Applications For Cameras On The Streets
Cameras and other recording devices affixed to permanent structures in public areas form the bedrock of modern concepts of public safety. These devices are increasingly a part of smart city implementations because they ensure public security and enhance public works management. When allied with digital networks and analytics-powered software packages, street cameras help governments and administrations preserve order and conduct swift investigations into undesirable or criminal activities.
Modern mesh networking technologies are empowering urban planners to deploy high-resolution cameras to gather real-time data in the form of images, video, and sounds. In line with this, the designers of smart city concepts are deploying cameras to mount an unrelenting gaze that helps curb crime, monitor traffic conditions, check the quality of ambient air, uphold the quality of public services, and regulate municipal activities.
The emerging applications of such devices include facial recognition of citizens, surveying the use of public transportation, managing civic resources, mounting surveillance on behalf of law enforcers, and gathering real-time information on crises. These actions help promote the concept of smart cities on the global stage.
Further, the high-quality image processors engineered into modern street cameras enable authorities to track adverse climatic conditions such as snowfall or intense rains. Surveying the natural elements in real time helps promote public safety, re-direct the flow of traffic, offer advice to emergency service providers, and issue warnings to citizens through wireless communications networks. When allied with strobe lights, these cameras empower public officials to drive forest animals away from highways that traverse the wilderness. Further, algorithms built into the circuitry of these cameras help remote officials to identify objects or street activity after sundown.
In addition, street cameras remain instrumental in deploying traffic analytics, represent the core of traffic signal control systems, speed analysis of vehicles traveling on city streets and highways, and generating panoramic views of public areas in real time. These devices also aid law enforcement agencies to recognize (or capture) license plates of erring vehicle drivers.
