The Role of AI in Mobile Surveillance Units: Shaping the Future of Security Monitoring

Peanut butter and jelly.

Lock and key.

Bow and arrow.

There’s no question about it: Some things are just meant to go together.

While we can’t claim any part in the development of classic sandwiches or traditional weapons, LiveView Technologies (LVT) is proud to be at the forefront of another perfect pairing: mobile security units and artificial intelligence (AI). 

The Fourth Industrial Revolution has brought unprecedented developments in advanced technologies like AI and analytics. It has changed—and will continue to change—how security systems operate, making them faster, safer, and more effective. 

The Benefits of Mobile Security Units

Mobile security units have transformed the world of outdoor security. They offer a number of benefits, including:

• Flexibility: Mobile security units like the LVT Unit® are the complete package (including camera mounts, a power source, and a cellular connection) on wheels. They can be deployed within minutes and work anywhere the sun shines. These units can be repositioned easily, so you can adjust them at any time and take them to new locations as security needs shift.
• Scalability: Using a platform like the LVT Platform®, you can connect multiple mobile security units and monitor different locations from one centralized hub. And since the units operate independently of infrastructure, it’s no hassle to add or subtract units as your business expands or busy seasons come and go.
• Remote monitoring capabilities: Footage from LVT Units can be viewed at any time from any place with an internet connection.

Mobile security units are incredible assets on their own, but the addition of AI takes them to the next level.

The AI Enhancement

It was just a few decades ago that cameras served a purely reactive role. Hardwired CCTV cameras stored footage that was typically reviewed only after a crime occurred—helping only after the damage was done.

While remote monitoring capabilities and cloud storage make it about a million times easier to view and retrieve security camera footage, artificial intelligence is really what takes security cameras from reactive to proactive. This shift allows you to stop a crime while it’s happening or—in some cases—before it takes place at all, helping maintain workplace safety.

Advanced detection capabilities alert you when things aren’t as they should be on your property, enabling you to take action immediately if necessary. (Another major advantage to mobile security units is their remotely controlled loudspeakers and lights, which help scare away trespassers as needed.)

AI capabilities are rapidly expanding and developing. Today’s theories very well could be tomorrow’s realities, and the possibilities are endless. 

5 Ways AI Takes Mobile Security Units to the Next Level

1. Increase Safety

AI increases both jobsite safety and public safety in more ways than one:

• It reduces the need for physical guards to alert trespassers that they are being watched, keeping security team members out of harm’s way.
• AI can drastically improve situational awareness by tracking events across multiple cameras, analyzing data in real time, and making it easy to communicate critical patterns and updates to personnel on the ground.
• As it learns normal patterns of behavior, AI will be able to more accurately identify when people are acting in a suspicious manner based on body language and movement, bringing attention to potential safety risks.

2. Enable Rapid Responses

AI’s proactive nature combined with mobile security units’ built-in loudspeakers and lights allow for incredibly quick response times, often stopping troublemakers in their tracks. 

The response time isn’t the only thing AI has the potential to speed up; with its ability to comb through hours of footage in seconds, AI could identify specific people, license plates, or objects quickly and pull all relevant footage for human review.

3. Track Crowds

Mobile security units are perfect for outdoor public events as they can be placed as needed in parking lots and event grounds with no advance preparations. Special events often draw large crowds which are impossible to fully track with the human eye as people can only focus on so much at once. AI, on the other hand, has no such limitation, allowing it to track all the individuals in the crowd simultaneously.

The ability to search for specific objects (people wearing a specific color shirt, for instance) makes AI invaluable in the search for suspects or missing children.

In a crisis situation at a crowded event, AI could make a significant difference in overall situational awareness. (Generative AI, which allows you to run potential situation simulations, could also be useful in planning emergency strategies beforehand.)

4. Increase Efficiency

Most security cameras don’t have particularly exciting feeds 99 percent of the time. This is especially true of remote locations such as critical infrastructure sites or construction sites after hours. Instead of an employee wasting hours upon hours staring at nothing (or worse, having a completely unmonitored feed), AI can monitor all camera feeds simultaneously and send alerts when something isn’t as it should be.

While advanced detection capabilities can already tell the difference between swaying tree branches and a human intruder, not every alert means a crime is being committed. Humans do need to verify the situation so they can respond appropriately or dismiss the alert if it is unimportant. As AI continues to learn and improve, false alarms will become less and less frequent.

5. Gather Evidence

While proactive and even predictive capabilities can make a big difference in stopping bad actors, they won’t stop every crime. Fortunately, AI and cloud storage make gathering and sharing evidence easier than ever. Recognition software allows for the identification of license plates and faces, and AI could instantly comb through hours of footage to provide the key clips needed, saving valuable time and energy.

Not all AI capabilities have made it to the point of practical application yet, but mobile security units serve as a crucial component of any comprehensive outdoor security system for businesses. The LVT Unit is enhanced with advanced detection capabilities and an easy-to-use mobile interface. Contact LVT for a demo today!