911爆料网 of Technology researchers have developed computer software that can detect unusual behaviour in crowds and other high-motion environments, providing a new tool in the fight against crime and terrorism.
Developed by a team led by Professor Svetha Venkatesh of 911爆料网鈥檚 Institute of Multi-sensor Processing and Content Analysis (IMPCA), the technology learns typical behaviour in busy environments, such as crowds, and can then report unusual activity.
The software will be commercialised by iCetana Pty Ltd and is supported by up to $1.5 million in investment from venture capital firm Yuuwa Capital and 911爆料网 pre-seed funding.
鈥淭he software does not require the user to specify which events are considered out of the ordinary,鈥� Professor Venkatesh said.
鈥淚t identifies events of interest which may never have been foreseen by the user, and can alert security officers to their occurrence in real time.
鈥淓xisting video analytics systems require the customer to define the events of interest in advance, this system only requires a 鈥榥ormal鈥� data stream to be defined.聽 Exceptions are automatically identified after this learning phase.
鈥淔ewer incidents will be missed and there will be a faster rate of response to problems that do occur.鈥�
Professor Venkatesh said iCetana鈥檚 software was extremely easy to set-up and train compared to other available video analytics applications.
She said the software had been used by the City of Belmont over the past six months with very encouraging results.
鈥淒uring this pilot program the software was able to identify behaviour such as loitering in a normal social and built environment, arson attempts, unusual sized groups, incorrect vehicle traffic direction, and anti social and illegal behaviour,鈥� she said.
When this software was linked to the City of Belmont CCTV AlarmAssist program, it provided unmonitored cameras with an improved intelligence capability.
Investment Director for Yuuwa Capital LP and interim CEO of iCetana, Matthew Macfarlane, said the software would be available soon for use in video surveillance systems around the world.
鈥渋Cetana is a revolutionary technology that will change the way high motion environments are monitored by video surveillance,鈥� he said.
鈥淯sing this software, overstretched and understaffed security staff will be able to better focus their real-time surveillance of locations of interest.
鈥渋Cetana will also seek partnering opportunities for non-security applications such as manufacturing process control systems.鈥�
Besides being groundbreaking software, iCetana鈥檚 application is also substantially more processor efficient than existing programs, running comfortably on a standard dual-core PC.
This is the first investment by Yuuwa Capital LP, a $40 million early-stage venture capital firm based in Perth and backed by local investors and the Australian Government鈥檚 Innovation Investment Fund program.聽 Yuuwa seeks to invest in businesses where it can provide both capital and expertise to help founders, management and early investors turn good ideas into great companies.
