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Thinking Surveillance System, Vitamin D Video, Now For Sale

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by Aaron Saenz on February 8th, 2010
vitamin d video surveillance software

Vitamin D Video is out of beta and ready to purchase. Better still, the most basic package is free!

Ground breaking surveillance software, Vitamin D Video, is now available for sale at an impressively low price. I had a chance to review the program’s impressive object recognition and recording capabilities when I covered the beta launch a few months ago. This is a really cool application of limited artificial intelligence. Vitamin D Video uses algorithms based on human brain activity to quickly identify objects in a video feed. By setting the controls, you can specify events that will trigger a recording, an email alert, or an audio notice. Vitamin D not only acts like an electronic watchdog for your camera, it can take hours of monotonous footage and reduce it down to a highlight reel you want to watch. During the beta, testers used the program for some really cool applications you can read about on the VDV site. Interested in getting a copy for yourself? It’s free if you only want to use it on one camera. Two cameras and you’ll have to pay $50. Or you can pay $200 and use as many cameras as you like from one computer. That cheap price tag could launch Vitamin D Video to dominate the small business and home market. Catch a new demo video of the program below.

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Review of Vitamin D Video Beta Launch – It’s Pretty Awesome

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by Aaron Saenz on November 9th, 2009

A few weeks ago I discussed Vitamin D Video, the software system which acts like the human brain to find people and objects of interest in a recording. Vitamin D takes hours of tedious camera footage and reduces it to the few minutes or moments of interest that you want to see. An independent offshoot of Numenta, Vitamin D just launched its free beta release today. I was able to get my hands on a copy of the program, and wow. This is some powerful code and it could make a big splash when the final version debuts in the first half of 2010. Check out the new demonstration video here, or watch the old demonstration video after the break.

Vitamin D Video is out in Beta. The User interface is simple and easy to use, but designing filters is something of an art.

Vitamin D Video is out in Beta. The User interface is simple and easy to use, but designing filters is something of an art.

To give you some background, Vitamin D Video uses Hierarchical Temporal Memory architecture first developed by Numenta to help recognize objects of importance even if they are moving, clipped, or otherwise complicated. The beta works with IP cameras or webcams, with user defined filters that you design through a simple interface. People are highlighted in yellow boxes, objects in green, and recording can be triggered as doors open, things move into a space, etc. If successful, VDV could improve the use of security cameras world over, as a computer could be used to actively monitor and sift through video in place of costly (and easily bored) humans. Vitamin D hopes that it will become the cheap, easy, but also sophisticated alternative to the more costly video recognition software already on the market.

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New Software Acts Like Human Brain to Find People in Videos

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by Aaron Saenz on September 29th, 2009
By thinking like a human, computers can efficiently recognize important people and objects. The yellow box know where you are!

By thinking like a human, computers can efficiently recognize important people and objects. The yellow box knows where you are!

Now that we can program a computer to reason somewhat like a human brain, it seems a little cruel to then set that artificial intelligence to one of the most mind-numbing tasks around: watching security footage. Jeff Hawkins and his company Numenta have developed hierarchical temporal memory (HTM) a means of solving information overload by helping a computer filter and sort the way a brain does. The latest application of HTM is Vitamin D Video, a new company that produces software that will allow you to convert hours of boring video into a shorter highlight reel. Vitamin D can track people and objects allowing you to find only those video segments that interest you. TV news interns and CCTV watchmen everywhere are rejoicing.

As you know, we’ve discussed Jeff Hawkins and Numenta’s approach to artificial intelligence before. The basic premise is that the human brain works as a pattern prediction engine. It captures new information, compares it to old, determines what it thinks will happen, and waits for feedback to refine its understanding. At the heart of HTM is the ability to break down tasks into smaller more manageable chunks and make more accurate predictions. While Hawkins’ approach to AI is better stated as computing based on human reasoning patterns, it has the potential to give us very efficient learning machines. Vitamin D serves as a wonderful example. Whereas most object/person recognition software can cost thousands of dollars, HTM allows Vitamin D Video to be produced cheaply enough to be released in a free beta version. You can sign up here for the beta release coming this fall.

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Numenta Is Imitating Your Brain

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by Keith Kleiner on July 11th, 2008

Decent piece in BusinessWeek profiling Jeff Hawkins’ startup Numenta. Numenta is building artificial intelligence that attempts to replicate the function of the human neocortex to solve hard problems. The software specializes in recognizing patterns within massive streams of data.

I am a big fan of Jeff Hawkins…here is a short plug about him:
After inventing the Palm Pilot Jeff Hawkins left the tech industry to pursue his dream to unlock the secrets of the brain.  His book On Intelligence is a fabulous read for those looking for a straightforward introduction to the inner workings of the brain that doesn’t require a neuroscience degree to understand.

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