During a seminar in Switzerland, I sat next to a gentleman who was steering a ship to one of Greenland's ports via his phone. He did not talk to anyone, but used his phone to see the port, identify the position of the ship and communicate online with its captain.
By Juan Carlos George*
I was very impressed. For me, it was a shining example of how to think outside the box and use existing technologies in new ways.
There are more examples of technology being used in new ways with video recordings that have traditionally been used to protect people, buildings and other assets. However, the future of video use points in another direction.
Eventually, video technology will work closely with artificial intelligence and IoT technologies, combined with powerful computers operating on high-bandwidth networks; this is a combination that can make our world safer, offer better customer service, and make businesses more productive.
A new report from Accenture (https://www.accenture.com/us-en/insight-ai-industry-growth) shows that companies that successfully apply artificial intelligence could increase profitability by an average of 38 percent by 2035. Perhaps this figure does not take into account exponential factors, but I believe that companies that do not choose this path will have a hard time surviving.
Speaking of smart video technology, we face a lot of new opportunities. Traditionally, video systems have been analog. CCTV surveillance cameras used an analog video signal, transmitted via a coaxial cable to a video recorder or monitor: systems without intelligence and therefore quite limited.
However, when video material is recorded digitally it can be combined with video analysis, which is object recognition compared to potential activity in video recording. In the scenario of a large crowd versus a scenario supervised by the software, unexpected activity that matches predefined parameters (such as the crowd exceeding the allowed number of people) triggers the notification system, an alarm is triggered, and the event is suspended.
And think about what happens when cameras can record spectra other than visible light. This opens up many more useful scenarios.
3D football match
During a visit to Japan earlier this year, I met a design group who were creating a virtual camera to record football matches; 40 high-resolution cameras are installed in the football stadium and all video transmissions are combined into a real-time 3D model, in which the cameraman is virtually on the pitch, during the match, being able to see what the goalkeeper or the referee is seeing at any given time.
Making a real-time 3D model is not a difficult math problem. The only problem is the large amount of data that must be calculated and the fact that the synchronization between the cameras must be very accurate. Today, powerful computers can handle this, so perhaps football matches at the 2020 Olympics will be an even more exciting experience.
These are examples of a small part of the technologies, such as IoT, AI, supercomputers, and video, that are available today. By themselves, all these technologies are interesting. However, it is the synergies between them that will change our world.
We need to have a greater understanding of the business potential in these new technologies, focusing on innovation and thinking outside the box. To do this, we must empower the next generation of innovation competencies. Only in this way will we be able to leave our mark on the intelligent and digital future.
*Juan Carlos George, milestone systems sales manager for Latin America.
