Network cameras

Johnson Controls announces Tyco Cloud, a new cloud-based security suite developed to help customers move costly and complex security infrastructure for access control and video surveillance to the cloud. With Tyco Cloud, organisations can reduce costs, improve enterprise security management and scale security operations on demand, providing unlimited possibilities to deliver security services over the internet. Accelerating digital transformation Tyco Cloud empowers this digital transformation with on-demand security management" Tyco Cloud allows users to protect lives, assets and facilities through management of access control, video surveillance and other security operations using secure cloud services and connected devices such as cloud cameras and controllers. Cloud solutions from Tyco run on an open and modern microservices architecture to ensure fast, scalable and secure services. “Our customers worldwide are embracing and accelerating digital transformation to make their businesses more intelligent, agile and cost effective,” said Martin Renkis, general manager of Cloud Solutions, Global Security Products at Johnson Controls. “Tyco Cloud empowers this digital transformation with on-demand security management that enables organisations to securely and cost-effectively customise their video surveillance and access control solutions based on site-specific and enterprise-wide requirements.” Multiple recording parameters For video surveillance, organisations can enable Tyco Cloud with any Illustra Cloud Camera or leverage existing camera systems using Tyco Cloud Gateways, which will automatically locate existing cameras from dozens of different manufacturers on a network and enable secure cloud management of those cameras. Tyco Cloud enables video storage in camera, in gateway, in low latency cloud, in high latency cloud or a hybrid combination to support unlimited flexibility and cost effectiveness. The intuitive interface allows users to customise multiple recording parameters, such as which cameras to record and for how long, video resolution, as well as create unique upload schedules to minimise bandwidth consumption. The service also offers Cold Cloud video storage for cost effective, high latency online archiving. The new Hyper View feature enables users to search through 24 hours of recorded video from up to 100 cameras within 60 seconds. Smartphone based mobile credentials Tyco Cloud ioSmart was cloud first designed to deliver convenience, cost savings and advanced security Tyco Cloud surveillance also supports powerful analytics such as heat mapping, object detection and crowd formation to name a few. For access control, the new ioSmart solutions from Tyco Cloud empower smartphone based mobile credentials and smart key managed access control for companies to securely allow personnel to conveniently access facilities using their smartphones without the security risk of lost, stolen, or cloning of legacy card technologies. Tyco Cloud ioSmart was cloud first designed to deliver convenience, cost savings and advanced security for access control. The Tyco Cloud Enterprise Manager portal provides users with a comprehensive view of their entire security solution through a single interface. Proper password management It provides real-time status and management of every connected device on a clickable global map. This simple dashboard also enables tracking and management of users, bandwidth utilisation, cloud storage and device firmware. Additionally, Tyco Cloud secures all data from any device to the cloud and to the end user. Every connected device as well as the cloud platform are supported by the Johnson Controls Cyber Solutions Product Security Program, which delivers enhanced safeguards against cyber attacks, including additional controls for proper password management and end to end encrypted communications.

Digital Barriers and Capita have announced that they have signed a global strategic partnership to integrate their full suite of technology solutions, including live facial recognition with Capita’s control room solutions for emergency services. Facial recognition tech integration The agreement will see Digital Barriers’ ultra-low bandwidth live video streaming, body-worn camera, video analytics and live facial recognition technology integrated with Capita’s control room solutions for the emergency services, critical responders and national infrastructure providers. It will also be integrated with Capita’s digital evidence management platform. The collaboration means that facial recognition results can be shown in control rooms alongside other information The collaboration means that facial recognition results can be shown in control rooms alongside other information, and ultra-low bandwidth streaming will provide new ways to view emergencies from the control room, making the job of operators easier and ensuring the right resources are sent to help. Edge-intelligent solutions Under the terms of the agreement, Digital Barriers’ edge-intelligent solutions, which are already used by government and commercial organisations in more than sixty countries, will be made available through Capita’s global network. Digital Barriers will also promote Capita’s ControlWorks and VisionDS control room offerings via its own channels. Digital Barriers - Capita partnership Paul Eggleton, Managing Director of Capita Secure Solutions and Services said, “We are very excited to be signing this agreement with Digital Barriers. The integration of this technology with our portfolio truly sets us apart in being able to offer the best facial recognition technology to our customers around the world.” Zak Doffman, CEO of Digital Barriers added, “This is the perfect time to partner with Capita as there is strong demand from law enforcement for technological advancements that promote officer safety and efficiency. We look forward to working in close collaboration to further accelerate our international growth.”

The latest addition to the Wisenet P premium camera series manufactured by Hanwha Techwin, offers the capabilities of two video surveillance cameras in a single housing. The 2 channel multi-directional Wisenet PNM-9000VD camera, which features a modular lens design and a suite of built-in video analytics, is able to capture superb quality 5MP images of adjacent areas with the help of two separate lenses. Depending on the field of view required, 3.7, 4.6 or 7mm lens modules are available to be purchased separately to the PNM-9000VD, and these can be easily fitted on site by system integrators. Monitoring open spaces As is the case with the 2MP multi-directional Wisenet PNM-7000VD launched in 2018, the multi-streaming Wisenet PNM-9000VD significantly reduces the costs which would normally be associated with installing two separate cameras to cover, for example, an L-shaped area in order to monitor two sections of a corridor or either side of a building. The PNM-9000VD only needs a single IP address even though it has two camera channels It does so without any compromise on quality and as such, the PNM-9000VD offers a highly cost-effective solution for monitoring large open spaces such as car parks, shopping centres and warehouses. The PNM-9000VD only needs a single IP address even though it has two camera channels. With only one Video Management Software (VMS) license required, this further reduces the cost of ownership, as does Power over Ethernet (PoE) support, which negates the need to install power supply cabling. Complementary compression technology The PNM-9000VD supports H.264, H.265 and MJPEG compression. However, bandwidth efficiency is improved by up to 99% compared to current H.264 technology when H.265 is utilised with WiseStream II, a complementary compression technology which dynamically controls encoding, balancing quality and compression according to movement in the image. The key features are as follows: True Wide Dynamic Range (WDR) which performs at up to 120dB to produce clear images from scenes which contain a challenging mix of bright and dark areas which normally results in overexposed or underexposed images. Lens distortion correction and digital image stabilisation Face, fog, virtual line, appear/disappear, loitering and camera tampering detection. Hallway view options which enables the PNM-9000VD to generate images in the 9:16 x 3:4 aspect ratio to work effectively in tall and narrow spaces, with the added bonus of minimising bandwidth and video storage requirements. Two SD/SDHC/SDXC memory slots for each channel enabling video to be automatically recorded in the event of network disruption. Vandal resistant and weatherproof with IK10 and IP66 ratings.

Pivot3, global provider of intelligent infrastructure solutions, has announced the Virtual Security Operations Center (Virtual SOC), designed to address the need for security teams to access client workstations running video surveillance and other related systems in multiple locations without using expensive, dedicated client workstation hardware. Virtual Security Operations Center With the Pivot3 Virtual SOC, security teams can now get fully functional security workstation capabilities With the Pivot3 Virtual SOC, security teams can now get fully functional security workstation capabilities – including video surveillance, access control, PSIM, and other security-related systems – on more devices, more securely and more cost effectively than desktop workstations. Mission-critical security environments require remote and immediate access to video and other security data coming from cameras and devices at multiple locations to improve incident response times and situational awareness. Processing integrated security data Until now, however, these type of security operations centers have relied on dedicated, expensive physical workstations to process video streams and integrated security data, which require extremely high levels of compute power and exposes data to potential unauthorised access. Furthermore, physical workstations lack critical fail-over and high availability capabilities and are cumbersome to manage and administer. The Pivot3 Virtual SOC delivers fully functional client workstation capability to any device including low-cost thin/zero clients, remote client PCs and laptops, video walls and mobile devices. Replacing expensive graphics-enabled workstations with flexible, secure thin- and zero-clients reduces upfront capital equipment costs and on-going maintenance and management expenses. Data and cyber security The Pivot3 Virtual SOC works with any video management software, regardless of brand Video data is stored and secured in the Virtual SOC’s central storage system while only a secure, encrypted desktop image is streamed to the remote device, ensuring that all sensitive information remains protected and secured at the central host site. This also enables the security team to share video with outside agencies and organisations in a more immediate, secure and bandwidth-efficient fashion. The Pivot3 Virtual SOC works with any video management software, regardless of brand.  “Security teams must have the ability to access video and related systems securely on any device, including mobile clients, to facilitate a faster and more intelligent response to an incident,” said Brandon Reich, Vice President, Security and IoT, Pivot3. Incident management “The Pivot3 Virtual SOC delivers virtualised video workstation capability that provides better security, faster remediation and a rich mobile experience for enhanced situational awareness and provides compelling economics since it eliminates the need for expensive, dedicated workstations.” Organisations with distributed locations such as university, corporate, and medical campus environments, airports, safe cities, casinos, entertainment complexes, and correctional facilities all benefit from high-performance, virtual security workstations to provide real-time insight in the event of an incident. Mission-critical security environments A security manager or agency can leverage the Pivot3 Virtual SOC to deliver real-time, fully functional security systems to any mobile device in use by distributed security personnel, reducing their risk through better situational awareness and faster response. Pivot3’s intelligent hybrid cloud and IoT solutions provide security, resilience and management simplicity “Within mission-critical security environments, organisations require a scalable and easy-to-manage solution that maintains the integrity of mission-critical video and data,” said Todd Brown, President, Affinitech, Inc. “The Pivot3 Virtual SOC exceeds all expectations by delivering a cost-effective replacement for physical workstations, improving ROI while increasing operator visibility.”  Intelligent hybrid cloud, IoT Pivot3’s intelligent hybrid cloud and IoT solutions provide security, resilience and management simplicity at scale for customers’ mission-critical environments. Powered by the industry’s only Intelligence Engine, Pivot3 automates the management of multiple, mixed application workloads, delivers industry-leading performance at scale, eliminates unplanned downtime and reduces the cost of traditional IT infrastructure by half or more.

Radware® a provider of cyber security and application delivery solutions, announces that its SSL DDoS attack protection, DefenseSSL®, now features behavioural-based algorithms for keyless protection against HTTPS flood attacks. For the first time, organisations have the scale needed to effectively mitigate HTTPS floods. According to Google, the majority of internet traffic is now encrypted and accounts for more than 70% of internet pages. While SSL/TLS encryption is critical for many aspects of security, it also opens the door to a new generation of powerful distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks. Simplifying key management SSL/TLS connections require up to 15 times more resources from the destination server than of the requesting host, meaning that threat actors can launch devastating DDoS attacks using only a relatively small number of connections. Radware’s keyless DDoS mitigation solution now makes it possible to protect from SSL-based HTTP DDoS attacks at scale without adding latency to customer communications, and while preserving user privacy and simplifying key management. Service providers and carriers serve many tenants on their network and provide them with cyber-attack protections Service providers and carriers serve many tenants on their network and provide them with cyber-attack protections. Due to their own security policies, network tenants cannot provide their decryption keys to the service provider’s or carrier’s network administrators, which leaves the providers or carriers vulnerable to HTTPS flood attacks. With no decryption capabilities, service providers and carriers are left with no effective solution to provide HTTPS flood protection to their tenants. Managing decryption keys Radware’s Chief Marketing officer, Anna Convery-Pelletier, said, “Our new DefenseSSL capabilities support carriers and service providers in protecting themselves and their customers against HTTPS flood attacks even when they don’t have access to their tenants’ decryption keys. This unique capability eliminates the massive operational complexity that comes with managing decryption keys. Further, with this solution, enterprises have the flexibility to opt for the most suitable protection to match their needs. Enterprises that have access to decryption keys can still choose to use those keys to decrypt suspected traffic and increase the accuracy of their mitigation.” Radware’s solution for keyless protection against HTTPS flood attacks is based on a stateless architecture. Traditional solutions are stateful and thus themselves vulnerable to DDoS attacks. With advanced behavioural algorithms and the combination of rate-based and non-rate-based parameters, Radware can identify DDoS attacks over encrypted traffic, even without inspection of the traffic’s content. Radware’s DefenseSSL functionality is currently available across its DefensePro advanced protection product suite.

Globally renowned technology-based security specialist, Safer Scotland is extending its support to local sporting heroes with new sponsorship initiatives that could take talented youngsters to the top of their game. Safer Scotland finances MMA It has pledged financial backing of up to £1000 to outstanding Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) fighter Reece McEwan, who has an amateur MMA record of seven wins and only one defeat and a professional Kickboxing record of two wins and no defeats. Reece is ranked 3rd out of 531 active UK/Ireland amateur bantamweights. The 24-year-old from Greenock is recognised as having the talent, will and passion to reach the highest levels of his grueling sport and has an ultimate aim of turning professional and securing a contract with a large association such as UFC. The Paisley-based company has already financially backed the young athletes of Greenock Boxing Club CCTV security firm The Paisley-based company has already financially backed the young athletes of Greenock Boxing Club when they hosted their counterparts from St Catherine’s Boxing Club in Ontario at the Lady Octavia Sports Centre in Greenock. Now it is time for the return bout and the champs of the future are heading to Canada last week (July 17), with backing from Safer Scotland for their away match gear so that they will always look their best in Ontario. Manned guarding For Reece McEwan, Safer Scotland plans to provide block training sessions with Ju-Jitsu and MMA Coach Ian Gilmartin, whom Reece said, “will improve my knowledge immensely”. Safer Scotland Director Ryan Clark stated, “It is a privilege to be able to help committed and dedicated young people who are working hard and training hard to achieve their personal sporting ambitions. I first encountered Reece at the Inverclyde Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Club, where I started training. He was taking a children’s class and was well-spoken, polite and humble. He didn’t fit the fight image at all." Safer Scotland has created a niche in a competitive business environment "He is a business graduate from Glasgow Caledonian University and is extremely highly thought of in the sport. He is practical, and wants to take time to gain experience, rather than rushing into contests. I think he has the ability and personality to get to the very top. We come from the same area of Inverclyde and it is great to see, and to be able to back, someone with such a passion for his sport.” High value assets security Safer Scotland has created a niche in a competitive business environment by its emphasis on reliable technology which allows corporate clients to secure high value assets in remote or temporary locations. It is expanding this year into the North of England. The company also provides security guards, event security, door supervisors, key holding and other security services.

Artificial intelligence allows machines to do jobs previously done by people. When it comes to security and surveillance, this technology allows cameras and control room equipment to identify a wide range of threats automatically and in real time across hundreds or even thousands of cameras – allowing security teams to take immediate action to protect people and assets. AI technology and surveillance solutions Artificial Intelligence technology built into surveillance solutions help organisations optimise their security Video surveillance cameras are the electronic eyes of any security operation. In the past, human supervision was needed to make sense of the images captured, and to assess whether certain events posed a security risk or not. With some organisations using hundreds or even thousands of cameras to protect their people and assets, manual review of footage is simply impossible – potentially leaving them vulnerable to security breaches. Advanced Artificial Intelligence technology built into surveillance solutions can help organisations overcome this challenge and optimise their security. This means cameras, control-room equipment and back-end infrastructure can now ‘learn’ about potential threats for themselves by recognising people, vehicles and even behaviours. Detection and prevention The manual interventions needed with traditional security systems mean that teams were frequently reacting to breaches that had already happened. Artificial Intelligence changes all this by recognising potential threats before they impact company’s people or assets – allowing security teams to react immediately to neutralise any potential threat. Artificial intelligence solutions can automatically trigger alerts when a person appears in a restricted area For example, artificial Intelligence solutions can automatically trigger alerts when a person appears in a restricted area, or when a vehicle with a blacklisted number plate enters a site. With alerts delivered in real time, teams can identify and react to security threats and protect people and assets more effectively. And because alerts are automated, potential threats are hardly missed or overlooked. How does artificial intelligence work? Artificial Intelligence systems become more intelligent over time, building databases of potential threats and reacting to new events accordingly. This allows systems to ‘think for themselves’ and to alert teams of any suspicious events or people who are caught on camera. Artificial intelligence technologies use advanced algorithms based on Deep Learning to distinguish between different kinds of security events and threats. Technologies incorporated into the Hikvision portfolio include: Facial recognition which allows law enforcement personnel to identify suspects and commercial teams to identify VIP customers in real time. Vehicle identification which can be used to identify vehicle number plates and recognise different types of vehicles (even down to make and model), or to trigger alerts when vehicles enter restricted areas. Perimeter protection which helps organisations to identify real threats by distinguishing people and vehicles from other moving objects and keeping false alarms to a minimum. Business intelligence which employs people counting, queue detection, and heat mapping technologies, so that organisations can enhance operational efficiency by making use of the data report. Increasing commercial success  Artificial intelligence isn’t just useful for identifying security threats – although this is a key strength of the technology. It can also help organisations increase their competitiveness and commercial success. For example, VIP customers who opt to participate in special marketing promotions or other incentives can be identified so staff can provide the right kind of service at the right time. This gives organisations the opportunity to personalise the service experience, foster loyalty and maximise customer lifetime revenues. Artificial Intelligence can help organisations to better understand customers and meet their needs more effectively In the same way, artificial Intelligence can help organisations to better understand customers and meet their needs more effectively – leading to more commercial opportunities. One feature – called People Counting – allows stores and commercial centres to map footfall at peak times, ensuring that staffing is optimised to meet demand. At the same time, stores can see which areas of the building customers visit most and adjust their merchandising and product positioning accordingly to maximise the sales opportunities. Artificial intelligence at Hikvision Hikvision’s family of artificial intelligence products include the DeepinView network cameras and DeepinMind NVRs. The products help to tackle security with facial recognition; monitoring and counting of people; and recognition and detection of vehicles, to name a few. These features all depend on artificial intelligence technology to recognise, classify and respond to security threats. This article was written by Hikvision.

Where are video surveillance cameras headed? At the core of next-generation Internet Protocol (IP) cameras are advanced chips with artificial intelligence (AI) at the edge, enabling cameras to gather valuable information about an incident: scanning shoppers at a department store, monitoring city streets, or checking on an elderly loved one at home. Thanks to advanced chip technology, complex analytics operations are becoming more affordable across the full spectrum of surveillance cameras —professional to consumer — fueling the democratisation of AI in the IP camera market. Complex analytics operations are becoming more affordable across the full spectrum of surveillance cameras Expanding the global IP camera market  The video surveillance equipment market grew to $18.5 billion in 2018 and is expected to increase this year, according to IHS Markit. The latest research points to video everywhere, edge computing, and AI as the top technologies that will have a major impact in both commercial and consumer markets in 2019. Computing at the edge means that the processors inside the camera are powerful enough to run AI processing locally, while still encoding and streaming video, and are able to do it all at the low-power required to fit into the limited thermal budget of an IP camera. New SoC chips will be able to perform all of the processing on camera and provide accurate AI information, with no need to send data to a server or the cloud for processing. Instead, data can be analysed right in the camera itself, offering high performance, real-time video analytics, and lower latency — all critical aspects of video surveillance. This new AI paradigm is made possible by a new generation of SoCs, a key driver behind the market growth of IP cameras. Complex analytics operations are becoming more affordable across the full spectrum of surveillance cameras to fuel the advent of AI in the IP camera market Micro-processor-enabled video analytics Next-generation video cameras will be able to create heat maps of stores to see where people spend the most time Microprocessor-enabled analytics allow users to more easily extract valuable data from video streams. How about an insider’s view into retail customer behavior? Consider video cameras at a department store, monitoring shoppers’ behavior, traffic patterns, and areas of interest. Next-generation cameras will recognise how long a shopper stays in front of a specific display, if the shopper leaves and returns, and if the shopper ultimately makes a purchase. Next-generation video cameras will be able to create heat maps of stores to see where people spend the most time, so retailers will be able to adjust product placement accordingly. Analytics will also help identify busy/quiet times of the day, so retailers can staff accordingly. By understanding customers’ behavior, retailers can determine the best way to interact with them, target specific campaigns, and tailor ads for them. Cue the coupons while the shopper is still onsite! Analytics will also help identify busy/quiet times of the day, so retailers can staff accordingly Fast processing for rapid response at city level City surveillance and smart cities are depending on advanced video surveillance and intelligence to keep an eye on people and vehicles, identify criminals, flag suspicious behavior, and identify potentially dangerous situations such as loitering, big crowds forming, or cars driving the wrong way.Quick local decisions on the video cameras are also used to help analyse traffic situations Quick local decisions on the video cameras are also used to help analyse traffic situations, adjust traffic lights, identify license plates, automatically charge cars for parking, find a missing car across a city, or create live and accurate traffic maps. Real-time HD video monitoring and recording When it comes to home monitoring, what will next-generation video surveillance cameras offer? Real-time monitoring and notification can detect if a person is in the back yard or approaching the door, if there’s a suspicious vehicle in the driveway, or if a package is being delivered (or stolen). Advanced video cameras can determine when notifications are and aren’t required, since users don’t want to be notified for false alerts such as rain, tree branches moving, bugs, etc. Next-generation video camera capabilities can also help monitor a loved one, person or pet, helping put families at ease if they are at work or on vacation. For example, helpful analytics may be used to detect if someone has fallen, hasn’t moved for a while, or does not appear for breakfast according to their typical schedule. City surveillance and smart cities are depending on advanced video surveillance and intelligence to keep an eye on people and vehicles, identify criminals, flag suspicious behavior, and identify potentially dangerous situations Next-gen IP cameras When evaluating next-generation IP cameras (cameras on the edge), look at the brains. These cameras will likely be powered by next-generation SoCs chips. Here is what this means to you:       Save on network bandwidth, cloud computing and storage costs. There is no need to constantly upload videos to a server for analysis. Analysis can be performed locally on the camera, with only relevant videos being uploaded. Faster reaction time. Decisions are made locally, with no network latency. This is critical if you need to sound an alarm on a specific event. Privacy. In the most extreme cases, no video needs to leave the camera. Only metadata needs to be sent to the cloud or server. For example, the faces of people can be recognised in the camera and acted upon, but the video never reaches the cloud. The cameras can just stream a description of the scene to the server “suspicious person with a red sweater walking in front of the train station, has been loitering for the last 10 minutes, suggest sending an agent to check it out.” This could become a requirement in some EU countries with GDPR rules. Easier search. Instead of having to look through hours of video content, the server can just store/analyse the metadata, and easily perform searches such as “find all people with a red sweater who stayed more than five minutes in front of the train station today.” Flexibility/personalisation. Each camera at the edge can be personalised to work better for the specific scene it is looking at, compared to a generic server. For example, “run a heat map algorithm on camera A (retail) as I want to know which sections of my store get the most traffic; and run a license plate recogniser on camera B (parking lot) as I want to be able to track the cars going in/out of my parking lot.” No cloud computing required. For cameras in remote locations or with limited network bandwidth, users have the ability to perform all analytics locally, without relying on uploading video to a server/cloud. Higher resolution/quality. When AI processing is performed locally, the full resolution of the sensor can be used (up to 4K or more), while typically the video streamed to a server will be lower resolution, 1080p or less. This means more pixels are available locally for the AI engine so that you will be able to detect a face from a higher distance than when the video is streamed off camera. AI at the edge Professional-level IP cameras capable of performing AI at the edge are coming soon with early offerings making their debut at this year’s ISC West. As we enter 2020, we will begin to see the availability of consumer-level cameras enabling real-time video analytics at the edge for home use. With rapid technology advancement and increased customer demand, AI is on the verge of exploding. When it comes to image quality and video analytics, IP cameras now in development will create a next-generation impact at department stores, above city streets, and keeping an eye on our loved ones.

There’s almost no installation that goes 100-percent smoothly in the field of video surveillance. Unexpected issues routinely arise that can increase time on the job, cost of the project and frustration. Manufacturers work on the product side to help ensure their products are easy to install and – when troublesome situations do arise – are flexible enough for installers to quickly find a remedy. Importance of ease of installation Ease of installation is a very important part of the project to the system integrator because the cost of labour is variable  Ease of installation is a very important part of the project to the system integrator because the cost of labour is variable and can be very expensive. In some cases, the cost of labour to install a camera can be more than the cost of the camera! If labour costs are high – or are more expensive than a system integrator planned – they can lose a great deal of money on a project. If a cautious system integrator includes too high of an estimate for labour in a project bid, his overall bid will to high and it could cost him the project. The easier the camera is to install, the lower the labour cost, subsequently achieving higher savings for end-users. Hence it is essential that camera manufacturers develop products that are easy to install or are flexible in the field for system integrators and installers who know that time is money. Enterprise projects can involve thousands of cameras installed Simplifying installation of cameras Camera installation typically involves an electrician, the camera installer and the person who configures the VMS (Video Management Software). Of course, one person can play all three roles, and in many cases, does, but enterprise projects can involve dozens, hundreds or even thousands of cameras with teams of individuals involved in an installation. The electrician runs conduit with an electrical or PoE (Power over Ethernet) connection to the housing or the backplate of the camera; the installer then installs the camera at that location, hooking it up to power; and then a configurator adds cameras to the network and makes adjustments – renaming the camera, setting the frame rate, enabling WDR (Wide Dynamic Range), and the like. When it’s a project that involves different players for any of these functions, there is the potential for a bottleneck and delay in project completion. And if a system integrator is paying an electrician, installer and software configurator – and they are all three on site waiting for each other to finish – that’s a system integrator’s worst-case scenario. Enhancement through modular cameras Video surveillance camera manufacturers like Hanwha Techwin are producing products that take different roles Video surveillance camera manufacturers like Hanwha Techwin are producing products that take the different roles of electrician, installer and configurator into consideration, allowing them to complete their tasks independently. With a focus on modular design which includes a USB dongle, a device manager, magnetic module and included accessories, the Wisenet X series Plus is one of the fastest cameras to install, service and upgrade – saving installers time and money. Wisenet X series Plus cameras have a detachable camera module that utilise magnets to lock into the housing for instant configuration. Electricians can run conduit with a single PoE connection to the back plate/housing while the configurator is working on configuring the camera module, allowing security professionals to later snap the camera into place in just minutes. The VMS configurator can then come and add the cameras to the network and program their functionality. Modular cameras offer flexibility  In the past, an end user might determine after the camera is installed that there aren’t enough pixels on target, or they need certain different functions like video analytics for example, resulting in the time-consuming replacement of the entire camera. With modular-designed cameras, the camera module can be swapped with a new one without having to focus or replace the camera – even to change the resolution or field of view, also Wisenet X series Plus has optional PTRZ modules that can be remotely adjusted to the field of view and the position of the camera lens. Making camera adjustments in the field is also now easier and perhaps even safer. Installers have been known to climb a ladder and juggle a bulky laptop to access the network to be able to see video of how the camera is positioned. Or they’ve had to use analogue video output to view the video feed on a separate monitor which provides the field of view, but not megapixel quality. Using a smartphone, the installer can wirelessly see full and not cropped quality video directly from the camera Wisenet X series Plus cameras have a USB port that allows installers to connect it to a small dongle that converts the camera to a Wi-Fi device. Using a smartphone, the installer can wirelessly see full and not cropped quality video directly from the camera. It’s a much easier way to evaluate video while at the camera. Eliminating the second person looking at live view on a computer guiding through a cellphone to the installer to accurately point the camera to the proper position. If system integrators can do some of the legwork prior to even getting on site, it can reduce cost and improve efficiency. Imagine having 300 cameras ready to send to a project site. To configure those cameras, a system integrator has to take each camera out of the box, plug each into a switch, configure it, take it off of the switch and put it back in the box. To improve this process, camera manufacturers have now developed packaging that provides access to the camera port without even having to remove it from the box. It’s an innovative solution that saves time. Modular cameras have optional PTRZ modules that can be remotely adjusted to the field of view Software programs help in enhancing installation Whether it’s a one-man show or a team of electricians, installers and configurators, software programs can greatly enhance the installation process. Device managers are important tools in adding multiple cameras to a project. Using that 300-camera project, for example, it’s easier when a manufacturer has a device manager that allows the mass programming and configuration of cameras. Adding 300 cameras one by one is time consuming and leaves room for error when making so many multiple entries. A device manager should be able to scan the network and locate its devices, allowing them to be grouped, configured and much more. Every video surveillance camera project is going to have its ups and downs. But camera manufacturers can do their part in the production process to address the many issues known to slow down progress. It’s impressive that many are taking the lead in producing innovations like modular camera design, flexibility in the field and accessible packaging that can truly reduce installation cost and improve efficiency.

The devil is in the details. The broader implications of the U.S. Government ban on Chinese video surveillance manufacturers are being clarified in the federal rule-making process, and a public hearing in July gave the industry a chance to speak up about the impact of the law. Ban on equipment The hearing centered on Section 889 of Title VII of the National Defense Authorisation Act (NDAA) for FY 2019, specifically paragraph (a)(1)(B). The paragraph "prohibits agencies from entering into a contract (or extending or renewing a contract) with an entity that uses any equipment, system, or service that uses covered telecommunications equipment or services as a substantial or essential component of any system, or as critical technology as part of any system." “Covered equipment” refers to products and services from Huawei, ZTE Corp., Hytera, Hikvision and Dahua “Covered equipment” refers to products and services from Huawei Technologies Co., ZTE Corp., Hytera Communications Corp., Hangzhou Hikvision Digital Technology Co. and Dahua Technology Co. Hikvision and Dahua are two of the largest manufacturers of video surveillance equipment, and Huawei manufactures HiSilicon chips widely used in video cameras. ‘Chinese ban’ provision The public hearing was part of the rule-making process for paragraph (a)(1)(B), which the industry has informally referred to as the “blacklist” provision of the NDAA. However, the “Chinese ban” provision [Paragraph (a)(1)(a)] is not at issue, was not covered by the public hearing, and is already scheduled to go into effect a year after the law was signed by President Trump (August 13, 2018).   There were seven presentations at the public hearing. Presenters included the Security Industry Association (SIA), two Hikvision integrators, a representative of communications manufacturer Hytera, an economist and an attorney on behalf of telecommunications company Huawei, and Honeycomb Secure Systems, a federal contractor. There was no livestream or transcription of the meeting, although PowerPoint summaries of the 10-minute presentations were published.   SIA emphasises on clarity In its presentation, the Security Industry Association (SIA) emphasised that contractors need clarity, i.e., that paragraph (a)(1)(B) applies to an entity's use of covered equipment or services in the performance of federal contracts, but NOT to non-federal sales or use of covered equipment by a contractor that is unrelated to federal work. SIA also focused on the distinction (and contrasting risk profiles) between video surveillance equipment, which are endpoint devices that may or may not be on the Internet, and telecommunications equipment. In contrast, telecommunications equipment is essential to Internet infrastructure and manages all data on a network, encrypted or not.    Fully-compliant video surveillance products Security equipment suppliers and integrators doing federal work can offer fully compliant video surveillance products" SIA's presentation included the following "outcome" statement: "Security equipment suppliers and integrators doing federal work can offer fully compliant video surveillance products in the federal market, while offering other products tailored to technical requirements, price points and specific customer needs that vary widely for non-government commercial sectors – e.g. malls, banks, convenience stores, etc.” In other words, involvement in government contracts should not restrict an integrator’s flexibility to offer any and all products and services (included those from the listed Chinese companies) to non-government customers. The two integrators made similar points, specifically about their business with Hikvision. One presenter was Rick Williams, General Manager of Selcom, a systems integrator in Selma, Ala., with 10 employees. They have been a Hikvision partner since 2012 with a year-to-date revenue from Hikvision products of approximately $400,000. Hikvision integrators speak out A second integrator at the hearing was Mark Zuckerman of Clear Connection Inc., a security company in Beltsville, Md., with 32 local employees, that focuses on electronic security, telecommunications and IT. Clear Connection designs, installs and services systems throughout Metro DC and Baltimore, including commercial entities, schools and non-profit organisations. They do about $120,000 a year in business as a Hikvision partner and have over $500,000 in business awaiting federal NSGP [Nonprofit Security Grant Program] approval. In two almost identical presentations, the integrators sought clear guidance on how to comply with the language of the law as written, specifically confirmation that Section 889 of the NDAA does not apply to non-federal sales or use of covered equipment. "This is critical to my company as I provide integrated security solutions across multiple government and commercial markets, using a mix of products from different manufacturers tailored to the technical requirements, price points and customer needs that vary widely for each sector," said Williams. Hytera speaks at hearing It is not clear what Section 889 means, who it applies to, or how far its prohibitions extend" "It is not clear what Section 889 means, who it applies to, or how far its prohibitions extend," commented Zuckerman. "If interpreted broadly, some of my customers would be barred from entering into a federal contract because they have covered products installed in their facility to protect their property and staff.” Also presenting at the hearing was Hytera, a manufacturer of open standard digital mobile radio technology. The presentation emphasised that Hytera does not sell to U.S. telecommunications carriers, and does not supply 5G components or video surveillance equipment. Hytera equipment is used by federal customers such as the National Gallery of Art, National Archives, National Zoo and the Holocaust Museum. Impact on clients and commerce "These federal entities do not play a role in national security, and the Hytera systems do not connect to any critical systems," says the company. "However, the lack of clarity in the implementation of the NDAA has a significant impact on Federal, state and commercial clients, impacting competition and choice." Hytera's presentation continues: "Hytera has never been informed by any U.S. government entity that its equipment posed a national security risk and as such has not been given the opportunity to respond to any concerns. The result of Section 889 is the creation and circulation of misinformation in the marketplace." Hytera also said that the federal proposed rules and regulations should exempt federal agencies that do not include a national security component, and equipment not interconnected with the public network. Impact on cybersecurity Consolidating the number of equipment suppliers hinders rather than helps cybersecurity" James E. Gauch, an attorney with James Day speaking on behalf of Huawei, offered a global argument that could be applied to any of the banned companies: “Virtually all equipment manufacturers rely on a global supply chain and face security risks from a wide range of sources, excluding may be one or two vendors based on their national origin will not address these risks.” He adds, “However, consolidating the number of equipment suppliers hinders rather than helps cybersecurity. Creating a small number of dominant suppliers, regardless of national origin, reduces the incentives of those suppliers to embrace industry-leading standards and creates greater exposure to vulnerabilities of a single supplier.”

Artificial intelligence (AI) is expanding the capabilities of license plate readers and vehicle identification systems. Within a smart/safe city scenario, automatic license plate reader solutions are used to help analyse real-time video streams for site surveillance, inspection and public safety, and to offer actional information through a network of connected camera systems. Outside of law enforcement, this can include other public safety initiatives such as traffic tolls, car counting, and parking security. Vehicle recognition systems Rekor Systems is a provider of vehicle recognition systems in more than 60 countries Using AI to enable video cameras, Rekor Systems is a provider of vehicle recognition systems in more than 60 countries. Applications include security and surveillance, public safety, electronic toll collection, brand loyalty, parking operations, banking and insurance, logistics, and traffic management. AI allows Rekor’s products to recognise and read license plates, while also providing information about each vehicle, including colour, make, year, and model. Rekor’s products are powered by OpenALPR software, an AI-based solution that enables any IP (internet protocol) surveillance camera to scan license plates and provide vehicle data including tag number, make, model, and colour in real time with 99% accuracy, according to the company. Rekor’s products are powered by OpenALPR software Integrated solutions “Rekor's software started as an open source project, and we have done our best to keep the commercial software as open as possible,” says Rod Hillman, Chief Operating Officer, Rekor Systems. “One of the challenges we see with others in our space is a tendency to ‘close off’ and ‘silo’ their solutions. Our goal is to make it as simple as possible to deploy, integrate, and ultimately use.” Rekor has numerous application programming interfaces (APIs) and ways the solution can be integrated into partners' solutions with a software development kit (SDK). Rekor solutions can be purchased directly or through a worldwide partner network of integrators, wholesalers, and within integrated solutions such as Nokia's smart city platform. Electronic toll collection Rekor’s solutions have viable applications within multiple markets While many systems are hardware-based, Rekor’s software-as-a-solution offering can turn an IP camera into an automatic license plate reader. Rekor’s solutions have viable applications within multiple markets, including law enforcement, security and surveillance, electronic toll collection, parking operations, banking and insurance, logistics, traffic management, and customer experience. “Rekor offers a cost-effective alternative to traditional LPR systems with a much higher accuracy rate at 99% allowing more cameras to be present and active at any given time,” says Hillman. “Traditional LPRs need someone to go through hours of footage to find what they are looking for while Rekor’s technology will send alerts in real time, resulting in much quicker response times.” Move Over Camera mounts onto roadside worker’s vehicles to capture ‘Move Over’ violations Two-part authentication Rekor’s products include: NUMERUS, a cloud-based solution for high-volume vehicle recognition, designed to reduce costs and increase efficiencies for the electronic toll collecting industry. Two-part authentication instantly identifies the vehicle’s make, model, colour and body type along with the license plate read. Machine-learning-enabled software recognises license plates from all 50 U.S. states, in addition to plates from more than 70 countries on six continents. Edge, an all-in-one camera and vehicle recognition system that instantly reads vehicle license plates, along with the vehicle’s make, model, colour and body type. Move Over Camera, which mounts onto roadside worker’s vehicles (police, tow truck, etc.) to capture ‘Move Over’ violations. ‘Move Over’ laws state that vehicles must move over one lane and/or slow down if they cannot move over to avoid incident while roadside workers are in the shoulder lane. The camera can detect what lane vehicles are in and how fast they are moving. Violators are flagged in the system for law enforcement’s review.

While security salesmen are touting megapixels and anti-passback features, they are missing an opportunity to communicate the role of technology in the broader context of risk management and incident response – and in saving lives. That’s the message of Gerald Wilkins, PSP, Vice President of Active Risk Survival. Incident response is at the core of how an enterprise reacts to risk and is a standardised approach to the command, control, and coordination of emergency response. Effective incident response requires integrating a combination of facilities, equipment, personnel, procedures, and communications operating within a common organisational structure. All the elements must work together to achieve the desired outcome – to mitigate a risk using countermeasures. Capabilities of systems during emergencies I want to see us have more meaningful conversations with security directors and emergency operations planners"Equipment such as CCTV, access control and mass notification systems can provide effective countermeasures, but salesmen in the physical security market are not ‘connecting the dots’ between equipment specifications and its capabilities as part of the broader incident command system. “Historically, purchases of security technologies have not been considered in that context,” says Wilkins. “Rather, the industry’s sales pitches have been about features and capabilities – pixels or communication distances or intelligence – not about how those capabilities are useful in the specific context of emergency response.” “My goal is to change the industry,” says Wilkins. “I want to see us have more meaningful conversations with security directors and emergency operations planners.” Focusing on the Emergency Operations Plan “We are in the life safety business, and we need to have more conversations about where technology fits into the Emergency Operations Plan (EOP). When was the last time you [as a security salesman] asked a client to look at their Emergency Operations Plan? No one knows the technology better than we do.” What’s missing, however, is attention to how technology is applied to risk management and response“There are so many folks in our industry who are technology gurus, who ‘get’ the technology, and are good at selling it,” he says. What’s missing, however, is attention to how technology is applied to risk management and response. “As an industry, even guys who have been in the business a long time have never heard about incident command,” says Wilkins. “How are we weaponising technology to maximise the outcome? We don’t talk about it. We want to talk about megapixels and wide dynamic range. But when are we going to talk about how we can apply that technology to mitigate our tangible and intangible risks?” Importance of security equipment In the wake of each active shooter or other incident in the news, Wilkins looks back to consider the missed opportunities and how security equipment could have saved lives. “What technology did we have to help first responders – video, access control and paging – but they weren’t used?” he asks. An example is the San Bernandino shooting in 2015, when police officers were heard asking “has anybody found that access control card?” In effect, a law enforcement officer was asking for technology that should have been included as part of the emergency plan. Situational awareness, such as that provided by video systems, can help responders judge which areas are safe fasterSituational awareness, such as that provided by video systems, can help responders judge which areas are safe faster and provide Emergency Medical Services (EMS) personnel more time to save lives. However, video is not being viewed in that light as a part of the broader life-saving mission. “Our industry needs to sit down with a security director or operations manager and ask: How are you using technology as a resource tool that will become part of your critical response?” says Wilkins. Understanding how equipment works Technology is often not being incorporated in emergency planning, even with something as simple as a fire drill. Most fire drills are ‘one size fits all’ – every person knows where they should go and how they should exit. But what if there is a fire in a particular part of the building? Today’s fire alarms operate in zones to communicate the location of a fire, but this capability is not being used to practice a variety of resulting scenarios that could save lives.  “We need to understand as an industry how our partners in law enforcement and EMS do their jobs,” says Wilkins. “We can help stakeholders in a building understand how our equipment works every day and how they can use it in a critical incident. We need to understand Emergency Operations Plans (EOPs), how incident command works, and how we can help emergency responders.” Security training for salespeople I want to know everything I can know to help guys sell things that can change the outcome if something bad happens"“If a guy wants to talk about his pixels or his anti-passback, he should instead consider having a meaningful conversation with the client about best practices and how to mitigate risk. This creates a different position [for the salesman], and if there is a critical incident, something you said or did might save someone’s life.” When it comes to training and taking a more strategic approach to sales, to some extent, the security technology industry has been a victim of its own success. When business is good, security companies are less likely to look for ways to train their salespeople. “We’re in the life safety business, not in the ‘stuff’ business,” says Wilkins. “I want to know everything I can know to help guys sell things that can actually change the outcome if something bad happens.” Another problem is “we don’t know what we don’t know.”

In the aging trend of 21th century with rapid aging population and high healthcare costs are creating a growing demand for care at home, especially for seniors with long-term health conditions. Home care is moving towards tele-health monitoring and telemedicine, including video conferencing and remote monitoring technology to help increase caregiver efficiency while still providing constant convenience to the patients. Living independently and aging gracefully are the ideals that every individual seeks to pursue, and the challenge is to ensure that all people can age with dignity and security. Climax’s GX Cubic Smart Care Medical Alarm is an all-in-one wellness, and personal safety medical alarm solution, designed to help the elderly to manage their long-term health conditions, bridging medical health monitoring information to care providers/hospitals and create points of care to keep them safe in their own homes. GX Cubic medical alarm GX Cubic can be flexibly connected with third-party Bluetooth (BLE) healthcare sensors GX Cubic can be flexibly connected with third-party Bluetooth (BLE) healthcare sensors, like blood glucose monitor, pulse oximeter, blood pressure monitor, or weight for tracking health data and providing customised alerts to meet individual needs. The measurements can be automatically sent to a health professional who can review the results and continuously keep an eye on the patient’s health needs and provide early treatment as necessary. In addition to medical health monitoring, GX Cubic is also compatible with Pivotell Advance Automatic Pill Dispenser to keep secure of all pills, and remind the user to take the correct medicine at the pre-set time. The solution allows health professionals to monitor pill taking timely results and keep an eye on the patients’ treatment as needed. For situation when remote monitoring care given is insufficient and the user requires onsite assistance, GX Cubic can raise an emergency alarm to inform the caregiver or medical personnel for immediate action. Seniors can be assured that they are always being taken care of, and provide their family members with a peace of mind. Voice recognition solution Voice recognition has innovated over time and continues to advance, allowing products to become even more intuitive and easier to use. GX Cubic has built-in voice recognition and can activate an emergency call to care provider or central monitoring center by preset vocal commands or keywords. This allows seniors to receive emergency attention even in situations where they are immobilised or cannot manually reach the panic button. Working with the leading voice ecosystems Amazon Alexa and Google Home via cloud, GX Cubic also features voice control to activate home electronic devices, complete daily tasks, and seek help during emergencies. Voice over Internet Protocol With the VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) feature, GX Cubic users can also initiate two-way voice callsWith the VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) feature, GX Cubic users can also initiate two-way voice calls to contact their caregivers or family members at any time. With the additional add-on of DECT, GX Cubic can pair with voice extenders, talking pendants, call points, and voice extenders placed strategically around the home to create a safety net. Smart Home Automation Comprehensive elderly-friendly health care should also have a focus on preventive action to maintain a healthy ageing process. To realise independent living in a smart way, GX Cubic pairs with Zigbee or Z-Wave sensors to enable the whole-home control with various protocol-of-choice. GX Cubic can be programmed to turn on the hallway lights automatically when a sensor reports a senior’s movement in the middle of the night, to reduce a chance of falling; or automatically adjusting air conditioning when there is a sudden temperature-drop. The scenarios are unlimited to fit individual requirements, ensuring a safest living experience for the senior users. GX Cubic can also integrate IP security cameras and camera PIR motion sensors to deliver real-time visual monitoring and verification. When an emergency occurs, alerts are immediately sent to family members, and Monitoring Center to verify the event and sending immediate assistance as needed. Lastly, GX Cubic can support wireless sensor devices, allowing users to add in smoke detectors, water leakage sensors, and gas sensors to monitor environmental emergencies; and motion sensors, door contacts, sensor pad transmitters for inactivity monitoring, to build a healthier, safer independent living.

As prominent in Belfast’s history as its cranes are on the city’s skyline, it’s hard to imagine Belfast without Harland and Wolff. Once the world’s greatest shipbuilder, Harland and Wolff today has evolved into a company that provides over 150 years of engineering excellence to the maritime, offshore, and renewable energy sectors. The Harland and Wolff facilities on Queen’s Island are now used to maintain some of the world’s largest ocean-going vessels, ranging from offshore platforms and cruise liners to offshore wind farms. The company is spread over two sites in Belfast and covers over 200 acres. Its main facility has a public-facing perimeter of no less than 1.5 kilometers. With safety as a primary consideration in the execution of projects, the company goes to great lengths to protect its investments from unwanted visitors, intruders, and vandalism. FLIR VMS solution For over 15 years, Harland and Wolff has been using FLIR’s United VMS to manage a wide variety of security cameras For over 15 years, Harland and Wolff has been using FLIR’s United Video Management System (VMS) to manage a wide variety of security cameras. As technology innovations and features were being added onto the United VMS over the years, Harland and Wolff has always remained loyal to the FLIR brand. But with the increasing development of Queen's Island as an industrial, commercial, and tourist area came a greater public presence and an increased safety and security threat. That is why in recent years Harland and Wolff has been continuously investing in the latest security camera technology from FLIR, including enterprise security cameras, PTZ cameras, intelligent thermal cameras, and mobile and wearable cameras. Optical and thermal cameras “Today, over 140 FLIR cameras on-site and along the site’s perimeter make sure that we can detect any irregularity,” said Chris Neill, security operations manager at Harland and Wolff. “Whenever one of our cameras picks up an incident – an intruder for example – an alarm is generated and sent to our security control room, who can then follow up the incident. This ensures us that our investment and that of our customers is safe and secure at all times.” Due to the high impact and risk associated to a possible incident on site, the company’s security department follows a proactive approach for possible intruders. Even in complete darkness, in perimeter areas where there is no additional lighting, thermal analytic cameras can pick up the presence of intruders, animals, or vehicles automatically based on their heat signatures. Intruder detection While thermal camera footage does not allow actual identification of intruders, it can still be used as evidence for insurance companies or law enforcers, especially when an intrusion pattern can be seen over different cameras. United VMS is FLIR’s enterprise-level software solution for video surveillance operations United VMS is FLIR’s enterprise-level software solution for video surveillance operations. The software is currently used at Harland and Wolff by four control room operators and eight managers, all of which have dedicated user rights. One of the strengths of the United VMS system is that it can connect with nearly any security camera on the market and that video streams and detection alerts can be presented on any screen, be it on a video wall, a PC, or a smartphone. United VMS But Harland and Wolff has been using United VMS for far more applications. “We also use the United VMS platform to monitor alarms coming from fire sensors on oil rigs, for example,” said Neill. “Another example is the detection of failed pumps on one of our drydocks. This information also comes in on United VMS, where we generate alarms and notify key staff in real time.” Harland and Wolff has indeed managed to make use of United VMS's flexibility and deploy it for much more than security applications only. "We are not in a static business," said Neill. "At Harland and Wolff, we are always taking on new challenges and solving new problems; FLIR’s United VMS platform helps us do that.” TruWITNESS mobile sensor technology Harland and Wolff will also make use of TruWITNESS, the latest mobile and wearable sensor technology from FLIR. TruWITNESS will allow guards on patrol to stream video directly to the control room in real time and from anywhere on the Harland and Wolff sites. Harland and Wolff needs to comply with a minimum security level imposed by the UK Department of Transport" Guards will be able to bookmark events so that incidents or irregularities can be reported and can be followed up more efficiently. In case of incidents, camera footage from the TruWITNESS wearable devices can be used as evidence. In addition, control room operators will be able to track members of staff via the United VMS and display their location on a map. Security technology advancements “Our yellow gantry cranes have become a national icon,” said Neill. “Unfortunately, this also means that they are an attractive target for political messages or, as in the past, terrorism. As a port facility, Harland and Wolff needs to comply with a minimum security level imposed by the UK Department of Transport. But in reality, we always exceed these requirements. We owe this to our continuous investments in security technology, which we also consider as a commitment to our customers.” Maybe this is what connects Harland and Wolff with FLIR. “As committed as we are to our customers, we expect the same from our suppliers as well,” said Neill. “As someone with a technical background, I have always been convinced of the quality of FLIR security products. But there will always be a time when you need to rely on technical support, and that’s where FLIR really makes a difference.”

New Covent Garden Market is the largest wholesale fruit, vegetable, and flower market in the United Kingdom. Redevelopment work launched in 2015 included a new security monitoring system, as well as a migration from analogue security equipment to an IP solution from FLIR Systems. New Covent Garden Market is a phenomenon in London, to say the least. The world-famous wholesale market provides 40 percent of London’s fresh fruit and vegetables eaten outside the home and serves 75 percent of London’s florists. With more than 175 affiliated businesses, New Covent Garden Market is the largest wholesale market in the UK. IP-based security system Redevelopment construction works started in 2015 and should continue until 2022 When London authorities decided to redevelop the entire site on Nine Elms and Battersea in order to meet future needs, it was clear that New Covent Garden Market was facing a huge operational challenge. Redevelopment construction works started in 2015 and should continue until 2022. In addition to a better road layout, improved waste management, and upgraded parking facilities, the market authorities wanted better security so that employees, tenants, customers and suppliers would feel safer. The organisation wanted to upgrade its legacy analogue CCTV technology to an IP-based security system capable of incorporating future upgrades. Surrey-based company Phoenix Integrated Security Limited, which had been the security solution provider for New Covent Garden Market for years, oversaw the security overhaul, as well. Future-proof system “We designed a security system together with the end customer and the site constructor so that it could meet today’s security standards again,” said Trevor Hearn, Director at Phoenix Integrated Security Limited. “We were looking for a future-proof system that was able to monitor this complex site and that was easy to work with for our security guard personnel. We looked at various manufacturers for this, but FLIR Systems was the only company that ticked all the boxes.” Phoenix opted for FLIR United VMS, which includes FLIR’s enterprise-level software solution Latitude, and a wide range of FLIR IP cameras. At the end of 2018, New Covent Garden Market already had more than 300 IP cameras installed across the entire site it intends to gradually upgrade all analogue systems over a five-year period. Wide range of cameras The image quality of the FLIR IP cameras represents a huge improvement over analogue The site combines a wide range of cameras, including the FLIR Quasar 4K fixed box camera, the FLIR Ariel Quad HD bullet camera, and the Quasar 1080p PTZ camera. The cameras offer high evidentiary detail and discreet, compact form factors. According to Hearn, the image quality of the FLIR IP cameras represents a huge improvement over analogue. Image quality is not the only benefit of using United VMS. Another valued feature is the platforms scalability. From 2016 onwards, New Covent Garden Market has been gradually replacing analogue cameras and storage equipment across the entire site, and Latitude has the flexibility to incorporate an unlimited number of channels. Body-worn cameras Operators have the flexibility to present their video sources on screen where they want and define user profiles to see only specific video sources from a given particular building, for example. “This project is an engineer’s dream,” said Hearn. “The FLIR Latitude system allows New Covent Garden Market to easily expand their camera network whenever they feel the need and to connect with practically any camera they want, including body-worn cameras. The Latitude system is also easy to couple with third-party systems, such as intercom and access control systems.”

In a highly visible, and competitive sport like Formula One racing, it’s not hard to understand why an organisation like Aston Martin Red Bull Racing attracts people who want access to their factory, and all the secrets contained within. Intrusion from unwanted visitors or vandalism is something that the people at Milton Keynes headquarters, in Buckinghamshire, England, want to avoid at all cost. Asset protection “Our Milton Keynes facility contains valuable technology and intellectual property,” says Mark Hazelton, Chief Security Officer. “At the same time, we are located alongside a public road, close to a residential area with high footfall. That is why it is critical for us to have high-performing security processes and systems in place, so we can effectively protect our assets as well as the people who work here.” The scale of operations at the Aston Martin Red Bull Racing Team factory in Milton Keynes is amazing The scale of operations at the Aston Martin Red Bull Racing Team factory in Milton Keynes is amazing. Crafting the next Formula One challenger is done on the engineering site with a variety of buildings, including many office spaces, an R&D facility, manufacturing and storage areas. The design, testing, building and assembling of thousands of parts required to construct each race car all happen in house. About 750 people are employed at Milton Keynes and some parts of the factory are operated on a 24/7 basis. Site and facility security “As our site has grown, our previous CCTV system was no longer sufficient to provide adequate security monitoring,” says Caroline Tierney, Infrastructure Project Manager at Aston Martin Red Bull Racing. “Our CCTV installation was no longer state of the art and we wanted to ensure that we made best advantage of the improving technology available. We were also looking to make it easier to retrieve information from the system.” Aston Martin Red Bull Racing started to look out for an updated CCTV system, investigated different options and ultimately selected FLIR Systems as their technology provider through a local IP security system integrator. Quasar HD and 4K cameras The facility is now equipped with some 120 cameras, both visual and thermal, that cover the entire area 24/7. Cameras on site include FLIR’s visual Quasar HD and Quasar 4K, the latter presenting four times the resolution of the HD camera and, therefore, able to cover larger areas with less cameras. The facility also makes use of the Quasar Hemispheric Mini-Dome, which provides 360° immersive viewing, and of the thermal FLIR FC-Series ID camera, which includes onboard video analytics capable of classifying human or vehicular intrusions. The entire camera network is managed by FLIR’s Latitude Network Video Management System (VMS). FLIR thermal cameras The image quality that we get from the new range of visual FLIR cameras is truly impressive" “The image quality that we get from the new range of visual FLIR cameras is truly impressive,” says Zoe Chilton, Head of Technical Partnerships at Aston Martin Red Bull Racing. “It’s amazing what kind of image quality can come out of such a compact camera unit.” The FLIR thermal cameras have powerful video analytics on board, which makes them extremely useful as intrusion protection devices at several strategic locations across the Milton Keynes site. With the FC-Series ID camera, you can set custom trip lines and regions of interest that will trigger alarms for human or vehicular intruders, even at night or in poor weather conditions. Upon the detection of an intruder, an alert is sent over to security personnel via email. FLIR Latitude VMS The FLIR Latitude video management system is the backbone of the system, allowing Aston Martin Red Bull Racing personnel to easily view, playback, search and export video from a scalable number of cameras. “In the past, when we wanted to investigate a particular incident in more detail, it used to take a long time to actually retrieve the information we needed from our video recordings, but with the new FLIR Latitude VMS, this is much more straightforward and we save a lot of time,” says Tierney Comprehensive camera network The cameras used in the network around the Milton Keynes site are relatively small in size. And there’s a very good reason for that, according to Chilton. “Of course, it’s important to have the best image quality possible, but on the other hand, we don’t want our cameras to be too large and imposing either.” The Milton Keynes headquarters receives visitors, customers and partners every day. For Aston Martin Red Bull Racing, it’s important that everybody feels welcome: “While we need our site to be secure, and the cameras are of course important, we don’t want them to be the first thing visitors see when they arrive to visit us, " said Chilton. "I think that the FLIR cameras strike that difficult balance between security and subtlety really well.” The cameras can also be used to check whether visitors are using the parking lot correctly FLIR security monitoring system Other than the security aspect, there are other practical benefits of having a comprehensive camera network, as well. The cameras can also be used to check whether visitors are using the parking lot correctly, to track contractors around the site, and just for general site management purposes. The selection of the FLIR security monitoring system fits into a long-standing technology partnership between FLIR and the Aston Martin Red Bull Racing team. Since 2014, the team has been integrating FLIR cameras for a wide variety of uses around the factory and track, from electrical maintenance, test rigs and security on site, to tyre temperature assessments in the garage. High product quality The high product quality and innovative approach FLIR takes to developing new solutions for the challenges of Formula 1 makes a great fit with Aston Martin Red Bull Racing’s desire to push the boundaries of available technology for developing their cars.

Siemens Mobility and globally renowned mission critical communications (MCX or MCC) enabler, Softil have jointly announced an agreement that will see a range of next generation communications solutions come to market for use in Long Term Evolution-Railway (LTE-R) railways as well as Mission-Critical Push-To-Talk (MCPTT) metro applications like underground/tram buses, etc. Siemens Mobility adopts Softil's BEEHD client framework to bring best-of-breed mission critical communications solutions to LTE-R rail networks; solutions will also support the UIC's FRMCS strategy to build a Global Rail Traffic Management System for the entire rail industry MCX solutions The MCX solutions will support the Future Railway Mobile Communications Systems of the UIC The MCX solutions will support the Future Railway Mobile Communications Systems (FRMCS) of the International Union of Railways (UIC) to build a Global Rail Traffic Management System (GRTMS) for the entire rail industry, bringing significant economic and operational benefits and efficiencies to operators in the process. "The rail industry is at the forefront of the mission-critical communication revolution and GSM-R based systems have already been replaced by LTE-R solutions in Asia Pacific (APAC) and the trend is expected to widen across other markets in 2019/20," says Pierre Hagendorf, Softil's CEO. "With Softil's BEEHD client framework at the heart of Siemens Mobility's next generation LTE-R offerings, the rail industry will have a range of supremely reliable solutions packed with rich communication features." The new radio system for the Railway industry has to guarantee the interoperability with GSM-R while delivering on these three main areas: Critical communications - Secure voice communication between driver and signaller, provision for emergency and group calls, real-time video imagery for any occurring incidents and the intelligent bearer for European Train Control System (ETCS) and Automatic Train Operation (ATO) operation; Performance communications - Track condition monitoring, Connected Driver Advisory System (C-DAS), on-train telemetry, maintenance of non-critical infrastructure, non-critical real-time video, wireless communication for on-train-staff; Business communications - passenger information system, passenger entertainment and passenger communication connections. Siemens Mobility will enable existing GSM-R users to develop a migration plan that will enable all of the above. BEEHD client technology LTE-R is the foundation for the railway variant of the 3GPP MCC over LTE/5G (MCPTT) standard "The rail industry is facing unprecedented challenges in handling increasing numbers of passengers and freight traffic loads," says Russell Clarke, General Manager, Mobile Communications at Siemens Mobility. "After careful analysis of market options, Siemens Mobility chose Softil's BEEHD client technology as the outstanding Software Development Kit (SDK) for our developers to build best-of-breed LTE-R communications solutions for the rail industry in the shortest timeframe." LTE-R is the foundation for the railway variant of the 3GPP MCC over LTE/5G (MCPTT) standard. What sets the LTE-R technology apart from the currently used GSM-R is that it brings the full power of broadband networks including voice, video, text, images, location and more and not just simple voice. LTE-R technology The Softil BEEHD framework is LTE-R compatible and will enable Siemens Mobility's solutions to deliver stable voice as well as data communications on trains running at speeds in excess of 400km/h. LTE-R technology makes possible live tracking of a train and transmitting railroad information to engine drivers, and also enables multimedia-based group calling and SMS services on top of voice call services. Additionally, real-time group/individual communication is made possible between train engineers and control centers. BEEHD IP communications solution is a cross-platform framework designed for system integrators BEEHD IP communications Softil's BEEHD IP communications solution is a cross-platform framework (SDK) designed for chipset vendors, device manufacturers, system integrators, application developers and service providers looking to accelerate the development of IP-based voice and video over LTE (VoLTE, ViLTE and MCPTT/MCX) solutions. The quality of the award-winning SDK is unmatched within the communications industry and BEEHD was proven to satisfy all required key performance indicators (KPIs) set by the 3GPP MCX standard, as well as often even stricter KPIs required by global carriers and service providers.

Allianz Parque has become one of the most modern multi-purpose arenas in Latin Americasince it was built in 2014 by WTorre Properties. The stadium is located at the same place of the old Palestra Itália Stadium with a capacity of more than forty thousand spectators. The stadium not just meets FIFA standards but was also awarded various prizes including the Master Award in the 11th edition of the Grand Prize for Corporate Architecture, the Accessibility Seal, delivered by the Permanent Accessibility Commission (CPA), and the "Environmental Management of the Surroundings of the Work" award, at the 3rd Health and Safety at Work Seconci Award. Intelligent video surveillance cameras With an eye on the market, the management of Allianz Parque constantly invests in advanced technology and new solutions to keep the project in line with the most current standards of innovation in the world. The latest are the intelligent video surveillance cameras from Dahua Technology, globally renowned video-centric smart IoT solutions and service provider. The cameras with embedded artificial intelligence systems could help the security team of the arena The cameras with embedded artificial intelligence systems could help the security team of the arena work more efficiently and productively, so that the stadium is capable of dealing with different kinds of scenarios, such as large-scale concerts, major celebrations and, especially, football matches at Sociedade Esportiva Palmeiras. Installation The installation of the entire system took around 90 days. According to the General Manager of Allianz Parque, the biggest challenge is to implement the new system with the arena in operation. "We have to carry out the replacement without any impact to the security team. But with the support of the Dahua Technology team, we are able to do the job quietly without any major changes in our initial planning,” explained Rigotto. In the project, devices with latest generation embedded artificial intelligence technologies were used. Many of their functions go beyond an image captured by an ordinary camera. Here are the camera models and technologies used: DH-IPC-PF83230-A180 - panoramic camera with four 8 Megapixel CMOS sensors, which generates a single 180-degree image of 32MP using H.265 compression technique; SD6CE245UN-HNI - PTZ-style positioning camera with various technologies, such as Starlight, which allows viewing of images in very light colors (less than 0.005lux). It has a 45x zoom system, plus an infrared illumination that can reach 250 meters away; MPT310 portable recorder, used with lapel cameras, making recording and transmission of high-definition audio and video online from the point of view of the agent close to the events; DH-IPC-HFW8242EN-Z4FD-IRA-LED - special network camera that captures human faces through AI algorithm, embedded in a chip with Deep Learning Technology. It gives the facial detection server a good deal of processing work, since the camera itself locates the faces of the video image and analyses attributes such as gender, age, facial expressions and whether it has glasses; Network camera recorder and face database manager, DHI-IVSS7016DR-4T - It works in conjunction with the CMS DSS PRO that makes the recording of the videos in the network, in addition to managing and analysing the faces pre-registered in the database of employees and service providers of Allianz Parque. User can also set a black list and the recorder will alert once unauthorised persons detected in a certain sector. The server can, in real time, work by processing the input stream at the gate opening, being able to recognise up to 40 faces per second in the Arena, detecting the faces and comparing them with the database prepared to issue field safety alerts in up to a few seconds; Video Wall, with 6 46-inch LCD screens (DHL460UCM-ES), forms a 2x3 matrix and a Dahua controller (NVD0905DH-4I-4K), which can display 4K, live images, advertisements and bulletins in a professional manner. Facial recognition system Allianz Parque now has a state-of-the-art facial recognition system, which has artificial intelligence and data analysis" "We are very proud to have this partnership with Dahua Technology. Through it, today, Allianz Parque now has a state-of-the-art facial recognition system, which has artificial intelligence and data analysis, and can be integrated into the public safety team system,” emphasised Eduardo Rigotto, General Manager of Allianz Parque. Rigotto pointed out that there are always possibilities for modernisation. "The market has changed in five years and in order to keep us in the lead as an inspiration for other spaces, we need to continue investing in new technologies," he said. In addition to providing advanced security technology, Dahua Technology also became the sponsor of Allianz Parque, as well as Prevent Senior, Banco Pine and the Allianz Seguros brand. With this, the Arena Control Center will be called CCO by Dahua Technology and there are more than 150 information boards present by Dahua Technology in the stadium to remind and protect everyone. Dahua LED panels In 2018, Dahua Technology has successfully delivered the largest RingLed 360º in Latin America, which totals 580 meters of panels for all bars in the arena. The innovative design with LED panels from Dahua Technology was developed by Digital Arena, a pioneer in the field of digital media for stadiums. "Our philosophy is to deliver large projects that make a difference not only to the customer but also to the people who will use their space," said Fabio Lopes, Channel Sales Director of Dahua Technology Brazil. Moreover, he added, "Allianz Parque is an entertainment venue where spectators aim to watch a great show with total safety and comfort. This project aims to demonstrate that Allianz Parque is one of the safest arenas in Latin America.” Stadium security Located in the city of São Paulo, Allianz Parque imposes itself between the districts of Água Branca, Pompeia, Perdizes and Barra Funda, an area of easy access, highlighted by event organisers and club fans. The space has the capacity to receive 43,700 people on game days, 55,000 for shows and 12,000 for events in the amphitheater.

One impact of Chinese companies entering the physical security market has been an erosion in product pricing, creating what has been called the "race to the bottom". However, political forces and cybersecurity concerns have presented new challenges for Chinese companies. Adding cybersecurity increases costs, and the addition of more functionality to edge devices is another trend that has impacted product pricing. We asked this week's Expert Panel Roundtable: Has price erosion ended (or slowed down) in the security market? 

In the digital age, software is a component of almost all systems, including those that drive the physical security market. A trend toward hardware commoditisation is making the role of software even more central to providing value to security solutions. Software developments make more things possible and drive innovation in the market. We asked this week's Expert Panel Roundtable: How do software improvements drive physical security?  

There will be more artificial intelligence, more machine learning, video systems with more capabilities, and all of it will add greater value to our solutions. Those are among the expectations of our Expert Panel Roundtable as they collectively look ahead to the remainder of 2019. One unexpected prediction is that AI will not prove to be a game changer – at least not yet. We asked this week’s Expert Panel Roundtable: What will be the biggest surprise for security in the second half of 2019?