What sets a smart city apart? Arguably, the smart city is differentiated — and driven — by its ability to evaluate its existing infrastructure; identify inefficiencies and opportunities for technological enhancement; and integrate intelligent solutions that streamline everyday operations. This, of course, is easier said than done, especially considering the costs of technology implementation and the significant demands of managing and maintaining daily city operations.

In order to competitively attract visitors, commerce and residents, cities worldwide are finding ways to facilitate smart city transformation. A starting point for many cities is pinpointing which existing resources can be maximized by integrating complementary solutions, instead of overhauling and replacing current infrastructure entirely.

For instance, city surveillance is standard globally, yet with the rise of internet of things (IoT) devices and artificial intelligence-driven technologies, data-driven solutions have emerged for transforming that everyday video content into security and operational intelligence.

Many cities feature extensive video camera networks to enable officers to remotely monitor areas of interest or work with businesses and camera owners in the local community to extract video evidence for investigations.

Video content analytics allow operators to powerfully and impactfully leverage video that is already being captured for accelerating video investigation, enhancing situational awareness and enabling proactive real-time response to dynamic situations. Video intelligence solutions critically enable city transformation, empowering local governments and law enforcement to drive urban planning, traffic optimization, incident response and enhanced public safety.

Read the full article about video intelligence in smart cities by Stephanie Weagle at SmartCitiesDive.