You may not have consciously noticed, but a major manufacturer of video surveillance solutions, which was previously known as Samsung Techwin, has successfully changed its name to Hanwha Techwin and at the same introduced the Wisenet brand as its main product brand name.
Company and product rebranding
The rebranding of the company and its products and solutions, which by all accounts been achieved without any disruption to its business or that of its customers, was a logical step to take following on from its acquisition by the Hanwha Group.
In this interview, Bob (H.Y.) Hwang Ph.D., Managing Director of Hanwha Techwin Europe outlines what else may be changing following a recent announcement that the Hanwha Group intends to continue to nurture and invest in its Security division.
Q: Bob, with the rebranding exercise almost totally complete, what is your strategy for the remainder of this year and beyond, to ensure your company continues to succeed?
A: I think it is important to highlight that the encouragement and support we receive from our parent company has reinvigorated the Hanwha Techwin team. It has empowered us to invest in an exciting product development programme which has delivered immediate results and we now have a formidable range of affordable video surveillance solutions for virtually any application or project. Our ongoing research and development programme, involving carefully selected technology partners, is also laying down the foundations for our long-term success.
Q: Your recent marketing activities have “WE MOVE with trust” as a central theme. What does this mean in practical terms to your customers?
A: “WE MOVE with trust” is a philosophy which is shared by all my Hanwha Techwin colleagues. It reflects the positive attitude we have in terms of the actions we take to support our end-user customers and a commitment to move forwards with a passion, to excel in everything we do.
This philosophy embraces our determination to build on the trust we have in our distribution and technology partners and covers many different aspects of our business activities. We respect and highly value their expertise and the vital contribution they make to the supply chain, for the benefit of those who rely on our solutions to keep people, buildings and assets safe or to introduce business efficiencies.
| Wisenet cameras are collectively able to provide cost-effective options for small offices and shops, as well as solutions for high security and mission critical commercial applications |
Q: Can you give some examples of how this philosophy is applied on a day-to-day basis?
A: It means, for example, we can be trusted to keep our promise to installers, system integrators and our business partners throughout Europe that we will continue to invest in our pre- and post-sales support team in line with increasing demand, and there will be continuity in the supply of our products which are being designed and produced by the same talented people in the same factories as they have always been.
It also means we can be trusted to remain vigilant to ensure Wisenet cameras, recording devices and software are equipped to minimise the threat from cyber attacks. Although no manufacturer can offer 100% guarantees, we have a sustained testing and monitoring programme designed to identify evolving new threats to the integrity of our solutions. We are committed to being open and honest with our customers when new cyber security threats are identified, moving quickly to develop further advanced versions of our firmware to combat them.
Hanwha Techwin Technology partnerships
Q: You clearly place considerable importance on the technology partnerships you have developed with other manufacturers. How is this benefiting your customers in real-life terms?
A: We take pride in taking the lead in the design, development and production of innovative, feature rich camera and recording solutions, but we appreciate our customers quite often wish us to provide them with a total solution. The technology partnerships we have established with other manufacturers who are experts in their respective fields, ensures end-users are able to achieve more from their investment in video surveillance in addition to capturing superb, high definition images.
The open platform technology and massive processing power of the chipsets incorporated into our Wisenet cameras means that we are able to run multiple edge-based applications. Although virtually any application can be uploaded to the cameras, we have carefully chosen specific applications from preferred technology partners and made these available out-of-box to ensure seamless integrations and easy installation. These include:
- Retail analytics solutions: Wisenet people counting and heatmap cameras can be put to work straight of out-of-box. They offer accurate, real-time information about customer in-store behaviour and provide retailers the opportunity to measure store efficiency between footfall and actual sales. They also identify the busiest days, times and seasons, helping to manage peaks and troughs of customer flow at checkouts. Both cameras feature applications developed by our technology partner, Facit Data Systems.
- As a result of our technology partnership with Sprinx Technologies we are now also able to offer a complete traffic incident solution. Our Wisenet X camera series has been integrated with an Automatic Incident Detection and Traffic Data (AID) application from Sprinx Technologies, making it easier to detect incidents and keep traffic on the move. The complete AID solution allows reliable detection of incidents and events in traffic flow on critical infrastructure, such as roads, highways, tunnels and intersections.
- We are also working in partnership with analytics experts FF Group to offer a suite of ANPR solutions ranging from car park access control for business applications, through to large scale city-wide based systems, which enable local authorities and police to keep people safe, as well as detect illegally parked vehicles and other traffic infringements.
| The Wisenet X camera series has been integrated with an Automatic Incident Detection and Traffic Data (AID) application from Sprinx Technologies |
Looking to the future, we have anticipated the huge potential of AI (Artificial Intelligence) technology and will be collaborating on the intelligent video analysis platform which is currently being developed by NVIDIA. This will feature AI GPUs based on Deep Learning on security devices. We will be looking to develop AI cameras and storage devices capable of autonomously detecting abnormal movements and situations by utilising the NVIDIA platform which we will apply to our city surveillance, retail and traffic solutions.
Wisenet X series features and integrations
Q: You have recently been heavily promoting the new Wisenet X camera series. What is it about these cameras which makes them stand out in a market which seems to be overcrowded with video surveillance cameras?
A: When we launched the Wisenet X camera series earlier this year, we believed we had also delivered on our commitment to set a new standard for IP network video surveillance cameras. Wisenet X 2MP or 5MP cameras and domes are at the heart of what I referred to earlier as our formidable range of cameras which are collectively able to provide cost-effective options for small offices and shops, as well as ultra high-performance solutions for high security and mission critical commercial applications.
Wisenet X series cameras are equipped with the World’s best 150dB Wide Dynamic Range (WDR) and the World’s best F0.94 motorised varifocal low light lens. Together, these features ensure superb quality images are captured regardless of the lighting conditions, from bursts of bright sunlight to almost total darkness.
Wisenet X cameras are also supercharged by the most powerful chipset ever incorporated into a full camera range. With all new architecture, the Hanwha Techwin proprietary chipset runs up to three times faster than older generations of chipsets and this delivers much faster processing of video and on-board Applications.
Q: Is the Wisenet X series proving to be popular with your customers?
A: Yes, and we are confident that sales will continue to increase following the announcement that we have successfully accelerated our programme to integrate Wisenet X cameras with leading VMS solutions such as Genetec Security Center 5.6 and Milestone XProtect®.
This is yet another example of how the Hanwha ‘WE MOVE with trust’ philosophy is realised in the form of technology partnerships which ensure Hanwha Techwin’s end-user customers are able to achieve the full benefit from their investment in a video surveillance system.