The World is Being Changed by Camera Data & Object Storage

Impactful Imaging: How the World is Being Changed by Camera Data and Object Storage

Last month, Cloudian and Axis, the market leader in network video, announced a partnership that will allow the data captured by Axis’ network cameras to be saved directly to Cloudian’s HyperStore via the internet for economical archiving. That means that even as data volumes increase, Axis customers can manage video data effectively and economically while also positioning themselves to deal with future demands for video and storage.

This is yet another example of how powerful imaging technology and scale-out storage are combining to change business, security and public life. Today, cameras count people at busy places, recognize faces for access, and monitor production processes.  When you access a parking garage, your license plate is read and stored. If you drive on a Tokyo highway, cameras recognize your car and billboards project a targeted advertisement based on the type of car you drive. And if you drive certain models of automobile, your car itself is recording video as your drive.

Cameras are being used in a host of new and ingenious ways – not just to monitor people for security reasons but to create entirely new ways of serving customers and generating new revenue.

Automotive and security applications may be among the first applications of video that spring to mind, but farming is another example of an industry that is adapting camera imaging. Traditional farming relies on managing fields, based on regional conditions and historical data. Today, farmers have the ability to add sensors, robots, GPS, mapping tools and data-analytics software to customize the care that plants receive without increasing labour. Stationary or robot-mounted sensors and camera-equipped drones send images and data on individual plants to a computer, which looks for signs of potential problems. And AI/ML helps to find a proven cure for that problem, based on historical data. This allows the farmers to receive feedback in real time and take actions accordingly (deliver water, pesticide or fertilizer) to only the areas that need it. The technology also helps farmers decide when to plant and harvest crops.

But it is not only productivity and cost savings that count when it comes to cameras. The City of Montebello, California equipped 79 city buses with five IP cameras each. With over 8 million passengers traveling every year, the city has an enormous responsibility to ensure the safety of those being transported. To make sure that in an emergency situation the right response arrives quickly, the city combined an advanced mobile security system with Cloudian object storage.

Thanks to this new combination, the City of Montebello can simultaneously record all five bus-mounted cameras currently under testing with real-time metadata tagging (time, location, vehicle, etc.). They also improved upload reliability by allowing large clips to be broken up and the parts streamed concurrently, as opposed to consecutive streams which must be restarted in the event of an error. But most importantly, Montebello Bus Lines has real-time visibility to protect the millions of passengers who depend on its service. And it is able to find specific information quickly when an emergency appears.

With newer applications of video, and higher resolutions, comes a growth in the need for data storage which can become very expensive, very quickly with traditional storage systems. Conventional network cameras usually store captured images on media such as SD cards or on Network Attached Storage (NAS), but there is a limit to how much data these media can preserve and manage over time. The scale-out capabilities of object-storage and use of low-cost hard drives are just two more reasons why object storage works very well with camera data.

Object storage and cameras are made for each other. Using the right technology for video data saves money, increases efficiency and lowers your ecological footprint.

To learn more about how Cloudian can help you manage your video storage needs, visit our Media and Entertainment page.

 

What is Object Storage?

Although I had absolutely no clue what object storage was prior to my internship, my co-workers were always there for me to turn to for help and guidance to help me create this explainer video.

A question I get a lot when explaining the company I am interning for is, “What is Object Storage?”

A few months ago, I was hesitant about applying to an internship at a technology company. Unlike many of my peers who view the Silicon Valley as the perfect gateway for fueling their careers and interests, I was never quite drawn to the tech scene I had grown up with.

My “Objective” Journey

At the same time, a majority of my hesitation could be attributed to intimidation – I had neither a technical background nor real understanding of the sorts of professions and companies that existed in the Silicon Valley. But given the exciting opportunity to intern at Cloudian these past few months, I got the chance to not only explore the cloud computing industry, but also immerse myself in an environment I was once too scared to venture into.

Along with the support of my manager and peers at Cloudian, one of the major projects I worked on as a marketing intern was a “draw my life” style video about object storage. Although I had absolutely no clue what object storage was prior to my internship, my co-workers were always there for me to turn to for help and guidance. After all, being given the opportunity to work on a topic I was previously unacquainted with translated into an opportunity to learn everything I stumbled upon.

So, What is Object Storage?

Okay, so here’s what I learned about object storage—and why it’s actually pretty amazing compared to other ways data can be stored.

First off, there are three main types of storage: file storage, block storage, and object storage. Before this internship, I had no clue what those even meant! But here’s the quick rundown:

  • File storage is similar to how you save stuff on your computer—organized in folders and files. It’s simple and familiar, but when you have tons of data or lots of people accessing it at once, it can get messy and slow.

  • Block storage breaks data into chunks called blocks. It’s fast and sometimes used when computers need to access data really quickly. But it’s not great for things like pictures or videos because it doesn’t store extra info about the files.

  • Object storage is different and kind of genius. Object Storage is a modern method for storing and managing large amounts of unstructured data, such as photos, videos, backups, documents, and more in a highly scalable and flexible way. It stores everything as “objects,” and each object isn’t just the data (like a photo or video), but also allows you to tag it with as many “labels” — or metadata — that you want to describe what it is. Plus, each object gets a unique ID, so you can find it fast without digging through folders.

What makes object storage so cool (and why it’s the best choice for companies) is:

  1. It can grow forever—object storage is built to handle huge amounts of data spread across tons of servers. So if a company has millions of photos or videos, object storage can handle that without breaking a sweat.

  2. It’s super safe—because it copies data to different places, if one server crashes or something goes wrong, the data isn’t lost.

  3. It’s smart—thanks to all that metadata, companies can tag, search, and organize their data in ways file and block storage just can’t.

  4. It’s budget-friendly—it doesn’t cost a fortune to keep all that data stored safely, especially if it’s stuff you don’t need to change all the time, like backups or archives.

So yeah, object storage might have sounded like a scary tech term at first, but it’s actually this powerful, flexible way to keep all kinds of data safe, easy to find, and ready for whatever a company needs next. And honestly? Learning about this made me realize there’s so much more to tech than just coding — it’s about solving real problems with smart ideas.

Object Storage Simplified

From there, my video project began to unfold – from hours upon hours of research to creating a script, incessant doodling, and many dry-erase marker stains, I was able to break it down and explain what object storage is in a simplified, visual way. Here’s the finished product:

Thanks to my team at Cloudian for supporting me the entire way. Having worked on this project has definitely instilled in me a new confidence to take a leap into the unknown. As I spend my last few days here, I am proud to have been able to spend some time familiarizing myself with the core of Cloudian’s product and leave a piece of something I created before I go!

Intern and guest blogger: Lesley

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