The challenges of robust 24/7 video surveillance systems

Consistent performance in a realistic and unpredictable operation environment is a level of service that automated video surveillance solutions has to guarantee in order to demonstrate to the massive CCTV market the value these solutions can offer. There are success stones of such solutions offering high level of reliability especially when they are tailored for the target environment. However, 24/7 operations introduces a range of elements that challenge the dependability of a computer vision based solution in comparison to manual monitoring solutions. This paper discusses some of these elements with the aim to highlight current limitations of automated surveillance solutions and therefore to guide realistic expectations of the level of service provided and also to fuel the interest of the imaging community to address such issues. The paper further illustrates that motion based vision solutions can offer a robust approach to addressing some of the challenging and unpredictable elements of the operation environment.