Japan CCTV cameras analyze shoplifter body language

CCTV cameras in Japan are getting better in detecting petty crimes such as shoplifting. The AI Guardman by Japan telecom company NTT East and startup Earth Eyes Corp. is a new piece of tech that is able to spot the act of shoplifting through knowing what a typical shoplifter’s mannerisms or body languages are.

The AI Guardian can do what it does thanks to AI technology from Carnegie Mellon University. It analyzes poses in 2D. Once it sees shoplifting on the act, it notifies store personnel about it via an app. You may be asking, what if the camera mistakes a behavior as shoplifting? The answer is, the technology is still designed to work hand in hand with shop staff supervision.

According to reports, what happens in Japan stores where AI Guardian is tested is that when the camera flags a buyer as a shoplifter, the shop personnel approaches him or her and asks if assistance is needed. This way, if the person is indeed planning to steal something, he or she might think twice and dismiss the attempt. If the person was just mistaken, then the shop staff would just appear accommodating.

Accuracy or margin of error for this technology is still in question but this breakthrough tells that manufacturers are making good progress in making security cameras smarter in more functions. Improved face and person versus object recognition are also hot developments in the security camera industry.