Getting the Picture is a fascinating – and somewhat scary – white paper from Siemens on the work being done to make cameras smarter.

‘Welcome to the world of cameras with built-in brains. A far cry from their conventional closed circuit counterparts, these devices�some entering trial service, most still in various phases of development�are equipped with microchips and programs that allow them to search for specific classes of events, such as stopped cars in tunnels, and notify personnel only if something suspicious or unusual occurs.’