Office surveillance

Userful Corporation, a foremost provider of AV solutions for enterprise IT teams, announced its commitment to developing and expanding the open technology approach through which they’ve built the Visual Networking Platform. Choice of software and hardware tools “We are a customer and partner focused company,” said John Marshall, Userful CEO, “And by providing an open technology platform, they are not locked-in to any particular vendor and have the choice of which software and hardware tools, add-ons and integrations work best for them.” “Our API, our use of commercially available off-the-shelf hardware and our use of standard IT networking protocols give customers maximum flexibility and allow them to change applications if needed without having to change their entire AV platform.” Expanding technology partnership To support their commitment to open technology, Userful has expanded its list of certified, commercially off-the-shelf hardware, from Dell, Lenovo, HP, and has integrated with different CMS and VMS vendors. Additionally, they have been further developing their REST API and expanding their technology partnerships with major display manufacturers. According to Marshall, “Enterprise IT teams deploying AV applications have been clamouring for more standards-based solutions, more open technology and less proprietary hardware, less vendor lock in. Userful is delivering on that.”

AMAG Technology announces the expansion of Zenitel intelligent audio solutions beyond America to customers in EMEA and APAC. Organisations can purchase Zenitel’s IC-EDGE™, ICX-500 and Alphacom intercom systems through Amag. The audio solutions can be installed as a standalone system, or integrated with Amag’s Symmetry Access Control system to deliver seamless integration and unrivalled sound quality. Audio solutions The audio solutions are available immediately and are ideal for any industry. Open platform that supports interoperability Meets stringent IT requirements for mission-critical systems Easy to deploy and operate Highly scalable integration that meets both current and future needs The full range of Zenitel products will be listed in the January 2021 International price list. A partnership of 20 years “Providing an intelligent audio solution is an important part of our total product offering, and I am pleased we are able to expand our longtime partnership with Zenitel to be able to deliver it to our customers in EMEA and APAC,” said Amag Technology President, Howard Johnson. AMAG and Zenitel have collaborated and maintained a close partnership for nearly 20 years.

Axis Communications launches AXIS P1455-LE Network Camera, a feature-rich bullet camera offering HDTV 1080p resolution at up to 60 fps. Ideal for a wide range of surveillance scenarios, it’s particularly suitable for capturing scenes with lots of motion. Key features Featuring Axis Forensic WDR, this outdoor-ready camera captures high-quality images even when there are both dark and light areas in the scene. Axis Lightfinder 2.0 ensures outstanding forensic images in low light and Axis OptimizedIR allows for surveillance in pitch darkness up to 40 m (131 ft). It includes motion-adaptive exposure to significantly reduce the motion blur from approaching or nearby objects. And, with AXIS Object Analytics you can detect and classify humans and vehicles. Additionally, with edge-to-edge technology, this camera offers smart pairing functionality including two-way audio with Axis Network Speakers. All tailored to one's specific requirements. Lightfinder 2.0, Forensic WDR and OptimizedIR AXIS Object Analytics Motion-adaptive exposure Enhanced security features Zipstream with support for H.264/H.265 Axis Edge Vault AXIS P1455-LE features Axis Edge Vault to protect the camera’s Axis device ID and simplify authorization of Axis products on the network. Furthermore, Axis Zipstream with support for H.264 and H.265 significantly reduces bandwidth and storage requirements.

Johnson Controls, the global provider for smart and sustainable buildings has further expanded its Tyco Illustra range with the launch of a new Flex multi-directional camera. Designed to provide a highly cost-effective solution for monitoring activity over wide open spaces, the second generation Illustra Flex multi-directional camera is equipped with four separate image sensors which can be individually positioned and angled to provide up to 360-degree coverage via four separate non-stitched video streams. Multi-directional camera Each of the four sensors are able to capture high-quality 4MP images, enabling the camera to cover an area which might normally require four separate high definition video surveillance cameras. As well as the reduced capital cost, systems integrators and end-users can enjoy additional time and cost savings, as Illustra Flex multi-directional camera requires less cabling and mounting hardware. It also only needs a single IP connection. Easy camera placement and positioning The Illustra Flex multi-sensor camera’s magnetic base enables each sensor to be independently placed and a three-axis gimbal on each sensor allows their individual fields of view to be finely tuned. This provides users with a multitude of configuration options to provide, for example, 360 coverage of large open office areas, retail stores and car parks, a 270-degree coverage when the camera is installed externally on the corner of a building or a 180-degree field of view when the camera is mounted on a wall. Key features The ONVIF Profile S-compliant Illustra Flex multi-sensor camera’s other key features include the following: Field swappable lens modules True day/night functionality with a removable infrared cut filter (ICR), which enables the camera to operate effectively in low light conditions True Wide Dynamic Range (TWDR) which performs at up to 50dB to deliver clear images captured from scenes which might contain bright and dark areas, such as the entrances to retail stores Support for H.264 and MJPEG compression formats allows up to three simultaneous video streams to be efficiently transmitted and recorded at up to 30 frames per second, while efficiently managing bandwidth to reduce storage costs Flexibility to choose between overview and detailed images for each stream Power over Ethernet (PoE) support, which negates the need to provide a separate power supply and cabling for each camera IP66 rated Minimised vulnerabilities Cybersecurity: All Tyco Illustra cameras are covered by the Johnson Controls, Cyber Solutions Product Security Program which has been introduced to give all parties in the supply chain the confidence that Johnson Controls has minimised the possibility of introducing vulnerabilities into its Tyco branded electronic security solutions.

FLIR Systems, Inc. announced availability of the FLIR Occupancy Management Solution for FLIR Brickstream 3D Gen2 to automate occupancy counting within high traffic and capacity-limited areas. To support social distancing guidelines during and following the COVID-19 pandemic, the Occupancy Management Solution provides organisations with an easy-to-use, real-time capacity counting and display tool for multiple entries and exits. Organisations can automate capacity counting for high foot-traffic spaces to maintain social distancing compliance. “Many organisations are manually measuring occupancy, but this process is often inaccurate, cumbersome and expensive,” said Paul Clayton, General Manager, Components Business at FLIR Systems. Automated monitoring solution “FLIR addressed this challenge by introducing a cost-effective, scalable, self-contained, and automated monitoring solution suitable for a variety of locations from grocery stores, stadiums, theaters, transportation hubs, to manufacturing plants, and office spaces.” Current Brickstream 3D Gen2 customers can purchase and add this feature with via a remote firmware upgrade The Occupancy Management Solution is platform agnostic with an integrated IoT architecture, which can be implemented within existing Wi-Fi access points, offering a complete edge-based solution with the Brickstream 3D Gen2 hardware. It provides a simple display dashboard for capacity updates that can be viewed by staff or customers on devices with a web browser. Remote firmware upgrade It may be used as a standalone or integrated into existing perimeter systems, making it ideal for most environments where occupancy must be closely managed. Current Brickstream 3D Gen2 customers can purchase and add this feature with via a remote firmware upgrade. This solution is part of FLIR Systems’ COVID-19 response product portfolio, which includes the FLIR EST camera series, to help organisations improve safety in public places and other high traffic areas. The FLIR Occupancy Management Solution for Brickstream 3D Gen2 is available from FLIR and its global Brickstream distribution partners.

The perimeter is the first line of defence against intruders who could put people or assets in danger. For many forward-looking businesses, the answer is to deploy thermal cameras, which offers a number of advanced benefits. In complex light environments, at night, or in severe weather conditions, many conventional ‘visible light’ cameras may not be able to recognise intruders and alert security teams. By contrast, thermal cameras can recognise tiny changes in temperature, allowing them to detect people or vehicles that cross perimeter boundaries even in extremely low-light or low-visibility conditions. Some thermal cameras incorporate deep learning algorithms to distinguish humans and vehicles from animals, falling leaves, and other moving objects that could otherwise trigger false alarms. This means that intrusion alarms are only triggered when a real perimeter threat is identified, which supports a faster response with far less time spent analysing footage and investigating false alarms. Perimeter protection with minimal false alarms Another key benefit of thermal cameras is that they are effective at longer distances than many conventional ‘visible light’ cameras. This means that small and medium businesses can reduce equipment and installation costs for their perimeter-protection solutions, while also monitoring camera feeds with fewer team members. Hikvision offers a range of affordable thermal cameras that are ideally suited for perimeter protection in small and medium applications such as residential areas, office buildings, car parks, factories, stores, and even museums. With Hikvision’s thermal camera range, detection in real time of people or vehicles that breach perimeter defences is made possible, even in low-light and poor-visibility conditions. As an added benefit, overlay of traditional video images on top of thermal camera images is possible, which ensures availability of evidence needed to support legal processes or insurance claims in the event of a perimeter breach. Hikvision thermal cameras for perimeter protection Hikvision’s range of thermal turret, bullet, and speed dome cameras are already being deployed in many perimeter protection solutions for housing developments, car parks, factories, stores, farms, and even museums. In one example of a successful project, a car brand is protecting one of its European dealerships 24 hours-a-day with Hikvision thermal cameras. In this case, the Hikvision camera alerts security teams if perimeter defences are breached, enabling a real-time response to prevent the theft of vehicles or parts.

We’ve just endured an event that was unprecedented in recent history. COVID-19 greatly affected our lives: our daily activities, the health and well-being of our families and friends, and business operations as we know it. Now that stay-at-home restrictions have been lifted, organisations are preparing for employees to return to work. Confidence surrounding the return to the office hinges on the employees’ perceptions of how well they will be protected while at work. One thing is certain: There is a lot of work ahead. Let’s look at some of the challenges enterprises can expect to face and how to best address them. Addressing the Return to the Office To say that the COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted operations around the world, is the understatement of the decade. That being said, businesses and governments are under mounting pressure to restart their operations as quickly as possible. With ‘social distancing’ and other measures helping to curtail the spread, organisations are turning their attention to a critical question, “How do we effectively restart operations, while protecting our employees’ and citizens’ health and safety?”As organisations begin to “reboot,” they must be able to take a variety of factors into consideration and focus on what they can actually control In the absence of defined contingency plans, industry standards or regulatory guidance, organisations are looking for innovative ways to help address a host of new challenges. Businesses are not just focused on response or monitoring of hot zones during the pandemic; they’re also thinking about afterward, when people return to the daily activities and the workplace under a different, new set of circumstances. Embarking on this journey and being successful requires a key element: the insight to adapt. As organisations begin to “reboot,” they must be able to take a variety of factors into consideration and focus on what they can actually control: their employees’ safety, operating models, and existing compliance requirements. Building Confidence Adjusting these elements demands a pragmatic approach that addresses the potential risk to employees in various environments while also delivering a degree of confidence to customers that an organisation is taking a meaningful, proactive posture to keep people safe and healthy. Also, as circumstances change, obtaining the insight to adapt to those changes is crucial for businesses to stay one step ahead and remain agile. One example of this, that we expect to impact the future of business, is the increased use of mobile applications to provide remote health checks of employees while delivering push notifications of wellness tips, rapid communication when issues arise, and response to a call for help in case of emergency changes in health status.  Employee monitoring To illustrate the point, having employees provide current symptom status and temperature before arriving at work can help to establish a baseline. Upon arrival, they complete a quick check-in to verify the information before entering the premises.It is important to remember that private health information is being shared, requiring adherence to existing privacy requirements In this instance, it is important to remember that private health information is being shared, requiring adherence to existing privacy requirements, documentation, record keeping and accuracy checks. Doing so manually is a significant challenge, hence the need for a systemic approach.  Organisations are looking for applications that map to their current needs, can scale to larger populations as needed and remains adaptable to emerging requirements and legal mandates as they evolve.   We expect to continue to see new use cases like this evolve as organisations implement new approaches to daily operation. Regardless of the use case, the underlying driver is that access to information and flexibility is critical and the ability to respond quickly is vital. Looking to the Future As we all adjust to different ways of operating, business and security leaders need to keep a few guidelines in mind. First, it is critical to identify the mission-critical challenges that are most relevant to your operations. What works for an organisation down the road, may not work for your business. Next, you need to implement processes and policies that are flexible enough to fit your situation, scalable to larger or smaller groups and adaptable to new requirements be they regulations, standards, processes or new technologies. And lastly, above all else, be pragmatic.  The solution should not be worse or more complex than the problem. As we move out of this phase and into the weeks, months and years ahead, there is hope. By empowering your team and the overall business to realise stronger risk awareness, deeper threat detection and prevention, and broader visibility, you can develop a return-to-work strategy that enables you to get your operations up-and-running quickly and efficiently.

The COVID-19 pandemic is the defining global health crisis of our time. In order to be able to fight against it, mask detection and temperature measurement have become daily routines for everyone. In this situation, Merit LILIN, with over 40 years of experience in IP video manufacturers of IP cameras, recording devices, and software, have created a cost-effective COVID-19 solution to ensure end-user health and safety. Temperature measurement Many solutions should provide temperature information, with alert settings that trigger alarms when temperatures are high. The main component of LILIN Temperature Measuring Camera is a dual-lens camera with two sensors, one a visible image lens and the other a thermal array sensor. This design not only provides temperature information and color image information but also high-temperature alert settings when the temperature exceeds.  Mask detection With COVID-19 rules and regulations now incorporating person protection equipment such as masks, many solutions are now geared towards mask detection. LILIN has its own mask detection AI, which can be run on an i3 CPU-supported PC. Using the LILIN AI system and Aida NAV server, the system can recognise if the person is wearing a mask or not. If the system identifies a user that is not wearing a mask, an alert goes out with an image of the person. It allows the application to run automatically and enforces the wearing of masks in many situations. A notification is sent to an administrator when an image of a person is captured.  Social distancing measures In addition to temperature measurement and mask detection becoming daily epidemic prevention matters, maintaining social distance is extremely significant as well. Through the LILIN Aida detection system, people can calculate the social density and use it with alarm notifications, if an area exceeds the density threshold. Moreover, the LILIN COVID-19 solution has a wide range of applications in different sectors, including schools, public transportation systems, offices, retail and more. By doing so, extensive safety measures can combat COVID-19, providing the public with intelligent epidemic prevention solutions, through innovative AI detection systems.

The unprecedented global impact of COVID-19 has taken its toll on all of us, but as cases of the virus thankfully recede, employers are now forced to confront how they can enable a safe return to work for employees. For many employers, this means they will have to carry out a COVID-19 risk assessment, redesign workspaces to maintain social distances, carry out more frequent cleaning, manage the transmission risk and find alternatives to touch-based security devices. Protecting workplace occupants in any emergency requires preparation and clear communication. This is especially critical in a health crisis involving an infectious disease. These are some of the essential best practices that could help organisations reduce the impact on their employees and operations during this pandemic. 1. Use a visitor management system With a visitor management system, organisations have a single source of real-time and historical insights into who is, or was recently, in the workplace. This is especially important because of the need to perform contact tracing should anyone in the organisation show symptoms of COVID-19, meaning everyone they have been in contact with needs to be contacted and asked to isolate. Yet still, first impressions are made at the front desk or lobby, where the visitor experience needs to be a positive one. At the same time, though, any emergency event requires that there be strict control over who is entering the workplace. This policy also needs to be clearly communicated to visitors. Doing this minimises risk to visitors as well as the workforce. In addition to delivering a high-quality visitor experience, the ideal visitor management system must: Enable organisations to meet regulatory compliance mandates and facilitate check-in at a self-service kiosk to minimise wait times. Customise the visitor experience to support specific security needs, such as accelerating and simplifying check-in or requiring additional security pre-checks. Automate compliance as it relates to visitor access rules with historical visit reports. 2. Pre-check questions at visitor registration kiosks Organisations can strengthen security at the registration kiosk using a flexible, enterprise-grade visitor management system to add visitor sign-in steps. This has proven successful in the past when used to control the spread of infectious disease during an outbreak. An example of this is a U.S. children's hospital which managed to reduce facility infection rates by 25 percent over a two-year period using a commercial, off-the-shelf physical identity and access management (PIAM) solution from HID Global. The solution provides two particularly important capabilities that can be used by organisations to protect their workplace from the uncontrolled spread of an infectious disease: Enhance visitor registration policy with additional mandatory questions to help identify any visitors who may need other screenings. Extend the visitor registration kiosk with a mandatory pop-up asking further questions during visitor check-in. 3. Understand who has visited your workplace Successful controlling the spread of infection throughout a facility requires the ability to automatically maintain an auditable trail of activity. This can be done using an enterprise-grade visitor management system that makes it easy to retrieve historical visit reports. This provides a timeline of who was in the workplace, and when they were there. Key features include: A single dashboard providing useful visitor insights at your fingertips. Historical reports that provide visitor details including location and contact information, all in compliance with General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and other privacy regulations. 4. Clearly communicate how infection risks can be reduced Global organisations must actively communicate with visitors and employees on the outbreak of infectious diseases and follow best practices outlined by the World Health Organization (WHO). Here are several things organisations can do in this area to help maintain a safe and healthy workplace: Re-enforce and communicate WHO best practices with guideline posters in the front lobby and throughout the workplace. Add posters that also encourage regular and thorough washing of hands. Encourage everyone to cough or sneese into their shirt sleeve in their flexed elbow or cover their mouth and nose with a tissue. Encourage everyone to keep a relatively safe distance from each other and use alternatives to handshakes when saying hello. Organisations must contend with a variety of workplace challenges during the outbreak of an infectious disease. These challenges can be solved with best practices that include a comprehensive visitor management system that automates critical check-in policies and maintains an auditable trail of visitor activity.  

Many venues are using access control, video surveillance systems, sensors, and additional hardware solutions as part of a broader security strategy. By utilising so many disparate systems, corporate security teams are left with information “silos” that create inefficiencies and hamper communication. This abundance of hardware has left teams with too much data or too many tools, to manage effectively. Armored Things offers a software solution. The company’s “spatial intelligence platform” currently collects more data than other security intelligence solutions, utilising a broader range of sources and fusing data together rather than integrating it. The platform currently focuses on taking in data from WiFi, access control, and video surveillance systems and applying machine learning to deliver customers features such as real-time predictive analytics to prevent incidents like bottlenecks or overcrowding. Spatial Intelligence is an approach to physical security that enables users to collect, manage, and interpret data in a single platform. Combine machine learning with data The term can best be used to describe how digital transformation has affected physical security. Spatial Intelligence in its infancy looked like video surveillance data combined with machine learning to produce video analytics. The spatial intelligence solutions of today can combine machine learning with data of any source, type, and size to deliver value across a large organisation, not just the security team, says the company. Armored Things’ Spatial Intelligence platform unifies data from information silos to support data-driven decisions around operations and security. By fusing data from multiple sources, we can produce more consistent and useful insights for our customers” A suite of analytics, reporting and visualisation tools helps customers gain a real-time understanding of people and flow in their space. By removing the guesswork of everyday decisions, the product enables customers to make data-driven decisions at a moment’s notice, according to the company. Armored Things is more than a data management tool. “By fusing data from multiple sources (rather than only cameras or only WiFi), we can produce more consistent, accurate, and useful insights for our customers,” says Kevin Davis, Chief Security Officer at Armored Things. "Being able to collect the data is the first step, but turning it into actionable intelligence is where Armored Things excels.” IP cameras and other IoT-enabled devices The range of data sources includes IP cameras and other IoT-enabled devices and even outside data sources like bus schedules and weather reports. Armored Things has built a team of public safety and technical experts with the mission to keep people safe where they live, work, and play. By leveraging emerging technology to enhance physical security, the company built the software-centric Spatial Intelligence Platform for large organisations to enhance the safety and operations of their space. Schools and education facilities are among the customers that can benefit. The leadership at Armored Things cares deeply about school safety, so the recent epidemic of campus violence has definitely been a large topic of conversation, according to the company. “By delivering our products to a greater number of customers, Armored Things hopes to continue making schools a safe place to learn and gather,” says Davis. Recently, there was a significant bottleneck lasting nearly 30 minutes at the Syracuse-Clemson football game. Unifying data into one platform Digital transformation is disrupting the way our customers think about physical security,” Using Armored Things technology and providing real-time data to security and operations personnel could have identified the bottleneck as it began to form. This would have notified relevant personnel, who could have taken steps to mitigate the problem before it turned into a security risk. Keeping the security infrastructure simple is imperative to success. Integrating a software solution into the security strategy shouldn’t complicate existing operations, says the company. “Armored Things Spatial Intelligence Platform can bring your security and operations into focus by unifying all of your data into one platform for ease of use,” says Davis. For this reason, the team chose to integrate not only with customers’ existing security infrastructure but with non-traditional data sources (e.g. WiFi, event schedules, ticketing) as well. “By combining and analysing a more diverse dataset, Armored Things can help our customers make better decisions with deeper data-driven insights,” says Davis. "Digital transformation is disrupting the way our customers think about physical security,” says Davis. “As a team, our aim is to help our customers adapt to the digital age, as they transition from hardware to software-centric security solutions. Fostering organisational change is difficult, and our team hopes to make the transition process easier for our customers.”

Security is more-than-ever linked to consumer electronics, especially in the residential/smart home market. CES 2018 in Las Vegas is therefore brimming with news that will have a direct impact on the security market, today and especially looking into the future. Products for the future of security   CES is a giant trade show for consumer electronics with 2.75 million net square feet of exhibitor space and featuring more than 3,900 exhibitors, including 900 startups - in contrast, ISC West has some 1,000 exhibitors. During the week-long show welcoming 170,000-plus attendees from 150 countries, more than 20,000 new products are being launched. The products incorporate ingredient technologies such as artificial intelligence and 5G that will also be familiar elements as the future of the security industry unfolds. Familiar players at security shows also have a presence at CES, and many consumer technologies on display offer a glimpse of what’s ahead for security The areas of consumer electronics and security are closely intertwined. For example, Apple recently expanded near-field communication (NFC) support to include the NDEF (NFC Data Exchange Format), which will likely accelerate the adoption of smartphones for access control credentialing. In another recent development, Amazon acquired Blink, a home security camera startup that offers wireless home security systems. The acquisition aligns with Amazon’s effort to offer more home devices. Key security technologies at CES 2018 Familiar players at security shows also have a presence at CES. For example, Bosch is highlighting its “Simply. Connected” portfolio of smart city technology to transform security as well as urban mobility, air quality and energy efficiency. Many consumer technologies on display offer a glimpse of what’s ahead for security. Are Panasonic’s 4K OLEDs with HDR10+ format or Sony’s A8F OLED televisions a preview of the future of security control room monitors? At CES, Johnson Controls is announcing support for Apple HomeKit now offered in their DSC iotega wireless security and automation solution. Consumers can manage both their security system and also other home automation abilities using Apple’s Home app, or Siri on their iPhone, iPad or Apple Watch. Interlogix is announcing new features and components of its UltraSync SmartHome system, including hands-free voice control, high-definition cameras, an LTE cellular module and soon-to-be-released doorbell camera. The areas of consumer electronics and security are closely intertwined Developments in crime awareness ADT has a high profile at CES, including the launch of its ADT Go mobile app, equipped with 24/7 emergency response from ADT’s live monitoring agents and backed by Life360’s location technology, providing emergency response, family connectivity, safety assistance and crime awareness.  ADT is also unveiling a video doorbell and expanding its monitoring to cybersecurity. IC Realtime is introducing Ella, a cloud-based deep-learning search engine that augments surveillance systems with natural language search capabilities across recorded video footage. Ella enables any surveillance or security cameras to recognise objects, colours, people, vehicles and animals. Ella was designed using the technology backbone of Camio, a startup founded by ex-Googlers who designed a simpler way to apply searching to streaming video feeds. It’s a “Google for video:” Users can type in queries such as “white truck” to find every relevant video clip. Smarter homes and smarter computers Do-it-yourself smart home security company Abode Systems announces iota, an all-in-one system giving customers more freedom and flexibility to build out and monitor their smart home. The new form factor has a built-in full-HD resolution camera enabling customers to see and hear what’s going on in their home 24/7 while a built-in gateway supports hundreds of devices to make homes more convenient, safer and more secure. There is also support for Apple HomeKit. Highly programmable and high-performance platforms will no doubt play a role in the future of video surveillance systems in our market  The Z-Wave Alliance will host 30-plus leading smart home brands in the Z-Wave pavilion at CES. A full walk-through home will demonstrate different brands working together to create one cohesive smart home experience. Sigma Designs unveils its 700-Series Z-Wave platform, including numerous performance and technology enhancements in energy-efficiency and RF performance. Personal protection in attendance Self-defence product company SABRE will debut a combination pepper spray with dual sound-effect personal alarm that “alternates between the traditional wailing sound and a primal scream, while a strobe blinks 19 times per second to disorient assailants.” SABRE’s Modern Fake Security Camera includes “sleek, realistic design to deter would-be thieves.” Chip maker Ambarella is introducing the CV1 4K Stereovision Processor with CFflow Computer Vision Architecture. The chip combines environmental perception with advances in deep neural network processing for a variety of applications, including video security cameras and fully autonomous drones. At CES, applications will focus on automotive uses, including advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS), self-driving, electronic mirror and surround view systems. The highly programmable and high-performance platform will no doubt play a role in the future of video surveillance systems in our market. A full walk-through home will demonstrate different brands working together to create one cohesive smart home experience Extending home security and efficiency  The Ring whole-house security ecosystem creates a “Ring of Security” around homes and neighbourhoods. Products include “Stick Up” indoor/outdoor security cameras, integrated LED lighting, a “Ring Alarm” integrated bundle for $199 including a base station, keypad, contact sensor, and Z-Wave extender. “Ring Protect Plans” include 24/7 professional monitoring. The “Streety” phone app, from Vivint Smart Home, extends home security into the neighbourhood. Streety makes it easy for neighbours to monitor neighbourhood activity through a network of shared residential cameras. They can keep an eye on kids, cars and property through live video feeds and use recorded video clips to investigate incidents. A new device making its debut at CES is the Walker “commercialised biped robot,” from UBTECH Robotics, which provides a complete home butler service and is designed to ease the day-to-day operations of a busy home or office. The varied of functions includes video surveillance monitoring, security patrol monitoring, motion detection and “instant alarm,” as well as dancing and playing games with children. The company says Walker will “bridge the gap between technologies that were once only available in scientific research institutions and everyday people.”

82% of schools and colleges in both the US and Northern Europe see a potential role for CCTV/video monitoring systems in supporting a safe return to face-to-face teaching in school buildings and across further education college campuses, following the pandemic. Many schools and colleges have already adapted their video monitoring systems. For example, half (50%) of all those in charge of these systems had already adapted their existing video systems to help manage social distancing. A further 34% planned to use their systems for this purpose within the next 12 months.  Video monitoring systems The AVA Security Education Sector Security Survey provides a wealth of data and insight linked to how Operations, Security, and IT directors and managers within educational establishments in the US, Norway, Sweden, and the UK, are adapting their video monitoring or CCTV systems in the wake of the pandemic. Nearly four of every 10 (38%) educational institutions were already using their video monitoring systems to trace all student, staff, and visitor movements in, out, and around their premises and grounds to protect everyone from infection. A further 46% planned to configure these systems for this same purpose within the next 12 months. Safe-specific video analytics Nearly a third (29%) was already using their existing video systems to help provide temperature level health checks at some building entrances. A further 43% planned to enable temperature checking via their CCTV systems within the next year. Interestingly, 41% had already deployed their video systems for reporting on class or lecture hall occupancy levels and people density levels in retail areas, dining facilities, and other leisure areas where students congregate. A further 41% said they were planning to add this capability via their video systems over the next 12 months. Contactless access control The education sector is a  deployer of facial recognition analytics in existing cameras  Mask detection analytics is also being widely deployed in US and Northern Europe’s schools and colleges: 35% had already deployed video analytics software now available for alerting security staff when teachers or students are inside a building but not wearing a mask. A further 31% planned to deploy mask detection analytics within the next 12 months. However, the education sector is a more cautious deployer of facial recognition analytics in existing cameras to enable visual identification and contactless access control in the interests of reducing COVID infection via card touch-in gates. Only 22 percent of schools and colleges have deployed facial recognition to date, although this is set to more than double as 29% over the next 12 months. Reduced VMS costs The biggest challenge of supporting all these changes appears to be paying for them: 31% of those in charge of video monitoring systems had already seen a significant reduction in budgets available for upgrading and improving video monitoring capabilities in the last year. A further 29% had seen a small reduction in budgets over the same timeframe. A further 8% thought fresh budget cuts were likely in 2021. Cybersecurity has become a key IT priority As IT, Operations, and Security staff have had to run systems as well as teaching remotely during the pandemic, there has been an increased focus on cybersecurity to protect access to vital data and online learning resources.  Just in the last few weeks, the University of Hertfordshire experienced a major cyberattack which led to the shutting down of key online learning apps including Zoom for students enrolled there. Over a third (35%) of educational institutions’ decision-makers questioned thought it ‘very likely’ that they would need to place a ‘larger focus on cybersecurity for all devices and applications that are networked’ as one impact of the pandemic. A further 48% thought an increased cybersecurity focus was ‘likely’. Linked to this, 27% of directors and managers running video security systems in schools and colleges saw an improvement to the video ‘system’s resilience and back-up systems/procedures’ as a ‘High Priority’ improvement that they needed to implement to protect video data this year, while a further 44% saw it as ‘Somewhat a Priority’. Smarter, easier to use video systems There was some disquiet about the quality of existing video systems’ core capabilities, the Ava Security research found. For example, 29% thought it was a ‘High Priority’ to improve the speed of finding and retrieving video evidence after a security or safety incident. A further 40% saw it as ‘Somewhat a Priority’ to improve the systems’ retrieval capabilities to find ‘required footage of incidents easier and quicker. It currently takes too long.’ Further, 22% saw the need for ‘better integration between video monitoring camera systems and other security-related systems, such as access control or alarm systems’ as a ‘High Priority’, while over half (57%) saw wider security systems integration as ‘Somewhat a Priority’ now. Nearly two-thirds (66%) of video monitoring system decision-makers in the education sector were keen to make their video monitoring systems ‘more intelligent, using video analytics to support better post-event decision-making’ – placing this improvement as either a ‘High Priority’ or ‘Somewhat a Priority’. Cloud on the horizon 73% of the education sector is experiencing accelerated cloud migration Others were more focused on Cloud Migration of more IT Systems. Over half (51%) confirmed that their cloud migration plans had been accelerated in 2020/21 and a further 32% confirmed that a new budget had already been allocated for moving more services into the cloud in the financial year 2020/21. That means that altogether (net) 73% of the education sector is experiencing accelerated cloud migration. Linked to this, the same study uncovered that 58% found ‘adoption of Video Surveillance as a Service (VSaaS) i.e., moving their video monitoring system into the cloud’, as a ‘net priority’ for improving and optimising their video monitoring systems looking forward. VSaaS selection criteria For the 82% of all education respondents actively considering VSaaS options right now, there were many criteria determining provider selection. Nearly nine out of 10 net (87%) considering VSaaS right now, agreed with the statement ‘It must have very strong cybersecurity, including end-to-end encryption from the camera to the cloud.’ The VSaaS selected must also offer a reduction in the ‘Total Cost of Ownership of our video monitoring system’, according to 48% of educational institutions considering migration to VSaaS. Further, 45% of decision-makers questioned insisted on greater ease of use, supporting the statement ‘It must be configurable and operable by non-IT people’. Third-party cameras While 24% of education sector decision-makers considering VSaaS, said it was critical that the provider was not headquartered in mainland China. A net 80% of video monitoring system decision-makers in the education sector also considered it important that the VSaaS selected ‘must allow us to continue using our existing third party cameras which we have already installed, we don’t want to rip & replace any equipment.' A net 80% considering VSaaS also confirmed ‘It must allow us to view their directly attached cloud cameras alongside our third-party cameras on the same interface’. Further, the same number of respondents (net 80%) considered it net important (either ‘very’ or ‘quite important’) that the VSaaS ‘must allow us to use our existing Video Management Software (VMS) or provide the same functionality as we get from our VMS’. Latest analytic capabilities An even higher number, net 84%, regarded it as important that the VSaaS selected ‘must enable us to run the latest video analytics capabilities such as occupancy levels for social distance management (in a room), noise analytics (e.g., breaking glass, screaming, yelling etc), people and vehicle search, object searching and colour searching’. Balance of power The Ava study also explored whether the events of the last year had prompted changes in terms of who looks after the management of video monitoring systems. There was some evidence in the education sector that as CCTV has increasingly been migrated onto the network, IT departmental control is increasing. According to the study, nearly a third (31%) of schools and colleges’ video systems passed more control of their video monitoring systems to their IT department – taking the total percentage of video systems run by IT in the education sector to 39%. However, security and/or facilities management still holds the balance of power in the running of these systems with 50%, with 24% gaining responsibility for video monitoring during the pandemic. Only 4% of systems confirmed they had fully outsourced video system management and 7% confirmed that more of the management, upgrading, and running of their systems had been outsourced over the last year. Workspace management technologies Ava Security also found evidence that the education sector is an early adopter of other workspace technologies designed to make it easier for students to manage the use of school and college facilities while minimising the risk of COVID infection. For example, 52% of educational institutions captured in the Ava study expressed interest in offering staff and students the capability of remote pre-booking of working areas in libraries, classrooms, and lecture halls and pre-registering students via mobile-ready apps. Nearly four out of every 10 people responsible for managing video monitoring in their school or college (38%) felt remote booking of extra cleaning of surfaces before or after classes would be a useful innovation. Cybersecurity is critical to VSaaS selection There is a strong determination to adapt existing school surveillance systems to new COVID-safe requirements" Vegard Aas, Head of Online Business at Ava Security, commented, “The fact that four out of five education sector video monitoring system decision-makers are already actively considering VSaaS and weighing up criteria for selection is very encouraging." “There is also clearly a strong determination to adapt existing school video surveillance systems to new COVID-safe requirements. And the fact that a third (32%) confirmed that a new budget had already been allocated for moving more services into the cloud this year provides significant scope for optimism as we enhance our VSaaS offering with Ava Cloud Connector for example, which enables those running systems to plug existing third party cameras into Ava’s open Aware Cloud platform.” Cloud Connector Ava Security recently launched its Cloud Connector offering to enable video security system owners easy and cost-effective transition of video security solutions to the cloud. This brings Ava’s advanced real-time video analytics and proactive security to existing surveillance cameras by integrating them with Ava’s open Aware Cloud platform. Ava’s Cloud Connector eliminates the need to rip and replace existing video security devices to directly reap the cost and operational efficiencies of a true cloud service.

Busy offices need convenient interior security for any private spaces. Not everyone should be reading the important memo on the CEO’s desk. But nobody wants to be left looking after the keys. At one co-working space in Barcelona, Code Handle® Door locks solve the problem. Augusta 29 supplies flexible office rentals to small companies and those without a permanent HQ, as well as services including mail handling, virtual assistants, and meeting room bookings. Part of their remit is to control access everywhere in a secure and efficient way, separating private from “public” areas around the workspace. Managers sought a keyless system; a secure, wire-free digital alternative to keys and access smartcards that would help them stand out in Spain’s booming co-working sector. Any solution for private offices and meeting rooms should enable them to achieve this as simply as possible without having to hand out and track many mechanical keys, as they had done in the past. No more lost keys Code Handle® Door locks enable Augusta 29 to offer their tenants simple, keyless locking. Clients gain convenient access to their rented offices via individual 4- to 6-digit PINs. With Code Handle’s optional auto-locking feature enabled, their offices are securely locked as soon as the door closes. There is no need for Augusta 29 staff— or anyone else— to manage physical keys, or for any wires or access control system. Administrators issue up to 9 different user PINs per lock, which they can cancel or change anytime. Keys are no longer lost or unreturned. Everything is digital. Easy to configure and program The main advantage for us is that users can go to the office with no keys, as it provides enough security" The project ran in two phases. After a successful 2015 installation of 13 Code Handle locks, managers rolled out a further 27 in 2020. Meeting rooms are fitted with Code Handle locks, making them more private. “The main advantage for us is that users can go to the office with no keys, as it provides enough security for our needs,” says Augusta 29’s CEO, Miguel Ángel Villota Mocho. Installation was straightforward. Retrofitting a Code Handle to almost any interior door requires two screws: the existing cylinder remains, with just a change of handle. “Code Handle locks are easy to configure and program,” he adds. Unlike push-button locks, Code Handle looks good, too: brushed steel and chrome styling offers a product design that “fits perfectly with the types of doors we have and the overall design of the business centre,” says Villota Mocho. With Code Handle Door, Augusta 29 retains the premium feel to its office interior.

e-BikePort has chosen Hanwha Techwin as the single-source provider of the video surveillance systems to be integrated with its autonomous, sustainable charging stations for electric-assisted bicycles and scooters. With city dwellers and workers throughout Europe being encouraged by governments to abandon their cars and use either public transport or bicycles to get to their destination, e-BikePorts provide a convenient way to re-charge light electric-assisted vehicles, as well as other electronic equipment, such as mobile phones and tablets. Secure lockers In addition to the recharging sockets, secure lockers are available to temporarily store helmets and clothes, whilst internet access is provided by an integrated Wi-Fi kiosk. Powered by solar panels and not requiring any civil engineering work, the environmentally friendly e-BikePorts can be quickly and easily installed in virtually any location, including education campuses, shopping centres, office complexes and campsites, as well as city centres. Wisenet Solution The bandwidth-friendly Wisenet QRN-410S supports H.265, H.264 and MJPEG compression Three vandal-resistant Wisenet XNF-8010RVM fisheye cameras are integrated into each e-BikePort, one of which is located in the middle of the station to constantly capture 360-degree images of any activity. The two other cameras are positioned on the side of the stations to provide 180-degree panoramic fields of view. The three high definition 4-megapixel cameras are powered by the e-BikePort’s solar panels during the day and by battery at night, as is the installed Wisenet QRN-410S network video recorder (NVR). The bandwidth-friendly Wisenet QRN-410S supports H.265, H.264 and MJPEG compression, as well as WiseStream II, a complementary compression technology unique to Hanwha Techwin which contributes to the ability of control room operators to view live or recorded images over a 4G network. Video surveillance system “The video surveillance system is playing a very important role in helping create a safe environment for station users and for protecting their personal belongings,” said Philippe Faye, the creator of the e-BikePort concept and a director of the company which manufacturers the stations in France. “We evaluated cameras and recording equipment from a number of manufacturers before choosing Hanwha Techwin as our partners. It proved to be an easy decision for us in that in addition to the ease of installation, high performance and reputation for reliability of the Wisenet products, we were also impressed with the technical advice and support we received from the locally based Hanwha Techwin team.“ First e-BikePort The first e-BikePort has been installed on the banks of the Vienna River within the City of Limoges in south-west France. Based on its popularity with users who, thanks to the city’s local authority, are able to use its facilities free of charge, it is expected that many more e-BikePorts are likely to be deployed across France and other towns and cities throughout Europe over the coming months.

A used car lot owner had re-occurring issues with intruders cutting holes in the perimeter fence during night-time hours and vandalising or burglarising the area. The intruders would not enter the small office building, so the security system was never triggered. The customer did own a video surveillance system and it would record criminal activity but it did not prevent or deter crime. Integrating motion detectors Using the existing intrusion alarm panel (Interlogix NX8-v2 panel) and the existing video system, the system integrator introduced two OPTEX Visual Verification Bridges and four OPTEX Redwall SIP-3020 Outdoor PIR motion detectors. The motion detectors were installed over the two main perimeter light poles pointing into the lot with IP cameras located directly above each of the motion detectors. Access to camera visual With the two Visual Verification Bridges installed, the integrator can provide operators immediate access to eight live cameras during every alarm event. The Redwall SIP-3020 provided up to 30m of distance coverage and 20m width, complete with anti-masking and vandal tampers. With this simple but effective solution, the integrator was able to provide their customer with immediate visual verification of alarm sensors, only when the alarm panel is armed. Wireless key fobs were provided so the dealer can arm and disarm the system from outside the gate helping to eliminate false alarms during arming and disarming. Reduced false alarms Since the completion of this installation, there have been several nuisance alarms caused by cats that were immediately disregarded. Due to the visual verification solution there was no intrusion and the client has not had any vandalism or crime since. Per the customer’s request, the OPTEX Bridge has been installed on three additional car lots.

National Bank of Umm Al Qaiwain (the Bank) is a Public Shareholding Company incorporated in Umm Al Qaiwain by Amiri Decree Number (1) on January 5, 1982, issued by His Highness, the Ruler of Umm Al Qaiwain and commenced its operations with effect from August 1, 1982. The Local government of Umm Al Qaiwain is the largest shareholder and promoter of the bank. The bank is engaged in providing retail and corporate banking services through a network of 14 branches in U.A.E. The Bank carries out Islamic banking operations through Islamic Banking window established in 2005 across its branch network. They were searching for a fool-proof solution that would help them in managing the Time-Attendance and overtime calculation. With offices spread over 14 locations in UAE, management of attendance data was a daunting task. Centralised attendance data management All manual work for report generation was eliminated outrightly, simplifying the salary procedure Thus, centralised attendance data management and maintaining a complete record of their employees were a part of their key requirements. Moreover, their payroll processing deployed a software - RAMCO, wherein the attendance data was manually entered. After a comprehensive discussion with the customer, Matrix offered a centralised platform - COSEC CENTRA, to manage all the data centrally. Door controllers - COSEC VEGA FAX installed in all the office entrances. These door controllers are integrated with the central platform that pushes the event data to the server. Furthermore, the Matrix platform is integrated with the payroll system - RAMCO. All manual work for report generation was eliminated outrightly, simplifying the salary procedure. After implementing Matrix solutions, NBQ witnessed drastic changes while following their processes. Customised attendance policy formation Effortless attendance management of multiple locations from the Head Office was prominently one of them. The shift allocation and shift correction processes were streamlined. Their solution included some advanced features like customised attendance policy formation and real item alert on attendance related event & auto-scheduled reporting. This, in turn, ensured efficient employee database management improving productivity. Products and solutions offered: COSEC VEGA FAX A complete Time-Attendance and Access Control solution with a blend of aesthetics, size, connectivity, reliability and ease-of-use. Designed for large enterprises with multi-location organisations. COSEC CENTRA PLT A web-enabled application server that controls the entire system from anywhere in the world. It is the heart of the entire solution and acts as a bridge between applications and the devices. COSEC CENTRA TAM An enterprise-grade solution, designed for organisations the Time-Attendance and Leave Management processes like recording entries and exits, salary processing, etc.

The year 2020 is bound to be a special year with the outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) globally. The highly contagious disease has taken away many lives, especially in China, South Korea, Japan, and some countries in Europe and Middle East. Dahua Technology, a video-centric smart IoT solution and service provider, has been an early participant in the epidemic prevention and control in Asia, joining the global efforts in combating the virus to minimise the impact on mankind. Since sending its first batch of thermal cameras to the hardest-hit area Wuhan on January 24th, Dahua Body Temperature Monitoring Solution has been deployed in thousands of sites in China, including transportation hubs, commercial complexes, banks, and other places, and some are on the way to multiple countries in Asia. Dahua Body Temperature Monitoring Solution Hongkong, a financial capital in Asia, also suffers from the COVID-19 epidemic situation. Dahua Thermal Solution has been applied in some local business complexes, banks, company parks, and other places. To enable a safe and smooth work resumption recently, quite a few major corporations have been using Dahua Body Temperature Monitoring Solution in their headquarters and subsidiaries to improve their workplace safety, such as Paul Y. Engineering Group Limited. Dahua Body Temperature Monitoring Solution helped us detect a couple of suspected cases in a few hours" Dahua Body Temperature Monitoring Solution monitors the body temperature of their employees, handling thousands of staff flow every day. Compare to the traditional way of body temperature measurement - a forehead thermometer, using Dahua Body Temperature Monitoring Solution will significantly improve speed and accuracy, and at the same time, help reduce cross-infection via non-contact monitoring. Faster body temperature measurement To monitor the temperature of 5,000 people, it will take about 4.2 hours using a forehead thermometer, as it takes at least 3 seconds to measure a person. However, it takes only 30 minutes if one uses Dahua Thermal Solution, which monitors 3 people per second. It also features a high accuracy of ±0.3℃ . “Dahua Body Temperature Monitoring Solution helped us detect a couple of suspected cases in just a few hours of operation, which we greatly appreciate,” a Hong Kong user commented. Dahua Body Temperature Monitoring Solution has been on the front line since the very beginning, helping with the epidemic prevention and control in airports, railway stations, hospitals, schools, and other sites all over Asia. Featuring high accuracy, high efficiency, strong adaptability and easy deployment, Dahua Body Temperature Monitoring Solution can also be applied to all kinds of entrances and exits, kitchens and kindergartens.

Public spaces provide soft targets and are often the sites of terrorist or active shooter attacks. Public spaces, by definition, require easy accessibility and unrestricted movement. Given that openness, what security technologies can provide real results? We asked this week’s Expert Panel Roundtable: How is technology innovation impacting the security of public spaces?

We asked this week’s Expert Panel: What are the limitations on where video cameras can be placed because of privacy? With hundreds of new cameras installed every day, the likelihood increases exponentially that a camera will be placed in a location where it violates privacy. In fact, threats to privacy are often among the largest objections when video surveillance is proposed, whether in a public area or in the workplace. Allaying fears about undermining privacy is a basic requirement to make such systems acceptable to the public. It’s a touchy subject, but one our Expert Panel is willing to address.

What lessons, if any, are there to be learned from the recent attacks in Paris? Recent events in Paris highlight the deadly and changing face of terrorism in 2015. Two gunmen armed with Kalashnikov assault rifles attacked the Paris offices of satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo on 7 January, killing 12 people in all, including eight Charlie Hebdo employees and two national police officers. Two days later, the terrorism continued with a hostage crisis at a printing firm at Dammartin-en-Goel and at a kosher supermarket in Paris, where four hostages were murdered before the assailant was killed by police. The world has been shocked by the events, and many are evaluating what we can learn from them to help us prevent or minimise such future attacks. We asked our panel if there are lessons to be learned specific to the security industry.