A growing number of businesses and organisations are looking to their technology-based investments to assess how they can increase operational efficiencies, automate frontline tasks and make better use of the information their systems gather to run elements of their business. The variety of systems available range from dedicated building management systems (BMS) through to IoT deployments which use disparate devices to create some level of uniformity in terms of communications and processing of information.
These approaches have some merit, but there are two flaws which limit their appeal. The first is that often the data gathered is solely generated by other systems. For example, with a BMS or IoT solution, the systems gather data from sensors and compare this with other system outputs. The weakness is when the data needs to be related to the behaviours of people, the occupants of the building.
The second issue is one of everyday reliability. Many such systems use standard Wi-Fi, which can be temperamental. Also, a lack of interface standards means some devices can interfere with the operations of others.
A solution exists in the form of security-related technologies. These make use of robust and resilient infrastructure such as proprietary polled connections, as would be expected from a life-safety system. They are also designed to offer an ‘always-on’ solution and so include functions such as failover, ensuring if there is an issue, business operations will not be impacted.
Additionally, security technologies are adept at managing information relating to the behaviours of people in the building or site, alongside input and output data from a wide range of other systems and devices, all managed via a single GUI (graphical user interface).
Intelligent Insights from Bosch visualises the data in one of two ways: as a widget and as a report. Widgets display situations in live view or in time periods of between 10 minutes and 24 hours. Widgets are displayed in a simple dashboard. Examples of widgets include object counting (differentiating between people and vehicles, for example), object location changes, along with occupancy level, crowd detection and area fill (based on entry and exit data) which can be pivotal in creating COVID-Secure spaces.
Reports add extra value by allowing detailed analysis of events, incidents and trends, enabling the user to adjust and alter actions based upon patterns of behaviour, site status changes, staffing levels, or a whole range of other data.
Intelligent Insights is a powerful, future-proof, standalone software package, but it supports seamless integrations. When integrated with BVMS, it can manage live and recorded video streams and metadata within one unified user interface. This removes any need to switch between applications. An integration with BVMS can also include intrusion detection and access control management.
Social distancing
The latest release of Intelligent Insights from Bosch offers a software widget update that supports social distancing. One of the most notable changes caused by the current pandemic is the need for many businesses and organisations to implement social distancing.
Maintaining a precise distance and upholding a maximum threshold of people in areas such as workplaces, shopping centres and transport hubs has become critical to minimising coronavirus spread.
The new Area Fill Level Traffic Light widget offers an intuitive graphical interface that helps users comply with social distancing regulations. The widget visualises the occupancy in a particular area at any specific time. It illustrates three different states – normal, serious and critical – as green, yellow or red, along with corresponding information in a text format, so the user instantly knows when to take action.
Users can opt to live stream the Area Fill Level Traffic Light widget on a monitor at an entrance to a supermarket or grocery store, for example, to inform customers whether they may enter the store. When a threshold is reached, the widget can activate and trigger a connected device to inform visitors with a public announcement, simple alert or message displayed on a monitor.
Intelligent Insights uses built-in AI from Bosch cameras to interpret video images and capture camera metadata from situations involving moving objects, people counting and crowd detection. The software tool then collects, aggregates and displays this information using a series of pre-defined widgets enabling users to visualise and evaluate a complete scene from a simple overview screen. The dashboard enables users to quickly understand what they see, which helps them respond before a potential situation occurs, and also delivers business intelligence beyond security.
Area Fill Level, Occupancy Counting and Crowd Detection offer the ability to monitor and detect crowds accurately and count individuals and objects. The user can specify the desired occupancy rate of an area by determining the maximum number of people allowed to be in that area within a given time.
Intelligent Insights also offers Object Counting and People Counting, helping to identify peak and low times on specific days or over an extended period. It uses anonymous data from cameras, ensuring people’s privacy is protected.
With the Object Positioning widget, users can get a real-time overview of all objects moving in a specific area. Based on their GPS position, which can be determined by cameras that feature built-in AI, the objects are plotted onto a map and classified with icons.
Intelligent Insights supports social distancing regulations, helps customers respond before a potential situation occurs, and delivers business intelligence beyond security.