How smart AI detection works

What is smart AI detection?

Smart AI detection (also called object detection or smart analytics) is a computer brain in Silarius Cloud. It watches your video and names what it sees, like a person or a car.

The work happens in the cloud (big computers on the internet). You don't need any special box at your site for it.

It starts with your camera

The cloud does not watch every second of video. It waits for your camera to say "something happened." That message is called an event.

No camera event means no AI check. This is why the camera's motion settings matter so much.

What happens next

When an event comes in, Silarius Cloud checks your detection rules for that camera. A rule says which camera event starts the check and which things to look for.

If the event matches a rule, the cloud looks at the video picture by picture for as long as the event lasts. It searches for the things you picked, like a person or a car.

Each thing it finds gets its own tracking number. The cloud follows it until it leaves the picture. It reports each new thing only once, so you don't get the same person over and over.

What it can find

More types can be turned on by request. They include luggage, bicycle, boat, hat, hard hat, no hard hat, vest, no vest, license plate, fire, smoke, person loitering (someone hanging around too long), more detailed car types and gun.

What you can get depends on your area and your service. To ask about extra types, contact Silarius: request a quote or email us.

Basic and Advanced detection

There are two levels of smart AI detection.

Basic tells you what kind of thing it found, where it was, how big it was and its colors. It checks only the first 10 seconds of an event, plus 2 seconds before it. If a person walks in later than that, Basic can miss them. So Basic is not a good fit for cameras that send lots of false events.

Advanced checks the whole event, start to finish. It also gives you extra numbers, like people counting and heatmaps (color maps of where people spend time).

Both levels work with Silarius X cameras (plug and play) and with cameras added by ONVIF. ONVIF is a common language that lets cameras from many makers talk to Silarius Cloud. Neither level works with cameras added with the Generic option.

Limits to know

• Each camera can have up to 6 detection rules.
• Each rule can have up to 10 masks (areas you draw where the AI should look).
• Masks can overlap or sit inside each other.
• Good picture quality makes a big difference. A clear, sharp, well-lit picture gives better results.

Can I use the AI inside my camera?

Maybe. If your camera's own smart features follow the ONVIF standard, you can control them through Silarius Cloud. See Use events from your camera's own AI.