What is object recognition in video surveillance?

Object recognition uses AI to identify what is in a camera image, such as an object, a person or a vehicle, rather than just noticing that pixels changed. In Mirasys VMS, Smart OR turns those detections into events that operators can see live and search in recordings.

How is it different from motion detection?

Motion detection reacts to any change in the picture, including trees, rain, shadows and headlights. Object recognition only reports the objects, people and vehicles it actually finds, so operators get fewer false alarms.

Which objects can Smart OR detect?

Smart OR detects objects, people and vehicles, and recognises attributes of people and vehicles. You choose per camera which detections it runs.

Does object detection work with my existing CCTV cameras?

Yes, in most cases. Smart OR uses video from standard IP cameras connected over ONVIF or manufacturer-native drivers. The camera needs a clear view of the area, with the things you want detected large enough in the image.

How does Smart OR work with Person Search?

For each camera you can turn on person similarity data. Smart OR then calculates it from the people it detects, and Mirasys Person Search uses that data to find similar-looking people across cameras.

Can I combine Smart OR with other analytics?

Yes. Mirasys also takes events from on-camera analytics over ONVIF Profile M and native drivers, and from third-party engines such as VCA. All of them show up in the same operator client.

MIRASYS AI · SMART OR

Object detection that tells real objects, people and vehicles apart from everything else that moves.

Smart OR is the AI object recognition inside Mirasys VMS. It picks out objects, people and vehicles in your camera views, adds attributes for people and vehicles, and turns every detection into an event your operators can act on and search later.

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THE PROBLEM

Motion alarms go off all night. Most of them are nothing.

A branch sways, rain streaks past the lens, headlights sweep across a wall, and the motion alarm fires again. Your operators check each one by hand until they stop trusting the alarms at all. Then, after a real incident, someone has to scroll through the night's footage to find the one person who actually walked through the yard.

Object recognition looks at what is in the picture instead of what changed in it. Smart OR detects objects, people and vehicles, so the events your team sees are the ones worth seeing, and every detection is stored with the video for later.

What object recognition changes:

Fewer false alarms

Events are raised for real objects, people and vehicles, not for every pixel that moves.

Busy scenes

Keeps up with crowded, high-traffic areas where many people are in view.

Attribute details

Detected people and vehicles carry attributes that describe them.

Faster follow-up

Find detections in Smart Search instead of replaying a whole night of video.

HOW IT WORKS

How Smart OR turns video into events.

Smart OR runs on the IP cameras you already have. Detections appear in Spotter, the Mirasys VMS operator client, so nobody needs to learn a separate tool.

Watch

Any IP camera connected over ONVIF or a manufacturer driver can feed Smart OR.

Detect

The AI model finds the objects, people and vehicles in each frame and ignores the rest of the scene.

Describe

People and vehicles are tagged with attributes, so a detection is more than a box on the screen.

Respond

Detections show up in Spotter Smart Recognition for the operator and stay searchable with the recording.

SMART OR

Built to cut the noise from your camera network.

Smart OR is part of Mirasys AI, our in-house deep-learning analytics. The latest release made detection more accurate and lighter on hardware.

Objects, people and vehicles

Detects objects, people and vehicles in live and recorded video, so operators see what is actually in the scene.

Attribute recognition

Recognises attributes of people and vehicles, giving operators more to go on than "someone was there".

Fewer false positives

Improved detection accuracy means fewer events for shadows, weather and background movement.

Choose per camera

Decide camera by camera which detections Smart OR runs, for example persons, vehicles or both. Run only what each view needs.

Lighter on hardware

Switching off what a camera doesn't need saves processing power and cuts the amount of detection data you store.

Feeds Person Search

Turn on person similarity data for a camera and its detections become available to Mirasys Person Search.

Free-text filters

Smart Recognition filters and Smart Search criteria accept free text, so long lists of values are quick to narrow down.

Works with your cameras

Standard IP cameras over ONVIF or native drivers. No special object detection cameras to buy.

Same VMS, full suite

Smart OR runs next to Smart LPR, Smart FR and Person Search on one platform.

OPEN BY DESIGN

Edge analytics, our AI or a specialist engine. Or all three.

Pick the detection that fits each site. Mirasys brings the results into one operator view, wherever the analytics run.

On-camera detection

Use the analytics already running in cameras from Axis, Bosch, Hanwha and more. Events arrive through ONVIF Profile M and native drivers.

Mirasys Smart OR

Our own object recognition, running on the VMS side for cameras that don't do their own analytics.

VCA and other engines

Plug in specialist analytics such as VCA, already running on more than 350,000 channels worldwide.

ONVIF Profile M

Native camera drivers

VCA analytics

Intrusion & fire

8,000+ camera models

EXPERIENCE

For sites that can't afford to miss a real event.

From quiet yards at night to packed terminals at rush hour, object recognition keeps operators focused on what is really there.

Logistics & Manufacturing

Know when a person or vehicle enters a yard, loading bay or production area after hours.

Critical infrastructure

Watch fences and remote sites with alarms based on real objects, people and vehicles, not on the weather.

Airports & Harbours

Keep track of people and vehicles across large, busy areas with many cameras.

Banks & Retail

See who is around branches, ATMs and stores outside opening hours, and find them again afterwards.

CAMERA SETUP

A clear view gives the AI a fair chance.

Object recognition works with most existing camera views. These four points decide how reliable it is. In a demo we review your current cameras and flag any that need adjusting.

Coverage

Frame the area that matters, like the fence line, the gate or the car park, not the sky above it.

Object size

Objects, people and vehicles need to be large enough in the image. Wide areas may need more cameras or a longer lens.

Night vision

Make sure the camera still sees the scene at night, with IR or enough artificial light.

Stable view

A firmly mounted camera without heavy vibration or a lens full of foliage gives the cleanest result.

SECURITY & COMPLIANCE

Built for the regulations you answer to.

Surveillance data is among the most sensitive you hold. Mirasys is engineered so security and compliance are built into the platform and not bolted on afterwards.

Data sovereignty

Your footage stays under European jurisdiction.

Encryption end to end

Stream and communication encryption protects your video.

Privacy by design

Built-in privacy filtering and full audit trails keep you GDPR-compliant.

2FA & LDAP

Enterprise access control with two-factor authentication and LDAP synchronization.

FAQ

Object recognition, answered.

THE PLATFORM

Objects, faces and plates on one platform.

Smart OR works alongside the other Mirasys AI tools. One VMS, one operator client, every type of recognition.

Smart LPR

License-plate recognition for access control, traffic enforcement and fast vehicle search across sites.

Learn more about license plate recognition →

Smart FR

Facial recognition with fewer false positives and no duplicate detections for the same face.

Learn more about facial recognition →

Smart OR

More precise detection of objects, people and vehicles, with fewer false alarms even in busy environments.

Explore all AI & Analytics →