AiWatch: A Distributed Video Surveillance System Using Artificial Intelligence and Digital Twins Technologies

The primary purpose of video surveillance is to monitor public indoor areas or the boundaries of secure facilities to safeguard them against theft, unauthorized access, fire, and various other potential threats. Security cameras, equipped with integrated video surveillance systems, are strategically placed throughout critical locations on the premises, allowing security personnel to observe all areas for specific behaviors that may signal an emergency or a situation requiring intervention. A significant challenge arises from the fact that individuals cannot maintain focus on multiple screens simultaneously, which can result in the oversight of crucial incidents. In this regard, artificial intelligence (AI) video analytics has become increasingly prominent, driven by numerous practical applications that include object identification, detection of unusual behavior patterns, facial recognition, and traffic management. Recent advancements in this technology have led to enhanced functionality, remarkable accuracy, and reduced costs for consumers. There is a noticeable trend towards upgrading security frameworks by incorporating AI into pre-existing video surveillance systems, thus leading to modern video surveillance that leverages video analytics, enabling the detection and reporting of anomalies within mere seconds, thereby transforming it into a proactive security solution. In this context, the AiWatch system introduces digital twin (DT) technology in a modern video surveillance architecture to facilitate advanced analytics through the aggregation of data from various sources. By exploiting AI and DT to analyze the different sources, it is possible to derive deeper insights applicable at higher decision levels. This approach allows for the evaluation of the effects and outcomes of actions by examining different scenarios, hence yielding more robust decisions.