For all the advances in artificial intelligence, most video security systems still struggle to understand context in real-world environments. While today’s cameras can record and stream high-definition footage, they often fail to interpret what they see. This shortfall has become a growing concern for smart city planners, manufacturers, and educational institutions that increasingly rely on AI to ensure safety and efficiency.
Lumana an AI-driven video intelligence company believes the issue lies within the very foundation of traditional surveillance systems. “Conventional video platforms were built decades ago to simply capture footage, not to comprehend it,” explains Jordan Shou, Vice President of Marketing at Lumana. “Layering AI on top of legacy infrastructure is like putting a smart chip in a rotary phone it might technically work, but it will never be truly intelligent or capable of making real-time, meaningful decisions.”
Big Consequences
When AI is layered onto outdated video security infrastructure, the results can be unpredictable and dangerous. False alerts, missed detections, and lagging performance aren’t just technical glitches; they represent real-world risks with potentially serious outcomes.
Jordan Shou, Lumana’s Vice President of Marketing, recalls a recent incident in which a school surveillance system, equipped with an AI add-on for gun detection, mistakenly flagged an innocent object as a weapon. The false alert triggered an unnecessary police response, causing panic and confusion across the campus.
“Every mistake whether it’s a missed event or a false alarm chips away at trust,” Shou said. “It wastes valuable time and resources, and worse, it can traumatize people who’ve done nothing wrong.”
These errors also carry heavy financial consequences. Each false alert diverts personnel from critical tasks and inflates response costs. Over time, such inefficiencies can drain millions from public safety and operational budgets — money that could otherwise fund prevention, innovation, and training.
Building a Smarter Foundation
Rather than layering artificial intelligence on top of legacy video security frameworks, Lumana has rebuilt the foundation from the ground up. Its all-in-one platform integrates advanced video security hardware, modern software architecture, and proprietary AI into a unified system.
At the core of this design is a hybrid-cloud architecture that connects any existing security camera to GPU-powered processors and adaptive AI models operating at the edge — close to where footage is captured. This reduces latency, improves response time, and ensures that intelligence happens in real time, not after the fact.
According to Jordan Shou, Vice President of Marketing at Lumana, this approach delivers faster, more accurate insights. “Each camera becomes a continuous-learning device that understands motion, behavior, and unique environmental patterns over time,” he said.
Shou adds that the biggest flaw in most surveillance AI lies in its rigidity. “Many of today’s systems use static, off-the-shelf AI models built to perform only in perfect, lab-controlled settings,” he explained. “AI shouldn’t need a perfect environment to work it should learn and adapt from the world around it. That’s why, when customers compare Lumana’s system to their existing setups, the performance gap becomes immediately clear.”
Privacy, too, is built into Lumana’s design. All data is encrypted, protected by granular access controls, and compliant with SOC 2, HIPAA, and NDAA standards. Clients can also disable facial or biometric tracking features if desired. “Our focus is on actions, not identities,” Shou emphasized.
Smarter Surveillance in Action
Lumana’s technology is already proving its value across a wide range of industries. One standout example comes from JKK Pack, a 24-hour packaging manufacturer that relies on camera networks to ensure safety and operational efficiency on its production floor.
Before adopting Lumana, the company’s cameras functioned purely as recording tools useful for reviewing incidents after they occurred, but ineffective at preventing them. After the upgrade, the same cameras were transformed into intelligent sensors capable of detecting unsafe worker movements, equipment malfunctions, and production bottlenecks in real time. The result: investigations became 90% faster, alerts were delivered in under one second, and safety responses dramatically improved — all without replacing a single camera.
Another success story comes from a national grocery retailer that integrated Lumana’s AI into its existing surveillance network. The system automatically flagged unusual point-of-sale behavior, such as repeat transaction voids, and matched those events with corresponding visual evidence. This approach reduced shrinkage, strengthened policy compliance, and enhanced employee accountability through transparent, data-driven insights.
Beyond manufacturing and retail, Lumana’s platform has also been adopted for public events, restaurants, and municipal operations. In cities, it helps authorities detect illegal dumping, fires, and other safety hazards. In quick-service chains, it monitors kitchen workflows and food safety extending the role of surveillance far beyond security into real-time operational intelligence.
A Broader Push for Trustworthy AI Video Security
Lumana’s rise coincides with a critical shift in the enterprise AI landscape where accuracy, accountability, and transparency are overtaking raw speed as the top priorities. A recent F5 study revealed that only 2% of organizations consider themselves fully prepared to scale AI, with governance and data security cited as the biggest obstacles.
This growing caution is echoed across the market. Industry analysts are increasingly warning that as AI systems take on more decision-making roles, they must remain auditable, explainable, and free from bias to ensure public and organizational trust.
Lumana’s platform embodies this principle. Its architecture integrates performance, control, and governance into a single, easy-to-deploy solution. By combining strong data security with transparent AI processing, Lumana enables enterprises to enhance existing camera networks without costly replacements allowing organizations to gain immediate, reliable value from AI-powered video intelligence.
The Future of Vision: From Detection to Prediction
According to Jordan Shou, Lumana’s Vice President of Marketing, the company’s next phase of innovation will take AI beyond simply detecting and interpreting toward predicting and reasoning.
“The next evolution of AI video will be about reasoning,” Shou explained. “The ability to grasp context in real time and deliver actionable, meaningful insights from video data will fundamentally transform how we approach safety, operations, and situational awareness.”
For Lumana, this isn’t just about teaching AI to see more clearly it’s about helping it understand what it sees. By enabling systems to anticipate events and support faster, more informed decisions, Lumana is shaping a future where video intelligence becomes a trusted partner in human decision-making, not just an observer.
