and user-friendly web interface that supports the decision-making process. It is available in different versions, according to the specific features enabled. Some of its basic features are the possibility to present data in graphical and tabular form, export data in PDF, PNG and CSV files, integrate data with notes and weather information to get a better understanding of the data collected, etc..
Most importantly, AI-DASH-PRO is open platform and communicates with other sensors via MQTT, the standard protocol for IoT. This allows integrated management of multiple systems. It is possible to compute conversion rates through integration with POS in a retail context, add weather information through open API or other temperature sensors, etc..
AI-DASH-PRO is available as a set of Verticals: customised versions of the dashboard where specific features can be used in vertical markets: security, parking, building management and, combining all of them, Smart Cities. The combination of video analytic plugins and AI-DASH-PRO allows automation of processes through integration with external systems.
For instance, the Vertical for security transforms the dashboard into an Event Management System, allowing alarm management, temporal aggregation and forwarding of events to third party servers.
Alternatively, a smart rooms vertical, combined with the AI-Occupancy video analytics plug-in, allows the optimisation of space management and facilities allocation in a building, creating business efficiencies for the end user by helping manage offices and meeting rooms.