Why empty sites are hard to protect
Yards, car parks, fence lines and storage areas are empty at night and at weekends, and that is when theft, vandalism and break-ins happen. Most sites already have cameras there. What they lack is someone watching, and conventional motion detection reports every moving shadow, so alarms are switched off or ignored.
The result is footage that is only opened the next morning, when the damage is done.
What ProDataAI Lens detects
You draw the protected areas directly on the camera image: a fence line, a storage yard, a loading bay, a roof access. For each area you set the hours it is watched, for example after 8 pm on weekdays and all weekend.
- People and vehicles entering an area that should be empty at that time.
- A difference between people, vehicles and everything else: rain, moving shadows, headlights and animals do not trigger an intrusion alert.
- One alert per event: the same person or vehicle does not raise the same alert again and again while it is in view.
- Several areas per camera, each with its own hours and severity.
- Fence climbing and forced entry: someone climbing a fence or gate, or forcing a door or window the camera sees.
- Loitering: someone staying near a fence, a back door or a gate for longer than you allow, often the step before a break-in. See loitering and tailgating.
ProDataAI Lens also reads thermal cameras, which show people and vehicles in full darkness and poor visibility, where an ordinary camera sees little.
From detection to the right person
Each alert has a severity. An intrusion at night can be critical and goes out at once; a vehicle parking in a marked area during the day can be low and is bundled into a summary. Every alert carries a snapshot and a short clip from just before to just after the event, so the person who receives it sees in seconds whether it needs action.
Alerts go by email, text message or your team's messenger to the people responsible for that area and severity, such as the on-call site lead or your security provider. If you want, someone on your own staff confirms each alert before it is passed on.
Data protection on the perimeter
Perimeter cameras often see public pavements and neighbouring plots. Limit each camera to your own ground with privacy masking on the camera or recorder, document the purpose (protecting property after hours) and put up signage. ProDataAI Lens stores only incident data, for a retention period you set, and does not recognise faces.
See our guide to GDPR, works council and the EU AI Act and the signage checklist.
Getting started
A pilot usually starts with the cameras that matter most, often the gate, the yard and one fence line. The first cameras usually go live within two to four weeks. In the pilot we agree up front what counts as success, for example which events must be caught and how many false alarms are acceptable, and you see the results on your own cameras before you decide to roll out.
Frequently asked questions
Does perimeter protection work at night?
It works with what your cameras see. Cameras with infrared or good low-light performance work at night, and thermal cameras work in full darkness. In the pilot we check your cameras at the hours that matter.
Can alerts go to our security provider or alarm receiving centre?
Alerts can go to the people you name by email, text message or messenger. A direct connection to an alarm receiving centre depends on its systems, so we check it for your site.
Do we need new cameras or a fence sensor?
No new cameras are needed for most sites. ProDataAI Lens reads the standard IP cameras and recorders you already have. Where a fence or better lighting would help more than AI, we tell you.