Profile M, which standardised metadata and events for analytics applications, was released by ONVIF, the global standards initiative for IP-based physical security systems. This new profile is supposed to address the market for dynamic video analytics while also widening the pathways for embedding metadata and event handling into other systems including access control, cloud services, and IoT platforms.
Profile M codified the communication of metadata and events between analytics-capable services and devices like IP cameras, as well as clients like video management software and server- or cloud-based services.
It allows systems integrators and end-users to merge solutions from diverse edge device or service providers that provide metadata and events into a unified system by combining video management software, cloud services, and IoT applications.
Sriram Bhetanabottla, Chair of the Profile M Working Group, stated, “ONVIF recognises that the requirement for interoperability has moved beyond the conventional interaction between a hardware device and a software client from various suppliers.” The flexibility to include cloud- and server-based services as ‘conformant devices’ makes Profile M interesting also for independent developers of software-based analytics solutions. It will help drive the growth in the number and types of security, safety, and operational efficiency applications available to end-users.”
Analytics metadata – which can be a variety of object classifications – has several applications in the context of the video. They can be used to highlight specific objects in a video stream, initiate automatic responses, and efficiently store and search for video content of interest. Heat mapping in a retail store using human and geolocation metadata, and vehicle mapping in a parking lot using vehicle and geolocation metadata, are two other applications.
Profile M also includes event handling interfaces for object counting, face and licence plate recognition analytics, and JSON-formatted events over MQTT, an IoT protocol. An IoT use case could be room temperature control, in which a Profile M camera (with MQTT support) detects humans in a room and sends an ONVIF event via MQTT to an IoT platform or application. This, in turn, causes a smart thermostat to adjust the room temperature.
Profile M, which debuted at IFSEC Connect in June, can be combined with other ONVIF video and access control profiles to create an integrated system based on ONVIF interfaces.