The Role of VSaaS in the Smart Cities of the Future by Logan Bell, Head of Product for Cloudview
Smart cities are defined by the European Commission as cities where “traditional networks and services are made more efficient with the use of digital solutions.” These solutions are intended to be of benefit to residents, visitors and businesses, helping to upgrade facilities and make the cities safer and more sustainable.
The use of information and communications technology, or ICT, with a view to boosting city operations is expected to be good news for the video surveillance as a service (VSaaS) sector, as more cities utilise the technology for a range of purposes. In this article, we take a closer look at the role VSaaS providers will play in smart cities.
What is Video Surveillance as a Service?
Video surveillance as a service refers to cloud-based video surveillance services, which are managed by VSaaS providers. Put simply, these services allow end users to remotely store and manage video surveillance footage, with data being kept in the cloud. This then eliminates the need to store surveillance data on-site.
The removal of physical storage is advantageous for several reasons. Firstly, it reduces storage costs for users and removes the need to keep and maintain hard drives on-site. Secondly, it helps to keep data more secure, because it is being kept in the cloud and cannot be erased via physical damage to storage devices, or data corruption.
Cloud video surveillance services also allow users to benefit from the best software solutions, without high levels of initial investment. Instead, the provider charges for access to their services, powered by their technology. This means lower initial outgoings and reduced staffing costs, while upgrades are also often simple and scalable.
Additionally, a major benefit of VSaaS solutions is the ability to access the data remotely. This means an end user can access video footage recorded on a camera from anywhere they have an internet connection.
The Role of VSaaS in Future Smart Cities
It is widely anticipated that video surveillance as a service will feature prominently in future plans to develop smart cities all over the world. In the sections below, we dig deeper into some of the specific ways VSaaS providers can help to shape the development of smart cities and improve the quality of life for people living in them.
Emergency Response
One of the ways VSaaS is expected to help with the transformation of cities into smart cities is by assisting ambulances, fire services, police and others who may be involved in emergency responses. Improvements here will be primarily provided through the ability to remotely access video footage as and when that access is needed.
As the Video Surveillance As A Service (VSaaS) Global Market Report 2021 explains, emergency services will be able to use video surveillance as a service for real-time monitoring of situations as they are developing. This could then allow for speedier, more coordinated and more strategic responses, which can help to keep people safer.
Detecting Crime
CCTV technology is widely used for the purpose of detecting crime. However, one of the big problems with many CCTV systems is the poor quality of images recorded. In many cases, this poor quality is a necessary sacrifice, because the data is having to be stored on a hard drive and kept for a sufficient amount of time to meet requirements.
Unfortunately, poor quality images have the knock-on effect of making it significantly harder to identify individuals engaging in criminal behaviour. With cloud video surveillance, however, the storage space issue is eliminated, allowing for higher quality video recordings, which can be used to detect crime and prosecute perpetrators.
Traffic Management
Finally, another potential use for cloud-based CCTV in smart cities is to improve traffic management. Using high quality video cameras and providing the right people with remote, real-time access, it becomes much easier to identify problems, respond to accidents and control the flow of vehicles, in order to minimise congestion.
As an article for Smart Infrastructure Magazine explains, this use of cloud video surveillance can also tie in with the previous point of crime detection. Using VSaaS, it becomes possible to remotely monitor behaviour on public transport, or to use number plate recognition to identify vehicles of interest, even in crowded areas.
The Last Word
The development of smart cities is one of the major infrastructure trends affecting cities all over the world and an example of technology that can be used to make a city safer and more efficient is video surveillance as a service. For this reason, the growth of smart cities is expected to provide a boost for providers operating in this sector.
With cloud-based data storage improving access to video footage and, potentially, enhancing the quality of footage that can be stored, the use of VSaaS is expected to assist with crime detection and responses to emergencies. Additionally, real-time monitoring of surveillance footage can improve traffic management too, leading to safer roads.
Logan Bell has over 20 years of experience in the technology sector, working with industry leaders such as Blackberry and Sony. As Head of Product for Cloudview, a remote video monitoring system, he uses his extensive product management experience to drive the company forward as one of the leading names in video surveillance solutions.
For further information please visit https://cloudview.co.uk/our-technology
