Subscriber Discussion

Any Analytics To Detect Vaping Out There?

U
Undisclosed #1
Nov 25, 2018
IPVMU Certified

Or any device to catch kids on a deck vaping up a storm.

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JH
John Honovich
Nov 25, 2018
IPVM

#1, good question.

Short answer: I have not seen any video analytic manufacturer offer vape detection but I am sure some would try by training a neural network with sample images of people vaping. How accurate that would be I cannot guess.

From a few minutes of googling, there are apparently companies that do vape smoke detection. This company, Sorter Technologies is offering Fly Sense, see video below:

Full disclosure, I did not even know what vaping was until a few months ago so take what I say here with a grain of salt.

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JH
Jay Hobdy
Nov 26, 2018
IPVMU Certified

These guys were at ISC West. 

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MM
Michael Miller
Nov 25, 2018

What about using a loitering analytic to detect when people are in the area for say more than 30sec? 

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U
Undisclosed #2
Nov 25, 2018

Good idea. Or maybe a combination of a video analytic to detect hipster beards and clothing, along with an audio analytic to pickup on key phrases like "avacado toast", "vanlife" or "hastag-[anything]". When you have a hit on both there is a good chance vaping is present in the area.

You might also look at fire detection analytics to pick up on the vape batteries catching fire.

 

 

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Avatar
Igor Keel
Sep 17, 2019
3dEYE

This could be setup with some camera side analytics or thanks to rule-based cloud analytics.

MM
Michael Miller
Sep 17, 2019

Most clients with Vaping issues are having them in bathrooms. So cameras are not an option.

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UM
Undisclosed Manufacturer #3
Nov 25, 2018

I think these guys are the way to go - in our industry and they've been touting this tool this year:

Halo IOT Smart Sensor

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UI
Undisclosed Integrator #4
Nov 26, 2018

I would either go with loitering analytics like Michael suggested, or look into VCAs that claim they can alert on fire events (IE - *Smoke*). 

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JH
John Honovich
Nov 26, 2018
IPVM

I asked Bosch to comment since they have fire / smoke analytics.

I am curious what they and others say since the characteristics they use to detect smoke from a fire may be different than smoke from an e-cigarette.

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JH
John Honovich
Dec 03, 2018
IPVM

Bosch says they "cannot claim that we can detect this reliably", noting:

If you smoke “normal” the smoke/vapor is not visible long enough -  the vapor dissipate too fast (we need at least 15 seconds of smoke).

 

U
Undisclosed #1
Dec 03, 2018
IPVMU Certified

Thx.

Btw, I searched up Bosch vaping, but this is what I got:

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U
Undisclosed #1
Nov 26, 2018
IPVMU Certified

Thanks, everybody.  I’m looking into the flysense and the halo.

I wouldn’t have asked the question, but after I saw there was no shortage of hard hat detection analytics solutions, I figured there had to be some.

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U
Undisclosed #2
Nov 26, 2018

Would be vey curious to hear the feedback on whatever you end up deploying. I am skeptical that you will find something that can address this effectively.

U
Undisclosed #1
Nov 26, 2018
IPVMU Certified

Would be vey curious to hear the feedback on whatever you end up deploying. I am skeptical that you will find something that can address this effectively.

I’m hoping just the discarded packaging from the unit will be enough of a signal to move on for these wayward yoots.

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U
Undisclosed #1
Dec 17, 2018
IPVMU Certified

Was looking at Sorter Technologies Fly Sense, per John, but it seems more designed for institutions, probably be $1000 for one unit and $100/yr.  too much.

A lot of the other solutions are not quite there yet.

Yeah, vaporware ;)

Avatar
Brandon Knutson
Sep 17, 2019
IPVMU Certified

Anyone using vape detection in a school setting? I'm seeking real-world performance feedback on the popular devices.

UI
Undisclosed Integrator #5
Sep 17, 2019

Been doing research on this one ... and there are the two options others listed above. However, one has to really dig into this to determine if spending $1000+ per sensor (that covers a 12x12 area) and picking out which bathrooms get such a device is going to really solve the vaping problem, or are the students going to learn to start exhaling into their clothing or otherwise picking new places to vape/

E-cigarette liquid is primarily composed of propylene glycol and water or glycerine, along with the nicotene and flavor elements. Wow .. propylene glycol and glycerice are organic compounds, so this outta be easy, right? A good VOC gas sensor should do the trick?!?! No, not so fast. That's not really what's coming out of people's mouth/lungs after they take a drag.

The heating coil that heats the e-liquid to create the aerosol (it's not smoke) that is inhaled contains a myriad of compounds and substances that were't there before the liquid was kinda boiled. What comes out are a cloud of particles in the nano and micro sized range as well as things like toluene, benzene, and even formaldehyde. So, are we sensing VOC's,? There is public research available that shows that there are not measurable amounts of VOCs in the exhaled gas. So, are we sensing, specific post-puff chemicals (are they even in large enough concentrations to pick up?) Are we sensing/counting particles in the measurable range with a sensor not in a lab-type environment?

If we are sensing and counting particles of some specific range, what is to keep other aerosols like perfume sprayers, Axe deodorant, and pressurized cleaning products like Lysol spray from triggering the sensors? This question is not based upon conjecture, as there are end user reports of higher than expected false alarms created by these other sources that have made further deployment of Vape sensors not a done deal. Along with this is the drain on manpower and resources every time someone who is the designated "catcher" has to run to the second floor bathroom to check out who smells like pineapple or search through the VMS to see who was in front of the bathroom door just before the sensor reported an alarm.

The vaping has to stop, period .. people are dying. So investing in ways to stop or curtail the vaping in schools is critically important and has to be on the forefront of every schools' safety and security agenda. I'm trying to understand more about how a vape sensor would really solve the problem, since it is a post-puff measure and one that users are already finding ways to circumvent (by exhaling into their shirts/coats/clothing). You can't have cameras in bathrooms, so a sensor integrated to the VMS could make sense if it works all of the time and is more cost effective. I know strong efforts are being made on the awareness/informing front, on the social media sites, at the peer level, and at the legal level to try and make it harder for minors to get and possess e-cigs, that are probably making as much if not more of a difference, but I suppose at this point, multiple deterrents have to be tried and more resources devoted to those that are showing signs of working.

UI
Undisclosed Integrator #5
Sep 17, 2019

I had one parent tell me she didn't need a sensor .. that her nose was a sensor and that noticing her son smelling like a strawberry when she gave him a hug was all she needed to know.

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