How Motion Sensors Enhance Video Surveillance

One of the oldest, yet underutilized, tools in video surveillance is the motion sensor. It was originally invented in 1947, and 50 years later, it became the norm for camera technology. However, despite all this old tech, there are still countless camera companies and systems that aren’t utilizing the motion sensor feature. 

Why Motion Sensors Matter 

To an investigator, or even amateur camera enthusiasts (looking at you with your deer cameras set up all over the woods), the motion sensor is arguably the most useful tool that exists. Knowing exactly when there is movement, especially in a remote spot, can reduce the time spent watching cameras from many hours to just a few minutes.  

While most camera systems allow you to speed up the video, watching the video at faster speeds isn’t usually the best option. For the human eye, anything above 8x speed will likely lead to missing something on camera. Motion sensors bring you directly to the action. With the advancements in AI, they have become even more crucial. The boom in artificial intelligence has allowed even more use cases for motion sensors; however, motion sensors need to be present in order for AI to do its job. 

Real-World Applications 

Let’s take, for example, a camera facing your manufacturing floor; a large space covering hundreds of square feet. Different machines and employees are all visible on the floor. There may have been an incident you need to verify, and you know the area of the floor where it allegedly took place. By selecting the specific area you’d like to review in the camera software, it will show you all instances of movement within that small area alone.  

This is just as useful in real-time. Say you have a camera facing the outside and you want to be alerted whenever someone walks by a particular door. The intelligent camera will alert you whenever that parameter is met, all using AI and motion sensors.  

These are all basic AI and motion sensor uses, but their complexities have really taken off in recent years. AI and motion sensors are now being used in crowd control at entertainment venues and airports to ensure people’s safety, and even traffic pattern control. The use cases for motion sensors will keep growing with more advancements in AI and machine learning. 

Challenges with Motion Sensor Adoption 

The issue, however, is that some camera companies are still releasing cameras, recorders, and software without motion sensor features. This technology is so old that by now, it should be considered a basic standard.  

Some of the drawbacks or arguments camera companies have against motion sensors are that they take up a lot of bandwidth and storage. When a camera records video, it needs to use more storage capacity to fit in the motion as well. However, given the steady decline in storage costs and the prevalence of cloud computing, these concerns are outdated. The efficiency of motion sensors far outweighs the minimal additional costs, and they should be utilized in every camera system. 

To ensure you’re getting the most out of your camera system, look for one that has motion sensor capabilities built in right out of the box. This will save you valuable time along with maximizing the efficiency and effectiveness of your surveillance system.