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So what is AIoT?

The term AIoT is appearing far more often these days as part of the marketing efforts of some companies in the surveillance industry. According to TechTarget, “Artificial Intelligence of Things (AIoT) is the combination of artificial intelligence (AI) technologies and the Internet of Things (IoT) infrastructure. AIoT’s goal is to create more efficient IoT operations, improve human-machine interactions and enhance data management and analytics.” ^[1]

Research from Bosch elaborates on this, noting, “In the IoT, we connect intelligent products and services, generating added value for our customers. By adding AI, we create a closed value creation cycle and focus even more on users. The data resulting from the use of intelligent, connected products and the interaction between people and machines and machines themselves are the key factor in this context. By linking IoT with AI and machine learning, we can draw the right conclusions from huge quantities of data and react to these data during product engineering in seconds. We learn from the data and can thus improve our products and services on an ongoing basis.” ^[2] Follow the link in the footnotes for a more in-depth explanation.

Adopting AIoT

So, while AIoT spans a broader market than surveillance and even security, it certainly has a home in the surveillance market as AI becomes more common and more efficient. One company making inroads in the AIoT market is Milesight. Hi-Tech Security Solutions approached Milesight via its official partner in South Africa, LD Africa, to learn more about what AIoT entails and how the company is evolving under the AIoT banner.

Milesight believes that in the near future, as the AIoT market becomes more mature, 5G, AI and IoT technologies will penetrate every corner of our work and life, just like electricity and the Internet did. “The digital wave combining 5G, AI and IoT has significantly changed the global business landscape where ‘intelligence’ and ‘interconnection’ are becoming the rules of survival. Thus, along with this rapidly iterating technology wave driving a shift in traditional business models and a new era with revelatory implications, AIoT has gradually arrived, bringing along smarter and better lives.”

With AI and IoT being a powerful driving force in future development, Milesight is combining video surveillance with IoT to empower a new brand identity and to become a pioneer in AIoT, converging AI, deep learning and IoT technologies into next-gen AIoT smart solutions.

The impact of AIoT

In the AIoT era, as hundreds of billions of devices will access the network through 5G, this will lay the foundation for digital transformation in various verticals and create data-driven scientific decision-making mechanisms. Against this backdrop, Milesight will contribute to smarter cities where the intelligent interconnection of all things and multi-dimensional integration of people, machines and objects will become a reality.

This will lead to advanced, intelligent perception, precise management and convenient service delivery in smart city operations. The IoT and AI are gradually transforming how we live and work to improve efficiency, productivity and competence.

Milesight subsidiary, Milesight IoT (formed from the merger of Milesight IoT and Yeastar), is focused on developing one-stop smart IoT solutions tailored to various markets by providing end nodes, gateways, cellular and cloud services. An example of its initial successes in its transition to AIoT is the 5G AIoT camera, which combines 5G, AI and IoT technologies into one device. The camera can transmit and receive video data wirelessly by way of a SIM card, making it suitable for scenarios where wiring is inconvenient. Additionally, the camera can also ingest various sensor data, such as temperature and water level information via LoRaWAN.

A broader example

Azena (formerly S&ST), the company that developed an open camera operating system that can load third-party AI apps from its marketplace onto cameras, has other examples.

In the retail space, “connecting smart video cameras with in-store displays creates a completely new type of communication system. Cameras equipped with AI video analytics, for example, detect which colours a customer prefers and trigger a nearby display to show an ad for a matching product.” ^[3]

It’s clear that many companies are talking the AIoT talk, and some are moving in that direction to develop products and solutions. However, the AIoT is not about what’s on a camera, but the whole ecosystem working together in a seamless manner. And while the intentions may be good, it will be a challenge to get everyone working in an open, co-operative manner to create these intelligent ecosystems.

^[1] www.securitysa.com/*aiot (redirects to www.techtarget.com/iotagenda/definition/Artificial-Intelligence-of-Things-AIoT).

^[2] www.securitysa.com/*aiot1 (redirects to www.bosch.com/research/research-focus-topics/aiot-security/).

^[3] www.securitysa.com/*aiot2 (redirects to www.azena.com/insights/aiot-video-surveillance).

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