It is not a new thing that people use CCTV cameras for surveillance so that they can keep track of people’s activities. This is widely used in stores and factories where physical presence is not possible everywhere. However, Japan has got one step ahead than the regular CCTV and the country has now integrated artificial intelligence in CCTV as well. This, in our opinion, is one of the best uses of artificial intelligence. Talking more about this AI-enabled CCTV cameras, these are mostly used in shops where the shopkeepers use it to get the shoplifters caught red-handed.
One more interesting thing is that these CCTV cameras have a name as well, “AI Guardman”. These cameras have been developed by Japanese company NTT Tech and a startup named Earth Eyes. According to Sora News 24, there is already a huge impact ever since these cameras have been fitted into the shops. There has been up to 40% reduction in shoplifting which participated in the trial run. This means that the impact will be huge once the cameras are commercialized. The cameras basically work on an open-source technology developed by Carnegie Mellon University which analyzes the shopper’s body language. This means that it already has information about some behaviors which are common in potential shoplifters.
If this behavior matches the ones seen by the CCTV cameras then the shop owner gets informed in real time. Not only does the shop owner get alerted via the app, it also sends a photo as well as the location of a suspected shoplifter. This camera is already in development from past few years. However, the good news is that these cameras were tested last month in major Japanese stores. Also, it is worth noting that the test run has been fairly successful in reducing the number of shoplifting incidents so it is fair to assume that AI technology will be widely used once it is out of testing.