Voice Detection?

[bpzle 0]

I’ve got a potential client that asked me for details about a technology I’d never heard of. It has to do with human voice detection for alarming purposes. He owns a store in a rural area and has been having issues late at night with thieves. He’s looking for some sort of device to give him an early warning and head start to check out the cameras remotely and decide whether or not to take action. Idea being that since it’s a rural area, the only people within range to be heard talking late at night are up to no good. The microphones would be mounted outside and would be hooked up to something (DVR I’m guessing) that would have the intelligence of deciphering which was human and which was natural ambient noise.

You guys ever heard of such technology? A quick search didn’t pull anything up. Any idea where to get it?

[Soundy 1]

If this person has heard about it, perhaps HE can provide more information... at least a technology name that you can search for? Or is it just something he saw in a movie?

[bpzle 0]

It's something he heard about from a friend. No names, just the info that I already provided.

[Soundy 1]

I hate that kind. "Hey, my friend told me about such-and-such, can you do it?"

"Uuhhh..."

 

Probably something the friend saw in a movie.

[bpzle 0]

Exactly. It's a good idea though. Doesn't sound too Hollywood or technically difficult... I figured it already existed. If not, maybe I should delete this topic and go patent it real quick.

[Soundy 1]

Actually, I did find some info on some patents for it, as well as some AverMedia stuff that claims to have voice-triggered recording (which could just as easily be used to trigger an alarm output, I suppose). Thing is, there's very little detail on whether it truly filters out speech from other ambient sounds, or if it's a rough sound-activated system. Try googling "voice detection" (WITH the quotes) and then add "alarm" to the search.

[bpzle 0]

Your right, AverMedia doesn't go into detail about the so called "voice activation". I emailed their customer support, we'll see. I did a bit more searching, but couldn't really find much. Just a whole lot of products that use a prerecorded voice to yell at thieves, "Police are on their way!" Kind of worthless. Thanks for your help.

[tomcctv 187]

hi. the avermedia only picks up sound (all sound) i have never heard of a mic that can detect only voice. but please remember some one talking and someone kicking your door in. which would you want. best off with standard mic

[bpzle 0]

Thanks for your reply but I think you misunderstood. The mic itself will pickup and record everything. What my client wants is for the mic to be hooked up to something that has the intelligence to know when it hears human voices during a scheduled time to create an alarm and alert him. I.e. sms or phone call. He wants to have a head start on any thieves instead of waiting on the PIRs inside to trigger the alarm panel, call ADT, and then ADT call him and then ADT call the plolice. Usually by the time all of that takes place the theives are already gone with the loot.

[tomcctv 187]

still i think what you are asking for will just be a big waste of money for your customer. theves dont talk or make alot of noise. might be cheaper installing a gsm dialer with microphone and speaker so as he gets the call before adt to his mobile

[bpzle 0]

If I was dumb enough to be a theif and I knew no one was around for miles, I wouldn't see any obvious reason to be quiet. Most of the intruders in the past have worked as teams and often can be heard on the existing system's recordings talking to one another before entering the building. So I disagree, I think it's a good idea that hopefully won't be that expensive. It would be just yet another layer of protection in a high quality security system.

[griffonsystems 0]

why not just do outdoor pir detectors so it picks them up when they get close to the building - the only device that would be able to alert him when it hears human voices would be a human guard sitting there all night

[DgRVR701 0]

interesting concept on replies. any luck on the search?

[bpzle 0]

I thought about PIRs, but still think the potential for false alarms in a rual outdoor environment are too great for what this guy wants. Then again, who knows how accurate this new voice detection technology is, IF it exists at all. I’ve talked to lots of distributor reps who either tell me “that’s impossibleâ€

[Soundy 1]

While I admire your attempts to satisfy this client, it's sounding more and more like you're just opening yourself up for headaches. He tells you it's "the hottest thing on the market and everyone has it", based solely on what some friend told him... but neither seems able to provide a source of information (trade magazine article??) or even a brand name? And meanwhile, none of the pros here, who work in the industry daily, have heard anything about it?

 

Sounds like the guy wants magic beans, and is convinced he's going to find them... and he's got you running in circles looking for them. I think ultimately, you're going to have to disappoint him... either with the bad news that his magic beans don't exist, or with the sheer cost of custom-developing something.

 

As far as some of your other suggestions... I've actually installed a system with thermal imaging cameras and video analytics for just this purpose, and you're right, it's not cheap: the cameras alone, I believe, were around $25,000 for a FLIR Wide-Eye (180-degree view) and $10,000 each for a pair of FLIR SR-19s (I couldn't tell you if that's our cost, or our selling price to the client, those are just numbers I heard tossed around). The analytics system we used was another $10,000+. Oh yeah, and the cameras were mounted along with a Pelco Esprit PTZ on top of a 50' tower in the middle of a two-square-block yard...

 

So yeah, not cheap... but it does a damn good job. The analytics is great at distinguishing people from vehicles and animals. Setting it up properly took literally days (off and on, tweaking it for different conditions). The FLIRs are amazing - the images change very little between day and night.

 

If cost is a factor, PIRs might be the way to go... good ones will have "Pet Immunity" or similarly-named technology that will help reduce falsing from animals. You can also position them so that they won't "see" things moving low along the ground. If you look, there should be more specialized models better suited to your needs (tighter detection areas, etc.)

[tomcctv 187]

voice detection. just been sent some info. yes it is a stand alone unit and only picks up voice. but only voice commands that you pre-load into the unit. so back to the same problem. you can load names and commands and it will work but what commands would you use ??

but i have been thinking on how to get around your problem. you can buy a gsm dialer that sends sound to your mobile and you can also talk back via your mobile. this i think is better as you can hear names and everything they say. this system linked with the beams listed below will meet your needs for around $300

 

 

Invisible infrared beams are simultaneously broken. No alarm is caused when only one beam is blocked by a small object. When used to protect a wall or fence, a long interuption time will catch intruders, but let jumping cats pass by.

 

There are two models available. One that has a range of up to 21 metres and one that has a range up to 40 metres

 

Use in conjunction with a SM10 X10 Powerflash module to send X10 signals. If the Powerflash module is used you can have it signal any X10 module, one example is an SC546 X10 Chime Module which will "chime" to alert you.

 

Requires 12V power adaptor (not included).

 

Beam interuption time can be adjusted to suit individual situations

 

Easily aligned and installed

 

Compensates for changing weather conditions

 

Frost, dust and insect protection

 

Surface mounting

 

Suitable for indoor/outdoor use

 

Tamper switch

[bpzle 0]

The search is over!! He was able to give me a name of the technology he'd heard of. Turns out, he totally misunderstood some misleading marketing by Sonitrol. Sonitrol's claim to fame is to have listen-in devices to verify alarm trips. Their central station has people that listen in remotely but only after an alarm has tripped. Supposedly they filter out false alarms better than any other company. Duh! Not a big deal, that technology has been around for years. Longer than I've even been in this business (6 years). I should know, I've been installing similar devices by Caddx, GE, and Eagle for years. Thanks for everyone's help! I still think the original idea of intelligent voice detection is interesting though and could definetly have a good niche in the market, should it actually work and be developed for a reasonable cost. Thanks again guys.

[Soundy 1]

I knew it - Magic Beans Is this guy's name Jack??

[thewireguys 3]

Well Mobotix cameras can do what he wants. The cameras have a build in PIR and MIC with a dB meter. You could use logic to only trigger alarm when both of them are tripped at the same time. This would minimize false alarms do to ambient noise. Also the cameras can call cell phones and so your customer could have a 2-way conversation with the a-hole on the other end. All of these features are build in the camera so no servers to run.