Over the years CCTV technology, ability, and its modes of application has evolved. The earliest known & documented use of CCTV comes from Germany in 1942, particularly where cameras were used to observe the testing of rockets. Back then, the components of the system were cameras and monitors, quite obviously because the fundamental use of these early systems were simply live monitoring. The high-tech boom has arrived to the security industry, and consumers are leaping aboard the train. This helps explain why home security systems are selling into the billions each year and connected home security systems alone are on track to hit more than USD 15 billion within the next four years.

Now the reason why we use the word `intelligent' is manifold. Advancements in signal processing have enabled the development of intelligent video surveillance systems, systems that can flexibly adapt the rate of video data collection. Particularly, whenever a security incident indicator is detected, the rate of data collection is increased in order to provide richer information for more accurate and credible analysis. Artificial Intelligence too is an alpha player in the modern day surveillance. 2016 and 2017 marked an important year for AI, with the introduction of disruptive deep learning approaches, eminently the ones employed by Google's Alpha AI engine. And just like any new tech that stirs the market for good, the evolution of deep neural networks quickly drew attentions in video surveillance systems for exceptional intelligence and more effective surveillance processes. For example, AI can enable predictive analytics, which allows security operators to anticipate security incidents and proactively prepare for them.

Possibilities are far reaching and the CCTV solution providers are having the best years in business. Though challenges do exist pertaining to data security, privacy and level of permissible automation of the surveillance system, vendors have been going though leaps and bounds to deliver the best. This edition features those security enablers who have made the best out of the CCTV technology.

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