Smart video analytics is a powerful technology that processes and analyzes video data in order to extract insights and help make data-informed decisions. Growing in popularity, this innovative technology is improving the way we live and work today, as well as evolving to profoundly and positively change our lives in the future. 

Smart video is an evolution of surveillance. Some of the most common use cases today are in the fields of transportation, retail, manufacturing, and smart cities to help improve safety, security, and operations. Advancements in artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML), and real-time analytics are creating even more possibilities.  

As camera technology improves and resolutions continue to increase – from HD to 4K and beyond – so does the amount of rich video data (video, sound, images, and metadata) that can be pulled from the larger, more defined “pictures.” This data provides high-definition details that can be analyzed and formed into actionable information and insights for future use or real-time decision-making, mostly without human interaction. 

Video Analytics in Action

Every day, security systems worldwide record thousands of petabytes of video data, making manual review and analysis wholly inefficient. Smart video analytics automates the process, making video searchable, actionable, and quantifiable. But smart video analytics is only as effective as the video, data, and storage systems that enable it. 

Consider the healthcare industry. Smart video analytics can be used for a variety of things such as monitoring and improving exam room flows and wait times; safeguarding patients, visitors, facilities, and medical equipment; and even providing patient alerts and helping nurses make virtual hospital rounds.

It can also be used in retail, allowing store owners the ability to see who their clients are and how they shop, to analyze customer shopping trends, and to identify prime locations for in-store product promotion and placement. 

In manufacturing, smart video analytics can help identify areas for improved efficiency, safety, and operation – improving overall cost and reducing waste and environmental impact. 

In the transportation industry, smart video analytics can be used alongside cameras and AI-analyzed traffic patterns to adjust traffic lights, improve vehicle flow, increase pedestrian safety, and reduce congestion and pollution. Many of today’s smart cities already use smart video analytics to evaluate traffic safety, and there is great potential to take this further to design urban links between popular destinations and enable better walkability, which can reduce pollution and improve air quality.

The Challenges of Supporting Smart Video Systems

Smart video is one of the fastest-growing data storage segments today.  

Higher video resolutions, increased frame rates, and better metadata give us the ability to analyze video and images in greater detail, pixel by pixel, versus solely analyzing images holistically. Using smart video analytics, we can see and analyze things that were not possible before. 

This smart video data takes up a lot of storage and it requires the right type of storage to really bring data to life. The IDC Global StorageSphere 2023 forecast stated that there were 603 exabytes of installed video surveillance storage in 2022 and predicted that this storage will grow at 14.4% CAGR to 1.181 zettabytes by 2027. For reference, if a typical two-hour movie in high-definition takes up about six gigabytes of storage, you could store 166 billion movies with one zettabyte of storage.

In many situations, smart video systems record multiple streams simultaneously and continuously, requiring storage capabilities to process and analyze data in real time. High-capacity storage with purpose-built features is needed for systems that capture multiple data types per camera, as well as for deep learning solutions that need more video to train AI algorithms. Factors such as higher resolutions, multiple streams, AI metadata, and even longer retention times also have a direct impact on data movement and data storage. All of this is driving the need for increased capacity, performance, and durability to support 24/7 streaming workloads for smart video recorders, deep learning-enabled network video recorders (NVRs), and video AI and analytics applications. 

Today, there are several different storage options for smart video. For instance, there are cards for cameras, as well as large-capacity HDDs for video as a service (VaaS) systems, video analytics servers, and AI and deep-learning systems that enable data-driven outcomes. It is important to note that storage optimized for smart video surveillance differs from conventional hard disk drives. They are engineered to support multiple video streams and heavy “write” workloads, and they can feature firmware that improves streaming by reducing image loss and dropped frames and enabling high-definition (HD) recording.

Utilizing on-drive intelligence, a new generation of high-capacity smart video HDDs can recognize incoming video stream characteristics and data types, coalesce data together in cache, and place data in specific track locations on disk for optimal performance. Other drives also come with capabilities that provide a wealth of storage device parametric operational and diagnostic data to the system and alert system administrators of specific recommended actions to address potential issues. This empowers OEMs, system integrators, and IT professionals to better monitor and proactively manage supported storage devices to maintain optimal operations.

All these smart video technologies play a critical role in the future of video analytics.

The Future of Storage and Smart Video Analytics

The future is wide open; possibilities are endless for smart video analytics. However, if video data is not stored properly, smart video analytics is a moot point. 

Data storage is essential for businesses and industries that leverage smart video analytics or AI-enabled analytics to improve their operations. Investing in advanced storage solutions maximizes the potential of smart video applications and can improve an organization’s ability to realize greater value, implement cost savings, and ensure more sustainable operations, all while driving business growth and innovation.