Surveillance systems

RT LTA Systems Ltd. – a world-class designer, developer and manufacturer of aerostats for use in intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance and communications applications – will present the latest capabilities of the SkyStar aerostat family, at DSEI 2019. RT's Skystar™ family of aerostats includes the SkyStar 110, SkyStar 120, SkyStar 180, and SkyStar 330. The recent improvements on the SkyStar aerostats minimise the drift and drag, which normally occur due to ordinary aerodynamic changes. This will further enhance the aerostat availability. Low operational and maintenance costs Ideal for defence, security, border control and HLS missions, the SkyStar aerostat systems are deployed by many forces around the world and have already provided more than two million operational hours. The SkyStar aerostat systems are operational under extreme weather conditions with low operational and maintenance costs, and offering over 85% availability in any given area. "These enhanced capabilities of the SkyStar family have been developed to meet the needs of our customers around the world who require an operational system at any given time,” says Rami Shmueli, CEO of RT LTA Systems. “We have recently completed successful field trials of these new capabilities, including testing them under severe weather conditions. SkyStar is one of the worlds' most popular aerostats, with more than 100 systems sold and operated worldwide.”

Genetec Inc. (‘Genetec’), a technology provider of unified security, public safety, operations, and business intelligence announces that Stratocast™, its cloud-based video surveillance-as-a-service (VSaaS), powered by the Microsoft Azure cloud-computing platform, now supports new camera models from Bosch, MOBOTIX and EUKLIS. Stratocast is designed to meet the needs of organisations that require a reliable and cost-effective video surveillance solution without the expenses and complexities typically associated with installing and managing on-premises surveillance systems. It offers a true cloud solution for enterprise and small business customers that want to easily deploy video surveillance in smaller footprint and remote locations. Video management system Stratocast also supports hybrid-cloud deployments for users wishing to keep certain on-premise storage Stratocast also supports hybrid-cloud deployments for users wishing to keep certain on-premise storage and infrastructure hardware while gradually transitioning everything to the cloud. Thanks to the Stratocast open architecture, the portfolio of supported devices is also continually expanding and will now support cameras from Bosch, EUKLIS and MOBOTIX, in addition to existing support for hundreds of models from Axis and Vivotek.   “A driving force behind Stratocast is to deliver a cloud-based video management system based on an open architecture with no need for a local bridge or recorders. At Genetec, we want to offer users a non-proprietary solution in the cloud so that they have the flexibility to integrate a variety of cameras to address their specific needs,” said Oktay Yildiz, Product Line Manager - Stratocast, Genetec. Cloud-based infrastructure “With Stratocast, users can transition to a cloud-based infrastructure while potentially leveraging their existing investment in camera hardware or choosing to install new cameras from a variety of supported brands.” “The growing interest for video surveillance in the cloud is a key driver in partner integration to the Stratocast platform,” said Georges Tannous, Director of Global Alliances at Genetec. “We are excited about partner participation and these new integrations by Bosch, EUKLIS, and MOBOTIX and we are looking forward to adding more brands and models as they become available.”

Snap Network Surveillance, PTY LTD (‘Snap Surveillance’), the developer of the world’s first and only AI-based intelligent tracking software for large-scale security camera networks, will be participating as an ecosystem development partner in the SAST booth #10037 at the upcoming GSX expo in Chicago, September 10-12, 2019. SAST (Security and Safety Things) is a Bosch-owned IoT startup, leading an open Internet of Things (IoT) ecosystem initiative. This includes creation of an open OS platform for Smart Cameras and an App store for software on the platform, with a focus on delivering enhanced security and safety. AI-based security apps The need to track people and objects from camera to camera is becoming critical" Through their revolutionary open IoT platform for security cameras, SAST enables seamless management of networked cameras — by unleashing a new generation of AI-based security apps. Snap is excited to be one of the initial development partners. “Snap Surveillance’s support of the SAST ecosystem provides an ideal platform for video pursuit of people and objects moving about environments such as airports or large retail establishments,” stated Henry Detmold, CTO, Snap Surveillance. “In today’s larger camera-count environments, the need to track people and objects from camera to camera is becoming critical and with SAST support for learning on their cameras, our mutual customers will be able to get the benefits without needing a big investment is server capacity.” Intelligent tracking solution Snap Surveillance’s AI-enabled intelligent tracking solution will be on display at the SAST GSX booth - showcasing our solution that is 10x faster than human-alone subject tracking while also removing operator fallibility. This solution is essential for improving the speed of operating a security camera network This solution is essential for improving the speed, performance, and accuracy of operating a security camera network. An overarching benefit of deploying Snap Surveillance’s Force Multiplier (FMx) software in a SAST ecosystem is that image analysis running on the camera can be more efficient and accurate than on a server, which results in faster and more accurate learning of the camera relationships. Camera-count environments Further benefits are anticipated as the SAST ecosystem grows, with other development partners able to utilise the camera networking information from Snap’s machine learning algorithms. Snap Surveillance will also be exhibiting in its own booth in the GSX Disruption District, #3417. As a Gold Partner with Milestone Systems, Snap Surveillance will be demonstrating its patented AI-based system for learning camera relationships, and showcase how easy it is to track suspects or objects around large camera-count environments, removing the stress of knowing which camera feed will be needed next.

Digital Watchdog® (DW®), the pioneer in digital recorders, surveillance cameras and related management software, announces the release of our new SiteWatch™ and NightWatch™ lines of motion detectors and illuminators. The new products are the perfect additions to any surveillance system that requires robust external lighting and cutting-edge motion detection. All DW® detectors and illuminators are fully integrated with DW Spectrum® IPVMS and can be controlled and managed remotely from the software. Enhanced security applications The DW-DTLA500 laser sensor knows the exact position of an object and offers adaptive alarm settings The DW-DTPIRIPW and DW-DTMWIPW SiteWatch™ motion detectors are quad-element passive infra-red (PIR) external movement detectors that combine advanced signal processing and unique optical systems. The detector’s quad PIR sensing module is equipped with two (2) volt free and two (2) negative switched outputs with a programmable beam range of up to 98.5ft (30m), avoiding boundary overspill and offering truly exceptional resistance to false alarms. The DW-DTLA500 SiteWatch™ laser sensor monitors and locates intrusions for enhanced security applications or where physical fences are not desirable or possible. The 1640ft (500m) sensor works without reflectors and reacts in fractions of a second. The DW-DTLA500 laser sensor knows the exact position of an object and offers adaptive alarm settings. The NightWatch™ outdoor illuminators are IP-enabled Infra-Red (IR) (DW-ILIRIP850, DW-ILIRIP940) and White-Light LED (DW-ILWLIPM) illuminators. Effective perimeter protection The illuminators incorporate the latest surface mount LEDs, combined with enhanced optical output and outstanding reliability to provide users with smart lighting solutions for a wide range of applications. The NightWatch™ lighting includes an interchangeable lens pack to deliver a variety of angles out of the box; this provides users with the flexibility to create different elliptical beam profiles to suit specific lifestyle requirements. The illuminators can include up to three illuminators as an ideal lighting solution for any of DW’s surveillance cameras The illuminators can include up to three illuminators as an ideal lighting solution for any of DW’s surveillance cameras, including panoramic multi-sensor and fisheye models. “With the addition of SiteWatch™ IP-enabled motion detectors, we extend the power of DW Spectrum‘s robust rules engine with effective perimeter protection,” said Patrick Kelly, Director of IP Sales, DW®. “When combined with the NightWatch™ line of IP-enabled high-performance illuminators, which provide high-quality lighting, we achieve maximum image quality and powerful deterrence capabilities. SiteWatch™ and NightWatch™ are a natural complement to our MEGApix® line of cameras.” SiteWatch Features External movement detector Quad element PIR sensor Passive infra-red (PIR) and microwave detection technologies Two (2) volt-free outputs Two (2) negative-switched outputs Up to 98.5ft (30m) detection (DW-DTPIRIPW and DW-DTMWIPW) Up to 1640ft (500m) detection (DW-DTLA500) Exceptional resistance to false alarms Advanced signal processing, quad pyro and optical systems Trigger lights and smart devices when movement is detected 10º - 70º detection angle (DW-DTPIRIPW and DW-DTMWIPW) Direct integration with DW Spectrum® IPVMS Intruder notifications Set up lux-level events to operate blinds and curtains Environmental temperature monitoring to help manage internal air conditioning and heating 20 fully adaptable alarm zones to meet any situation (DW-DTLA500) IP alarms and relay output (DW-DTLA500) Alarm notifications (DW-DTLA500) Web Interface built-in PoE class 1 and 2 and DC48V IP environmental-rated housing NightWatch Features Infra-Red (IR) and White-light LED illuminators Interchangeable lens pack to deliver a variety of angles out of the box Create different elliptical beam profiles Coverage distance up to 374’ (115m) (DW-ILIRIP940, DW-ILWLIPM) Coverage distance up to 614’ (187m) (DW-ILIRIP850) Configure lights to switch on when motion is detected Activate white-light to deter intruders (DW-ILWLIPM) Adjustable photocell and illumination levels 850nm – 940nm wavelength (DW-ILIRIP850, DW-ILIRIP940) Visible Spectrum wavelength (400- 750nm) (DW-ILWLIPM) Web Interface built-in High-power Dual-Core™ LEDs, with advanced, current limited, integral control circuitry IP66 environmental-rated dust-tight and water-resistant IK 09-rated impact-resistant

This year’s Global Security Exchange in Chicago will see Synectics (booth 2088) demonstrate why the powerful capabilities of its Synergy 3 command and control platform were selected for a next-generation mission control hub for one of Europe's largest urban rail networks. With a comprehensive integration ecosystem combining security, surveillance, and operational sub-systems – through features like workflows, workforce management, cloud-based evidence management, and mobile applications – Synectics solutions are used by organisations worldwide to bring simplicity and control into a single unified platform. Drawing attention to Synergy 3 functionality Our focus at this event is on drawing attention to the exciting, and ground-breaking, functionality within Synergy 3"Greg Alcorn, Divisional Director at Synectics, explained: “More and more customer objectives are inextricably linked to broader data management goals critical to their entire security and operational infrastructure. Our focus at this event is on drawing attention to the exciting, and increasingly ground-breaking, functionality within Synergy 3 that our customers are already using to achieve these goals.” Synectics boasts a global project portfolio in applications where security and surveillance are paramount, including:  Transportation – developing a solution to enable smart, centralised management of network-wide safety, service, and security for S-Bahn Berlin GmbH, a subsidiary of Deutsche Bahn AG. Aviation – delivering an Airport Operational Command & Control Center (AOCC) for Jakarta's Soekarno-Hatta International Airport. Power Utilities – providing a federated security and surveillance system with a centralised Alarm Receiving Center (ARC) for a major European power distributor. Gaming – supporting one of the largest surveillance projects in North America with a comprehensive command and control solution for Encore Boston Harbor. Addressing critical operational challenges Synergy 3 is an ever-evolving platform that addresses customers' critical operational challenges"Alcorn continued: “Tailoring our solutions to meet the business needs of our customers is one of the reasons behind our success, and Synergy 3 is an ever-evolving platform that addresses their critical operational challenges. Meeting these is where we excel as a company and forms the basis for how we innovate our products, through deep customer engagement, to address specific market segment and business problems.” Synectics is a pioneer in the design, integration, control, and management of advanced surveillance technology and networked security systems for environments where security is operationally critical. With over 30 years’ experience, they have gained an intimate understanding of the daily pressures, priorities, and challenges faced by their customers in Oil & Gas, Gaming, Transport & Infrastructure, and High Security & Public Space.

Vaion, just a few months out of stealth mode, today announces its launch into the North American market with comprehensive demonstrations at GSX 2019. Vaion will exhibit in booth #1819 with a rapidly expanding commercial team ready to provide custom demos. Visitors will examine real-world scenarios which showcase how machine learning delivers operator efficiency, provides a rich understanding of surroundings, and offers new operational benefits for improved ROI. Embedded machine learning Vaion quickly deployed Proof of Concepts (PoCs) across a range of verticals with immediate results Vaion seeks to answer a single question: what if companies could detect threats at their earliest stages, mitigating risk instead of merely responding to security threats when they occur? It’s the basis behind Vaion’s innovative end-to-end security system, which brings together video, hardware, and software with embedded machine learning for proactive, rather than reactive, security operations. Highlighting early customer and partner demands for new experiences, Vaion quickly deployed Proof of Concepts (PoCs) across a range of verticals with immediate results. Commercial building operators are taking advantage of intelligent maps with Vaion’s Smart Presence™. The operational insights are providing the opportunity for enhanced workplace productivity and energy management based on occupancy awareness. K-12 administrators are finding Vaion’s real-time anomaly detection to be vital for complete school security. Vaion’s real-time detection gives schools the opportunity to take immediate action in stopping imminent threats from escalating. Healthcare facility operators are using interactive maps powered by Smart Presence™ to safely monitor patients, visitors, and employees. Vaion’s Smart Search™ allows operators to quickly identify a situation and person of interest. Retailers are benefiting from the granular awareness of the people present in their store. Heat mapping customer behaviour provides multi-layered solutions beyond strengthening security, and understanding customer activity helps improve the customer experience and increase sales. Enabling surveillance solutions Vaion’s active PoC engagements are an essential step in the company’s continued growth, with real, on-the-ground opportunities to test these advanced solutions and guarantee that Vaion products deliver on what they promise. Ambarella, a chipset manufacturer specialising in intelligent security applications, can attest to the viability of Vaion’s PoC solutions. Machine learning and integrated analytics are set to transform conventional video surveillance systems" Vaion uses Ambarella’s SoC for its ability to deliver powerful deep neural network processing, image processing, and video encoding. “Machine learning and integrated analytics are set to transform conventional video surveillance systems. Vaion’s advanced neural network-based algorithms running on Ambarella’s CVflow AI processors enable surveillance solutions that detect threats in their earliest stages and perform fast and effective investigations,” said Chris Day, VP Marketing & Business Development at Ambarella. Integrated AI analytics At GSX 2019, Vaion’s North American market representatives will provide an up-close look at how integrated AI analytics are set to fundamentally disrupt traditional video surveillance systems. “We are excited to show how artificial intelligence differentiators can safeguard businesses, schools, and entire communities. The positive response received during our PoC engagements proves that our approach to video surveillance uniquely helps our customers react to threats before they escalate, delivers increased situational awareness, and helps reduce resolution time dramatically. Come get the whole picture at booth #1819,” said Tormod Ree, Vaion CEO.

Artificial intelligence (AI) is improving everyday solutions, driving efficiency in ways we never imagined possible. From self-driving cars to intelligent analytics, the far-reaching impacts of Deep Learning-based technology empower human operators to achieve results more effectively while investing fewer resources and less time. By introducing AI, solutions are not merely powered by data, but they also generate valuable intelligence. Systems which were once leveraged for a narrow, dedicated purpose, can suddenly be engaged broadly across an organisation, because the previously under-utilised data can be harnessed for enhancing productivity and performance. Video analytics software The video intelligence software processes and analyses video to detect all the people and objects that appear When it comes to physical security, for instance, video surveillance is a standard solution. Yet, by introducing AI-driven video analytics software, video data can be leveraged as intelligence in previously inaccessible ways. Here are some examples of how diverse organisations are using AI-based video intelligence solutions to enhance security and performance with searchable, actionable and quantifiable insights. Law enforcement relies on video surveillance infrastructure for extracting investigation evidence and monitoring people and spaces. Instead of manual video review and live surveillance – which is prone to human error and distraction – police can harness video content analysis to accelerate video investigations, enhance situational awareness, streamline real-time response, identify suspicious individuals and recognise patterns and anomalies in video. The video intelligence software processes and analyses video to detect all the people and objects that appear; identify, extract and classify them; and then index them as metadata that can be searched and referenced. Maintaining public safety For law enforcement, the ability to dynamically search video based on granular criteria is critical for filtering out irrelevant details and pinpointing objects of interest, such as suspicious persons or vehicles. Beyond accelerating video evidence review and extraction, police can leverage video analysis to configure sophisticated real-time alerts when people, vehicles or behaviours of interest are detected in video. Instead of actively monitoring video feeds, law enforcement can assess triggered alerts and decide how to respond. In this way, officers can also react faster to emergencies, threats and suspicious activity as it develops. Video analysis empowers cities to harness their video surveillance data as operational intelligence Empowering law enforcement to maintain public safety is important beyond the benefit of increasing security: A city with a reputation for effective, reliable law enforcement and enhanced safety is more likely to attract residents, visitors and new businesses, exponentially driving its economic development. Furthermore, in cities where law enforcement can work productively and quickly, time and human resources can be reallocated to fostering growth and building community. Video surveillance data Video analysis empowers cities to harness their video surveillance data as operational intelligence for optimising city management and infrastructure. When video data is aggregated over time, it can be visualised into dashboards, heatmaps and reports, so operators can identify patterns and more seamlessly detect anomalous behaviour. A city could, for instance, analyse the most accident-prone local intersection and assess the traffic patterns to reveal details such as where cars are dwelling and pedestrians are walking; the directional flows of traffic; and the demographic segmentations of the objects detected: Are cars lingering in no-parking zones? Are pedestrians using designated crosswalks – is there a more logical location for the crosswalk or traffic light? Do vehicles tend to make illegal turns – should police proactively deter this behaviour, or should the city plan new infrastructure that enables vehicles to safely perform these turns? Finally, does the rise in bike traffic warrant implementing dedicated biking lanes? With video intelligence, urban planners can answer these and other questions to facilitate local improvements and high quality of life. By leveraging the video insights about citywide traffic, public transit organisations can make data-driven decisions about scheduling and services Enhancing situational awareness Insight into traffic trends is also critical for transport companies, from public transit services to transportation hubs and airports. By leveraging the video insights about citywide traffic, public transit organisations can make data-driven decisions about scheduling and services. Analysing video surveillance around bus stops, for instance, can help these companies understand the specific hours per day people tend to dwell around bus stops. Correlating this information with transactional data for each bus line, bus schedules can be optimised based on demand for individual bus lines, shortening waiting times for the most popular routes. Similarly, the traffic visualisations and activity heatmaps derived from the video of major transit hubs, such as international airports and central stations, can be beneficial for increasing security, enhancing situational awareness, identifying causes of congestion, improving throughput and efficiency and, ultimately, solving these inefficiencies to provide a streamlined customer experience for travellers. Large education campuses Campus law enforcement can leverage video data to increase situational awareness and public safety Much like a city, large education campuses have internal transportation services, residential facilities, businesses and law enforcement, and video content analysis can support the campus in intelligently managing each of those business units, while also providing video intelligence to these individual groups. Campus law enforcement can leverage video data to increase situational awareness and public safety, driving real-time responses with the ability to make informed assessments and accelerating post-event investigations with access to easily extractable video data. When campuses are expanding or developing additional infrastructure, they can plan new crosswalks, traffic lights, roads, buildings and entrances and exits based on comprehensive video intelligence. By understanding where pedestrians and vehicles dwell, walk, cross or even violate traffic laws, the campus can inform construction projects and traffic optimisation. Countless business operations The campus can leverage video business intelligence to justify leasing pricing for different retailers across campus Finally, the campus can leverage video business intelligence to justify leasing pricing for different retailers across campus, demonstrating property values based on traffic trends that can be correlated with retailer point of sale data. Whether its empowering security, productivity or decision-making, the insights generated by AI-based technology can drive significant optimisation – especially when data is fused and cross-referenced across smart sensors and systems for even deeper intelligence. In the case of AI-backed video analytics, diverse organisations can harness video surveillance impactfully and dynamically. Whereas once video technology investments could be justified for their security value – with the introduction of AI capabilities – procurement teams can evaluate these solutions for countless business operations, because they offer broadly valuable intelligence. And video surveillance and analytics is merely one example of AI-driven solutions’ potential to disrupt business as we know it.

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.

Across the country, law enforcement officers are finding it increasingly difficult to respond to the near overwhelming number of calls coming from security alarms. Police departments commonly define a false alarm as a call, which upon investigation, shows no evidence of criminal activity, such as broken windows, forced doors, items missing, or people injured. While false alarms bog down police, they can also negatively impact customers and integrators. End users can expect hefty fines for false alarm responses, and when these customers receive large bills from the city, many turn to installers, dealers, and even manufacturers expecting them to accept the responsibility and pay the bill. What first brought the issue of alarm verification to your attention? It is crucial to both see a situation and concurrently listen to any corresponding sounds to gain full insight I’ve been aware of the problem of false alarms for about 5 years. I believed audio capture, through microphone deployment, could be an active part of the solution when used as a second source for indicating ‘out of the norm’ activity and as an equal component with the video surveillance technology. In 2015, I found similarly minded security professionals when introduced to the Partnership for Priority Verified Alarm Response. After reading PPVAR’s paper on ‘Audio Verified Alarms Best Practices; [April 2015],’ I knew that the Partnership was on to something important. In our lives, two of the five senses we count on day-in and day-out are sight and sound. It is crucial to both see a situation and concurrently listen to any corresponding sounds to gain full insight. What is the false alarm rate? In 2016, the International Association of Chiefs of Police reported that over 98 percent of all alarm calls in the United States were false. This number is obviously staggering, and something we need to work towards correcting. Why did this issue resonate so strongly with you? When I first investigated this issue, I was sure that the security industry would have already recognised this and was acting to ensure improved alarm verification, preferably through a combination of audio and video technologies. However, I quickly saw that this was not the case, or even close to the norm. I have questioned the rationale behind the lack of adoption and found the deployment of audio is often hindered by the concern of privacy. I’ve spearheaded many initiatives to explain the monitoring policies surrounding audio As CEO of Louroe Electronics, I’ve spearheaded many initiatives to explain the monitoring policies surrounding audio. I’ve had to reassure many security personnel and customers how the law supports the use of audio in public places as long as there is no expectation of privacy. By dispelling fears with facts around deploying and implementing audio sensors, customers can confidently include audio in their surveillance systems and gain a more effective security solution. Who is affected by this? Truth be told, everyone from the end user to the manufacturer is affected by this issue. Not to mention the strain this puts on law enforcement who are tired of ‘wasting time’ and effort out in the field on these nuisance alerts. When an end user receives a bill for their false alarm, many of them will immediately blame the integrator and or the monitoring center for a faulty set up and management and expect the integrator to remedy the situation, including carry the burden of paying the fines. The integrator, on the other hand, will turn to the manufacturer, assuming faulty equipment and installation instructions; therefore, looking for reimbursement for the cost. What is the average false alarm fee? It depends on many factors, and especially your first responder assigned location for responseIt depends on many factors, and especially your first responder assigned location for response. According to the Urban Institute, fees generally range from $25-$100 for the first offense, rising as high as a few thousand dollars per false alarm if a location has a large number in a single year. What’s worse, in extreme cases, alarm systems may even be blacklisted by the police dispatch center if they have raised too many false alarms in the past. Why do you believe audio is the ideal technology for secondary source verification? Video surveillance has been the main option for security monitoring and alarm validation for decades, however industry professionals are realising that video alone is not enough. Video only tells half of the story, by adding audio capture, the responsible party gains a turnkey solution with the ability to gather additional evidence to verify alerts and expand overall awareness. In reality, audio’s range is greater than the field of view for a camera. Sound pickup is 360 degrees, capturing voices, gunshots, breaking glass, sirens, or other important details that a fixed camera many not see. How would a secondary source verification system work with audio? Using a video monitoring solution equipped with audio, the microphone will pick up the sounds at the time a visual alert or alarm is triggered. If embedded with classification analytics, the microphone will send alerts for specific detected sounds. The captured audio, and any notifications are immediately sent to the monitoring station, where trained personnel can listen to the sound clip, along with live audio and video from their station. When law enforcement receives a validated alarm, they can better prioritise the response From here, an informed decision can then be made about the validity of the alarm, along with what the current threat is at the location. If the alarm is in fact valid, the information is then passed along to the law enforcement within minutes. When law enforcement receives a validated alarm, they can better prioritise the response. It also provides more information in a forensic evaluation. Are there any additional resources you would suggest looking into? Yes, we would suggest looking into the following to see a few different perspectives on the matter: NSA Support For 2018 Model Ordinance For Alarm Management and False Alarm Reduction Partnership for Priority Verified Alarm Response Support for the Term “Verified Alarm” and Prioritising Verified Alarm Responses Urban Institute Opportunities for Police Cost Savings without Sacrificing Service Quality: Reducing False Alarms

A video analytics system that provides ‘behavioural understanding’ can yield more meaningful and actionable data for a range of applications. In public safety and security, such a system can alert on violent or suspicious behaviours, such as people fighting, vandalism, people with weapons, etc. In advanced traffic surveillance and monitoring, it can provide alerts to vehicle collisions (accidents), traffic hazards or vehicle that aren’t using the road properly, such as a car that stops in the middle of the junction. For enterprise and campus security, it can provide advanced anti-tailgating and detect unauthorised activity. Video surveillance infrastructure viisights was founded by a group of entrepreneurs with track records in developing technology businesses These uses are among the benefits of viisights’ video analytics technology based on behavioural understanding of video content. “It means we can extract more meaningful data from the huge amount of video content that is captured, and we can transform that data to actionable insights that eventually justify the massive investment in video surveillance infrastructure,” says Asaf Birenzvieg, CEO of viisights. Their behavioural understanding systems for real-time video intelligence leverage artificial intelligence technology. viisights was founded by a group of serial entrepreneurs with track records in developing technology businesses. The Israeli company’s founders recognised a growing global need for intelligence to make physical and virtual public areas safer – and realised the role that smart video understanding technology can play. Developing artificial intelligence technologies viisights is committed to developing artificial intelligence technologies that facilitate human-like video understanding, which in turn serves as the basis for fully autonomous video intelligence systems powered by pattern prediction technology. “Behavioural recognition is the future of video analytics and the next generation of the object classification analytics systems that hold the majority of the market today,” says Birenzvieg. viisights has developed a video understanding technology for real-time video processing “To date most video analytics systems still base their product features on static analysis of objects from images using image recognition, even the ones that use ‘AI analytics.’ Products built using such object classification technology are extremely limited.” For example, object classification analytics cannot recognise behavioural events in a video such as people fighting or a car collision because such behaviours can’t accurately be concluded in large scale from analysing a single static image/frame. Video understanding technology viisights has developed a video understanding technology for real-time video processing. The technology can process live video feeds. In addition to recognising a particular object (e.g., person) and its attributes (e.g., red shirt), the system can understand an object’s actions, interactions with other objects (events), the scene being viewed (i.e., crowd is gathering, riots) and the context (a car is driving on the road or on the sidewalk). The main verticals are smart cities, enterprises and campuses, banks and ATM security “Basically, we are able to extract more meaningful data from a live video feed and therefore create actionable insights and greater ROI,” says Birenzvieg. The company focuses mostly on security and safety use-cases. The main verticals are smart cities, enterprises and campuses, banks and ATM security, security guard companies and transportation hubs. The company is working on a new product for in-vehicle monitoring mostly for security, safety, vehicle protection and proper vehicle use; it monitors passengers’ behaviour inside a bus, train, or taxi. The product will come to market next year. Video management system viisights’ video analytics offering is currently optimised for server-side deployment, and the integration architecture is similar to most video analytics systems. From one side it is integrated with the video management system (VMS). They are a Milestone verified partner and soon will be part of Milestone's marketplace. From the other end, it is connected to a command-and-control system for processing the data and presenting the alerts to the end-user. The analytics company makes most sales through system integrators. They have partnerships with big system integrators like Motorola Solutions and NEC and are also working with smaller ones. They are looking to expand their system integrator network, mostly in the USA and Europe. Behaviours can have many variations and they can be very diverse Cloud video surveillance “We will continue to invest in performance and accuracy, meaning higher recall and lower false positive rate,” says Birenzvieg. “Since our major value proposition is in behaviour recognition, behaviour events many times are not clearly defined, which is very different from object classification. Behaviours can have many variations and they can be very diverse.” An example is a simple behaviour like a person falling on the floor. A person can fall on the floor in many ways, but the challenge is to ignore similar behaviours that are not a person falling and that confuse the system, such as a person bending over to tie his shoelaces. With cloud video surveillance becoming a trend, viisights is also looking into offering some of their advanced functionalities in a video-analytics-as-a-service-model.

Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), or drones, present a range of threats, from the careless and clueless to the criminal. While many incidents may seem harmless, the threat to any location at any time depends on a range of factors. Drones are inexpensive for criminals to buy or make, and there are continuously improving battery, airspeed, and payload capabilities. UAVs can also fly without an RF signal to jam or hack. Fortunately, sensor technologies including radar are available for security agencies and personnel to protect assets and the public. Radio-wave signals  Radar works as a deterrent by sending out a radio-wave signal using a transmitter antenna, and a small portion of that signal reflects off objects in its path and returns to a receiver antenna. The highest performing radars use an antenna technology called Active Electronically Scanning Array (AESA), which enables all-electronic reconfiguration of the antennas. When an AESA radar detects an object, it can ‘focus’ its antennas to track the object, in much the same way as the zoom on a camera does. Multiple objects can be tracked while continuing to scan. Kirkland, Washington-based Echodyne offers a radar product that brings these ESA capabilities to non-military security applications at commercial price points. Combining proprietary hardware with intelligent software, Echodyne produces a compact, solid-state, electronically scanning array Echodyne’s ESA radar Echodyne says they are reinventing radar price-performance for security applications in the ground (people, vehicles) or air (counter-UAS) domains. Combining proprietary hardware with intelligent software, Echodyne produces a compact, solid-state, electronically scanning array (ESA) radar that is affordable for commercial, law enforcement, and governmental customers. The company is backed by high profile investors, including Bill Gates, Madrona Venture Group, Vulcan Capital, NEA, and Lux Capital. “Radar is a sensor,” says Leo McCloskey, Echodyne VP Marketing. “It is most applicable when security professionals can both understand its capabilities and define risk assessment and deployment requirements that call for those capabilities. Our customers are primarily security system integrators and consultancies, which integrate the performance of radar into a sensor array that meets mission requirements.” Radar technology for border surveillance Echodyne was selected by the Science and Technology Directorate of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) for its Silicon Valley Innovation Program (SVIP) to demonstrate the performance of its radar technology for border surveillance applications. The radar was deployed both in fixed remote surveillance towers and as a lightweight rapid deployment kit for field agents. Able to surveil ground and air domains, the radar combines versatility and commercial price with surveillance capabilities. “We set out to build the world’s best compact, solid-state ESA radar sensor, and we are demonstrating that we’ve reached that objective,” says McCloskey. “We’re excited to introduce these capabilities for other security applications.” Able to surveil ground and air domains, the radar combines versatility and commercial price with surveillance capabilities MESA technology Echodyne’s proprietary technology provides a small true electronically scanning array (ESA) radar. Unlike expensive Active ESA (AESA) phased array radars, MESA requires no physical phase shifters, thus reducing the cost, size, weight, and power by several orders of magnitude while maintaining all the benefits of fast ESA radar. Echodyne combines its MESA technology with an intelligent software suite, Acuity, to produce a configurable, software-defined radar for commercial, law enforcement, and governmental security applications. The capability is also useful for temporary events such as rallies and marathons, and many other market applications “Technology seems to make everything more available to more people over time,” says McCloskey. “What is a retail product today will be a purchased self-assembly kit tomorrow and an improvised self-made drone the following day. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is diligently at work on creating rules for safe UAV operation, though any final rules remain some distance off. As drone volumes increase, delineating friend from foe in the airspace requires clear legal and regulatory frameworks, which are nascent but would help distinguish the threat of nuisance flyers from illegal overflight.” Radar sensor for security applications “Detecting and tracking airspace objects of interest is imperative for airports, chemical plants, oil and gas installations, refineries, water and energy utilities, stadiums and other public spaces”, says McCloskey. The capability is also useful for temporary events such as rallies and marathons, and many other market applications. “As with any product, our applicability will depend on variables like location, terrain, risk assessment, and existing security technologies,” says McCloskey. “Our mission is to deliver the very best radar sensor for security applications.”

Simultaneous suicide bombings at several churches and hotels in Sri Lanka on April 21 were of a scale, sophistication and level of coordination that hasn’t been seen since 9/11. Nine suicide bombers targeted three churches and three hotels on Easter morning, and the resulting casualties numbered 359 dead, including 45 children, and about 500 injured. The complexity of the attacks suggests the bombers received help from an outside organisation, likely the Islamic State (IS). Sadly, security warnings from Indian intelligence officials, which might have helped to prevent or minimise the attacks, were ignored by Sri Lanka security weeks earlier. In the wake of the massacre, two of Sri Lanka’s top security officials were asked to resign, and Sri Lanka’s president promised to completely restructure state security. Contradiction to the terrorism report The twin calamities provide a dramatic counterpoint to an observed global decrease in terrorist attacksA motivation for the Sri Lanka tragedy is thought to be the March 15 shootings at two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand, where 50 people were killed and 50 more were injured. A 28-year-old Australian white supremacist was arrested and charged with murder. Taken together, the twin calamities provide a dramatic counterpoint to an observed global decrease in terrorist attacks, as documented in a recent report. The suicide bombers in Sri Lanka were eight men and one woman, most of them well-educated and coming from the middle or upper class. One was the leader of National Thowheeth Jamaath, the homegrown militant Islamist group the government has blamed with carrying out the attacks. There is also evidence to corroborate a claim of responsibility by IS. Some 60 people have been arrested in the investigation. Even days later, police continued to find explosives and said there was still danger. Multiple attacks One explosion on Easter morning occurred at St. Sebastian’s Church in Negombo, 20 miles north of Colombo, where more than 100 were killed. Another bomb killed 28 people at the Zion Church in Batticaloa, and an unknown number died at St. Anthony’s Shrine, a Roman Catholic church in Colombo. The three hotels that were attacked were all in Colombo – the Shangri-La, the Cinnamon Grand and the Kingsbury The three hotels that were attacked were all in Colombo – the Shangri-La, the Cinnamon Grand and the Kingsbury. Two more explosions happened Sunday afternoon, one at a small guest house and another at the suspects’ safe house, where three officers were killed. Security at houses of worship has been a high-profile concern in the United States in recent years following incidents such as an attack at Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church in downtown Charleston in 2015 that killed nine people. Just last October, 11 people were killed and six others injured in a shooting at a synagogue in Pittsburgh. Hardening security at churches “It’s no longer enough to pray for a safe and secure environment,” commented Patrick Fiel of PVF Security Consulting in an Expert Panel Roundtable discussion. “Churches are soft targets. Clergy and parishioners will need to work closely with security consultants and local law enforcement to harden their facilities.” Access control, CCTV solutions and mass notification systems are all helpful and can be placed unobtrusively so as not to interfere with aesthetics of the church, Fiel adds. The scale and scope of the bombings in Sri Lanka provide a wakeup call to the global likelihood of terrorist attacksIt doesn’t appear technology would have made much difference in the case of the Sri Lanka attacks, although awareness and vigilance can have an impact. At Zion Church in Batticaloa, for example, a bomber was stopped by pastors from entering the congregation area where some 500 people gathered. Because of their suspicions, the bomb was instead detonated in a courtyard where children were eating breakfast; 28 people died. The scale and scope of the bombings in Sri Lanka provide a dramatic wakeup call to the continuing global likelihood of terrorist attacks. The last territory of the Islamic State in Syria fell in March, but IS and its ideology live on, and continue to be a global terrorism threat. And that’s just one among many possible sources of terrorism worldwide. Hopefully, the recent incidents do not foreshadow more attacks that are even more deadly.

When you’re securing premises in Iceland, you need a reliable system that can cope with both plummeting temperatures and low-light levels. Hikvision cameras were used in such a solution – chosen by Securitas Iceland to secure a harbour for customer Samskip in Reykjavik. Global logistics company Samskip is one of the larger transport companies in Europe with offices in 24 countries in Europe, North and South America, Asia and Australia. They operate an extensive network of container services to and from Iceland, along with refrigerated cargo logistics and international forwarding around the world. Special kind of surveillance system One of their locations is a harbour in Reykjavik, which includes warehouses. Operating in sub-zero temperatures and with low-light even in daytime for some of the year, Samskip needs a special kind of surveillance system. When temperatures are as low as -30˚C, electronics can become unresponsive, or stop working completely When temperatures are as low as -30˚C, electronics can become unresponsive, or stop working completely. These are also the temperatures where maintenance is more challenging – these are not ideal environments for technicians to be working outside. The biggest snow depth ever recorded in Iceland was 279cm in North Iceland in March 1995, for example. Although this was the worst winter ever recorded, it gives an idea of the potential extremes. There are also snow storms and the high wind chill factor to contend with. Providing clear images in failing light Low light in the winter months means that solutions in Iceland need to be better able to provide clear images in failing light. During winter, Iceland’s high latitude means shorter days - the longest day in the middle of December has only 5 hours of light, for example, with the sunrise at around 11am and sunset between 3 and 4pm. Despite these unique conditions, Samskip needed to have a good overview over all that is happening around the harbour complex, both inside and outside. Specifically, they needed to be able to trace products and goods in the warehouse. Iceland’s security provider, Securitas, rose to the challenge, providing a solution using more than 150 Hikvision products, including PanoVu and DarkFighter® cameras. All these cameras can operate to a temperature of -30˚C. Identifying potential issues The PanoVu cameras provide excellent wide angle surveillance to cover as much of the area as possible. DarkFighter technology is a popular choice in Iceland because it gives clear, useful images even in the lowest of light scenarios. The smart function on the cameras means that operators are able to identify potential issues by analysing people's behaviour. The solution included Seagate’s high-stability Skyhawk drives, especially developed for surveillance applications They can also trace a product between locations and see its condition at receipt and delivery, enhancing both security and business efficiency. To complement the Hikvision solutions, Securitas chose Seagate as their preferred storage vendor with their Skyhawk. The solution included Seagate’s high-stability Skyhawk drives, especially developed for surveillance applications. Providing reliable security Skyhawk surveillance drives are equipped with enhanced ImagePerfect™ firmware to deliver ultimate reliability and zero dropped frames, and SkyHawk Health Management, a software designed for prevention, intervention and recovery. Bergvin Þórðarson, Samskip’s Security Manager, says: “The cameras meet the requirements for analysis of people and merchandise. We are confident with both Hikvision and Securitas – in both their product and people. We know that they will fix any issues and react quickly if there’s a problem.” Securing large areas can be a challenge all on its own, but the addition of potentially crippling weather conditions means a security solution needs to be robust. Hikvision cameras were up to the challenge and provided reliable security for the entire operation.

Leon Medical Centers is a privately-owned healthcare organisation with seven state-of-the-art facilities serving over 46,000 elderly and Medicare patients in Miami and neighbouring communities in Dade County, Florida. Established in 1996 by Benjamin Leon Jr., Leon Medical Centers is one of the largest and most prestigious primary healthcare organisations in the state. However, what really sets it apart is its rigorously enforced service philosophy of ‘personal attention at all times’ and its commitment to treating its patients with the ‘dignity, respect, compassion and human kindness that they deserve.’ Mobile video recorders Leon Medical Centers began deploying previous-generation March Networks mobile video recorders in 2011 In keeping with its commitment to exceptional service, Leon Medical Centers operates a fleet of 230 buses that pick up patients, take them to their appointments and return them home. To ensure their safety in transit and monitor compliance with its service philosophy, it relies on an integrated March Networks® RideSafe™ video surveillance solution. Leon Medical Centers began deploying previous-generation March Networks mobile video recorders in 2011. “We had another vendor’s equipment up to that point, but the system couldn’t support IP video,” said Erick Martinez, Leon Medical Centers’ Security Systems Manager. “At the time, we were using analogue cameras and wanted to upgrade to higher definition video. We were also experiencing a lot of issues with hard drive failures.” Hybrid network video recorders In 2014, Martinez began upgrading to RideSafe GT Series Hybrid Network Video Recorders (NVRs), and now has 120 of the new mobile recorders in addition to almost 200 older March Networks mobile DVRs. The RideSafe GT Series recorders are available in 8, 12, 16 or 20-channel models with hybrid capability allowing end users to migrate from 100 percent analog to 100 percent IP video. An embedded Linux-based operating system, ruggedised design offering protection against shock, vibration, dust and moisture, solid state electronics, and internal battery backup make the RideSafe GT Series recorders ideal for reliable operation in punishing mobile conditions. A hard drive mirroring capability ensures redundancy and storage flexibility, while health monitoring proactively alerts system administrators to hard drive failures, irregular temperatures or synching issues with cameras. Safety of our passengers Our patients are elderly, so if there’s a slip and fall incident, we want to have evidence of what happened" Each Leon Medical Centers bus is equipped with six March Networks cameras. Five of the cameras are mounted to capture interior views and the last is used externally to capture video of passenger entry and exit points. “Our focus is on the safety of our passengers,” said Martinez.  “Our patients are elderly, so if there’s a slip and fall incident, we want to have evidence of what happened. We also use the system to confirm compliance with our service standards. Our drivers are the first and last points of interaction with our patients, so if there’s an issue, we want to be able to review and rectify it.” In the event of an incident in transit, the driver is able to push a button on the dashboard to tag the associated video. Diagnostic imaging services When the bus arrives at one of the clinics, the tagged video automatically down-loads through a Wi-Fi hotspot to a server for immediate review by Leon Medical Centers risk management personnel. While in range of a Wi-Fi hotspot, the system also downloads health alerts and can also upload any scheduled software updates or new device settings. For routine video downloads, there’s hardly ever a need for Martinez’s staff to board a bus. “Wireless downloading saves us a lot of time,” he said. “It makes incident reporting much more efficient when we need to have an issue resolved. It helps a lot.” The seven Leon Medical Centers are one-stop-shop facilities with onsite labs, pharmacies, diagnostic imaging services and dental clinics. Traveling to multiple locations Leon Medical Centers operates four Healthy Living Centers with modern gyms, exercise and yoga classes This convenient service model enables patients to see their family doctor or a specialist, have blood work done, get an X-ray and fill prescriptions without having to spend time traveling to multiple locations. Each center has a café, where patients can have a coffee and socialise. And to help patients stay fit, Leon Medical Centers operates four Healthy Living Centers with modern gyms, exercise and yoga classes, seminars and other programs. Patients who require surgery or a hospital procedure are picked up and delivered by Leon Medical’s bus transportation service. On arrival, they’re greeted and escorted to their destination by staff from Leon Medical’s Hospital Service Centers, which are located within all of the major Miami-Dade County hospitals. Aside from the seven centers and four Healthy Living Centers, Leon Medical operates a fleet maintenance garage and a 300,000 square-foot corporate headquarters. Video management software Martinez says that the fixed facilities are also being equipped with March Networks 8000 Series Hybrid NVRs, which are managed using the same March Networks Command video management software powering the mobile recorders. Having a single software solution to access and manage video - regardless of whether it’s recorded on a bus or in one of the medical centers - means that Leon Medical Centers doesn’t have to train staff on multiple software systems. It also provides the organisation with complete oversight of its clients and operations. Once again, it’s all about patient safety and service excellence. “If a patient loses a purse or a wallet, for example, we’ll be able to find it for them on one of our buses or in a clinic. Or if they have an issue with an employee, we’ll be able to review the video and take care of it,” said Martinez. Video surveillance infrastructure Martinez and his staff are trained to take full advantage of all the Command software functionality A Microsoft certified engineer, Martinez heads up a department solely focused on overseeing Leon Medical’s video surveillance infrastructure. “This department didn’t exist four years ago,” he said. “I was part of the IT department responsible for PC support. Mobile security was handled by transportation at the time. I thought it would be a good idea to create a separate department with IT expertise to look after mobile security, and senior management agreed.” Martinez and his staff are trained to take full advantage of all the Command software functionality. For example, they’re able to manage video viewing privileges to ensure users have access only to those cameras corresponding to their roles or responsibilities. They’re also able to take advantage of Command’s support for Microsoft Active Directory integration, which collects established user account information from Leon Medical’s corporate network directory. Patient safety and service excellence This allows them to select users from the company directory, assign a profile and customise their user interface to display the tools needed for their role. Looking ahead, Martinez and his team will be busy this year, as Leon Medical Centers continues to expand. We have four construction build-outs planned, including a four-story, 80,000 square-foot building" “We have four construction build-outs planned, including a four-story, 80,000 square-foot building and two parking garages - one six-floor and one seven-floor garage - so there will be opportunities for additional fixed video surveillance systems. Because we lease our buses for three years, we’re also always adding to our transportation fleet, so we’ll continue swapping out our 5308 recorders in favour of the newer GT Series.” “March Networks has served us well,” said Martinez. “Without a high-quality, reliable video surveillance system, we would have a much more difficult time fulfilling our commitment to patient safety and service excellence. It’s that simple.”

A video surveillance system with around 40 IP and thermal cameras from Dahua Technology has been installed at Yarmouth Harbour on the Isle of Wight. The harbour consists of a large marina, docks for the Wightlink Ferry terminal, and pontoons and boat moorings upstream. The previous system was becoming outdated, with poor picture quality and cabling issues. Following a number of thefts from boats and boat fires in neighbouring harbours, a new solution – including a thermal imaging capability – was specified. Sensitive fire alarm system Automatic people-counting technology has been incorporated into the cameras to as a health and safety measure The Dahua cameras are a mix of thermal bullets, IR bullets, Ultra PTZs, IR domes and fisheye cameras. The thermal cameras are especially suited to wide area outdoor video surveillance and are ideal for the large, water-based environments at the harbour. The cameras feature Vox uncooled thermal sensor technology and high thermal sensitivity at less than 40mK, enabling them to capture more image details and temperature fluctuations. With a built-in fire detection functionality, the cameras provide an extremely sensitive fire alarm system. The IR bullet cameras feature highly efficient H.265 encoding technology, PoE and IR illumination at up to 50 meters, as well as a wide dynamic range, providing vivid images even in the most intense contrast lighting conditions and delivering powerful day/night surveillance in a compact package. At one of the moorings upriver, there is no power supply on isolated pontoons, so wind power and solar energy have been harnessed to operate the cameras. Automatic people-counting technology Images are transmitted wirelessly back to a control room at the main harbour office. When the control room is not staffed, Yarmouth Harbour can nominate individuals to receive alerts and images on their tablets and smartphones via the Dahua surveillance app. The surveillance system has transformed our ability to monitor the harbour for safety and security" As well as the harbour itself, the system also covers the adjacent Yarmouth pier, a Grade II listed structure said to be the longest wooden pier in the UK and recently refurbished. Automatic people-counting technology has been incorporated into the cameras at the pier’s entrance to monitor numbers on the pier as a health and safety measure. Straightforward use “The new surveillance system has transformed our ability to monitor the harbour for the safety and security of our customers, staff and the visiting public,” said Dave Rice of Yarmouth Harbour Commissioners. “The HD picture quality is superb and you can pick out people’s faces, so there is no comparison with the previous cameras. The system has proved straightforward to use and we are delighted with its performance to date.” “This proved an interesting project to work on, not least because parts of the installation had to be carried out by boat,” said Chris Snell, managing director of security installation firm, Central Southern Security. "The Dahua equipment has been a pleasure to work with and will provide Yarmouth Harbour with a great solution for many years to come.”

Globally renowned sensor solutions provider, HENSOLDT will equip the Norwegian Coast Guard vessel “Svalbard” with the latest version of its TRS-3D naval radar and MSSR 2000 IIFF System. This is already the second upgrade contract from the Norwegian Defence Materiel Agency as HENSOLDT is already under contract to equip the three new Arctic Coast Guard Vessels in the P6615 Program with the upgraded radar and IFF system. TRS-3D naval radar system Under both contracts worth more than € 27 m HENSOLDT will deliver four TRS-3D radars including the latest solid-state technology and signal processing software and will deliver them from 2021, in parallel to the building program of the new Arctic Coast Guard vessels. The TRS-3D includes a secondary radar MSSR 2000 I for Identification-friend-or-foe (IFF). It operates all current IFF modes, including the latest “Mode S/Mode 5 Level 1/2” standard answering the most recent NATO requirements. Our TRS-3D naval radar is an extremely reliable radar, particularly suited for littoral missions" “Our TRS-3D naval radar is an extremely reliable radar, particularly suited for littoral missions”, said HENSOLDT CEO Thomas Müller. “We are taking the upgrade contract of the Norwegian Coast Guard as proof of the customer’s satisfaction with our product and services”. Air and sea surveillance TRS-3D is a three-dimensional multimode naval radar for air and sea surveillance. It includes the ability to correlate plots and tracks of targets with the MSSR 2000 I identification system for automatic identification of vessels and aircraft which is essential to avoid friendly fire and to establish a comprehensive situation picture. It is used for automatically locating and tracking all types of air and sea targets and safe guidance of on-board helicopters. Thanks to its signal processing technologies, the TRS-3D is particularly suited for the early detection of low flying or slow moving objects under extreme environmental conditions. Naval surveillance and security More than 50 units of the radar are in operation with naval forces around the world. Among the ships equipped are frigates and corvettes of the German Navy, the US Coast Guard National Security Cutters and the "Squadron 2000" patrol boats of the Finnish Navy. 

Abu Dhabi is a major cultural and commercial centre in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), accounting for roughly two-thirds of the UAE’s economy. While oil and natural gas make up a large portion of its GDP, Abu Dhabi has positioned itself as a premiere tourist destination, with major investments in luxury resorts and business hotels. Consequently, public safety is a top priority — and FLIR Systems is playing a critical role in the city’s long-term safe city initiative. Recently, the Abu Dhabi Monitoring and Control Center (ADMCC) was tasked with integrating all public access cameras onto a single platform to provide fully uninterrupted coverage of the city. This is in compliance with the Safe City 2030 vision of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and President of the UAE. As part of this initiative, ADMCC launched the Falcon Eye project, where surveillance cameras and sensors would be installed across the city to enable real-time situational awareness, threat detection, data collection, data sharing among public safety organisations, and crime prevention. Updating video management system To manage such an extensive system under the Falcon Eye project, ADMCC needed to update its VMS softwareFalcon Eye expands Abu Dhabi’s existing surveillance system to thousands of license plate recognition cameras and surveillance cameras, with cameras equipped with video analytics and/or facial recognition capabilities. To manage such an extensive system under the Falcon Eye project, ADMCC needed to update its video management system (VMS) software. ADMCC sought a VMS that would provide enhanced image quality, as well as increased storage and integrity of streamed video. The VMS also needed to be able to incorporate current, emerging and future technologies, such as Big Data, cyber protection, smart cameras, analytics at the edge, and automated camera management. Additionally, ADMCC required a cost-effective VMS that would seamlessly integrate with the existing physical security management information (PSIM) without compromising any data or operations from subsystems. Reliable software solution for video surveillance Previously, ADMCC had a strong relationship with FLIR, having deployed an older FLIR United VMS version for several years. After careful research and evaluation, ADMCC chose to continue partnering with FLIR as the industry leader in advanced video solutions in the safe city sector. ADMCC selected the most recent FLIR United VMS release as its VMS for the Falcon Eye initiative. FLIR United VMS is a reliable, enterprise-level software solution for video surveillance supporting an unlimited number of cameras over IP networks. Complying with ONVIF Profile S, Latitude ensures greater compatibility between cameras and the VMS Part of FLIR’s award-winning United VMS platform, Latitude features enhanced cyber security protocols. Its distributed server architecture enables unlimited scalability, multi-site deployments and sophisticated network topologies. Latitude’s open platform functionality provides advanced edge device integration, bringing together hundreds of third-party technologies. Complying with ONVIF Profile S, Latitude ensures greater compatibility between cameras and the VMS. Integrating Latitude and PSIM solution ADMCC upgraded to the recent United VMS version in June 2017. With special support from the FLIR team, the integration of Latitude and ADMCC’s in-house PSIM solution was successfully completed without any data loss. Adding value to the integration was the presence of an in-house FLIR engineer, who provided insight and guidance throughout the process. “FLIR is considered one of ADMCC’s trusted vendors, delivering regular upgrades and specialist support to our operations when needed,” said His Excellency Saeed Al-Neyadi, Director General at ADMCC. “The on-site FLIR engineer provided an immeasurable value to ADMCC.” Ensures maximum integrity and reliability One of the defining characteristics of United VMS is its simplicity and easy user interface. United VMS offers simplified access in managing and controlling video operations for the support staff. For all safe city projects, the preservation and availability of data is paramount. United VMS ensures maximum integrity and reliability with exceptional failover, disaster recovery capabilities" “The use of actionable information through data collection is vital in running such a huge scale operation such as Safe City initiatives,” Mr. Khalfan Al Hassani (ICT Director) said. “United VMS ensures maximum integrity and reliability with exceptional failover, disaster recovery capabilities, and 24/7 redundant recording.” Day/night safety of city and residents ADMCC oversees one of the world’s leading safe city solutions that utilises license plate recognition, facial recognition, video analytics and video management from over 45,000 sensors spread across the Emirate. United VMS serves as the central operational platform for all data of this unified platform, providing an efficient combination of video software and server hardware. By utilising the state-of-the-art technologies and subsystems brought together by United VMS, ADMCC ensures the safety of the city and its residents at all hours of the day and night. “United VMS has given ADMCC a reliable, stable, robust and secure platform for the past six years,” said Al Hassani. “It underpins a custom PSIM solution that supports various government agencies in Abu Dhabi helping the city to be ranked the ‘Safest City in the World.’”

Located at the very heart of Amman, Jordan, Landmark Amman Hotel is one of the most renowned 5 star hotels in the city, as well as a true local landmark in more than one ways. Boasting seventeen flexible event spaces for everything from small intimate meetings to large-scale exhibitions and 258 rooms that are among the largest hotel accommodation in Jordan, Landmark Amman Hotel is an ideal choice for high-end customers of many types. Dahua Technology, a video-centric smart IoT solution and service provider, is trusted, for the first time in Amman, with the job of keeping Landmark Amman Hotel safe in its phase 2 CCTV improvement. Need of a competent surveillance system The other challenge concerned old system’s storage, which couldn’t meet the requirement of local policeIt is difficult for a large-scale hotel like Landmark Amman to patrol the grounds and premises of the hotel relying only on security personnel. Moreover, there might be no standardised evidence for the police to check without a competent surveillance system when an accident happens. There are two aspects of the old system to be improved. The analogue system the hotel was using was not easy to manage, the problem which was exacerbated by the condition that a great number of cameras were broken. The other challenge concerned old system’s storage, which couldn’t meet the requirement of local police. IP camera and NVR solution Dahua Technology’s CCTV solution comprising IP camera and NVR solves the problems just right. IPC-HDW1431S, the 4MP WDR IR Eyeball Network Camera, supports Smart Coding (H.265+ & H.264+), Intelligent Video Analysis(IVS), Wide Dynamic Range(WDR), Smart IR Technology, etc., which is fully capable of smartly capturing the 4MP resolution images in hotels. NVR4216-4KS2, the 32 Channel 1U 4K&H.265 Lite NVR can be served as edge storage, central storage And NVR4216-4KS2, the 32 Channel 1U 4K&H.265 Lite Network Video Recorder, which supports 4K and H.265 encoding technology, can be served as edge storage, central storage or backup storage with an intuitive shortcut operation menu for remote management and control. Compatible with ONVIF 2.4 protocol Easy to install, it is compatible with numerous third-party devices making it the perfect solution for surveillance systems that work independently of video management system (VMS). It features an open architecture that supports for multi-user access and is compatible with ONVIF 2.4 protocol, enabling interoperability with IP cameras. Dahua surveillance system has helped Landmark Amman Hotel find a new way to enhance the guest experience through improving the level of security with reduced property damage and thefts in hotel. It also improved team cohesion and work efficiency of the hotel employees. Furthermore, the hotel could increase revenue by monitoring and invoicing according to actual numbers of guests, and be compliance with local authorities’ security and safety regulations. 

When it comes to security and to ensuring the integrity of gaming operations, today’s casino market is risk-averse. Regulations direct the required surveillance of table games and slot machines, while modern casinos are often sprawling complexes that have a variety of other risks to be addressed, too. We asked this week’s Expert Panel Roundtable: What are the challenges of the casino market relating to security and surveillance technology?

Technology advancements often come with new terms and definitions. The language of our marketplace evolves to include new words that describe innovations in the industry. In the skilled hands of marketers, terms intended to be descriptive can also take a new element of ‘buzz,’ often presaging exciting developments that will drive the future. We asked this week’s Expert Panel Roundtable:  What new buzzword have you heard, and what does it mean for the industry?

Video cameras are everywhere, and hundreds more are installed every day. Our society appears to be reaching a point of perpetual surveillance. It certainly feels as if we are always being watched even though it is not yet the case. But as cameras are becoming more common than ever, we are also entering a new era of privacy concerns and sensitivities, as evidenced by GDPR and other such initiatives. We presented this quandary to this week’s Expert Panel Roundtable: Surveillance cameras can go anywhere, right? Where is it “not OK?”