Technology & Trends - Dome cameras

Analytics at the edge provide the ability to process what is happening in a field of view and discern if a relevant alert is triggered There are multiple benefits to using video analytics at the edge (i.e., near or inside the camera). For one thing, analytics at the edge provides the ability to process what is happening in a field of view and discern if a relevant alert is triggered. This can be faster and less expensive than the original video analytics model of using a separ...

Standards are like a warm blanket on a cold winter night. They make us feel safe and warm. A standard tells us the devices we use within our systems will interact with each other regardless of manufacturer. For IP-powered PoE devices, we depend on standards such as 802.3af for devices requiring up to 15.4 watts and 802.3at for devices powered up to 30 watts. We depend on the devices generating the power to be able to be read by devices receiving the power. Our dependence is not al...

Compliance with regulatory requirements are not enough to protect the US electric grid  Many companies use compliance and best practices to assist in their fight to protect the U.S. electric grid. They rely primarily on what three groups say – FERC (Federal Energy and Regulatory Committee), CERT (U.S. Computer Emergency Readiness Team) and NERC (North American Electric Reliability Corporation). These groups issue advisories, standards and guidelines for the industr...

Video analytics isn’t just for security. In general, the ability to leverage data from video provides a new wealth of information and “intelligence” about all aspects of the business. The retail vertical is leading the way in reaping the benefits of video analytics beyond the security function.   There are two reasons retailers have taken advantage of video analytics far more than other vertical markets. First, retailers generally face more theft than a...

The ability to clearly see facial features and other identifying characteristics on each passenger greatly enhances security Some of the video technology used in the transportation vertical is purpose-built, but the wide range of applications and environments is conducive to a variety of general-purpose technology, too. Leading IP camera makers like Axis, Sony and Panasonic have introduced new products to enhance safety and security of travel in  trains, buses or oth...

Intelligent searches of video archives provide investigators faster access to any needed video clip That video analytics can be immensely useful in forensics is relatively less known. However, forensic search capabilities offered by some modern video analytics solutions can not only save investigators significant amounts of time but also help them find results more accurately. These solutions leverage facial recognition and advanced object tracking, demographic analytics, lice...

Various vertical markets such as retail, airports, and transportation have benefited from video analytics Video analytics systems have progressed far beyond the theoretical and are now being used effectively in a range of applications. Let’s look at some of the real-world scenarios that have taken advantage of the latest video analytics systems. Video analytics aren’t just for security. For a traffic application, Agent Vi provides business intelligence on the ave...

The better the sensors, the better the analytics Garbage in, garbage out. The familiar cliché is just as applicable to the area of video analytics as any other field of computing. You simply must have a high-quality image in order to achieve a high-functioning analytics system. The good news is that video cameras, which are the sensors in video analytics systems, are providing images that are better than ever, offering higher quality – and more data – for us...

Forty-one percent of cyber incidents involved the energy sector The Bipartisan Policy Center, the Industrial Control Systems Cyber Emergency Response Team, which is part of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, reports responding to 198 cyber incidents in fiscal year 2012 across all critical infrastructure sectors. Forty-one percent of these incidents involved the energy sector, particularly electricity, according to a February 2014 report. Considering the enormity of the...

Local surveillance companies often struggle when deciding between distributing third-party brands or selling their own branded surveillance products, especially when the company has already achieved some level of recognition among their customers and/or other key players. Distributing a famous third-party brand is a way to “play it safe” in an environment where there is little budget to spend on marketing, public relationships and other expenses related to produc...

Many purpose-focused stand-alone systemsaddress business goals aside from security Transportation gets passengers and goods to their destination safely and in a timely manner. Making transportation possible are purpose-focused stand-alone systems – many that address business goals and others that achieve safety/security goals. Some systems can impact both business and security goals. For example, access control can eliminate the expense and maintenance of locks and keys...

CPTED focuses on designing crime prevention into buildings and campuses In recent years, jurisdictions across the United States have enacted ordinances or codes requiring the use of Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED). Enforcement of these measures arises through required jurisdictional review and approval of CPTED measures in the design drawings. CPTED has emerged in recent years as an effective crime prevention and security technique that focuses on design...

The focus of Fusion Centre is all about video - surveillance, analytics, verification, license plate recognition, VMS, wearable cameras and more Growing demand for surveillance that offers better quality video continues to fuel growth in the IP camera market. According to Transparency Market Research, the video surveillance market will realise a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 19 percent by 2019, surpassing $42 billion in sales. High-definition video and network-connect...

The aviation and transportation industries are using video analytics to provide operational cost savings and performance enhancement Video analytics are now increasingly being used for the critical infrastructure, airports, transportation and city surveillance sectors, among other high-value markets. These markets need robust video analytics solutions that can be integrated into an overall security solution to deliver totally reliable results without any significant level of n...

Video analytics allow users to automate the use of video and extract more value Almost anyone in the video analytics market will admit that the capabilities of the technology were initially oversold. The first generation of analytics simply didn’t work as promised, and an undercurrent of distrust of the technology in general still haunts the market. Ironically, video analytics capabilities have now matured into a robust and dependable option for a variety of applications...

With elections due later this year in the UK, Spain and Switzerland, attitudes to the prevailing political landscape of austerity are changing rapidly. Are physical security budgets in the public sector ever protected from cuts, and what is the outlook for our industry? Consider the landscape: A left-leaning party has come to power in Greece on an anti-austerity platform and with the stated intention of halving the country’s €315bn debts. Angela Merkel, the German Chanc...

Drone is a toy with a bright future—until it causes a catastrophe Drones, or unmanned aerial vehicles, are today’s gizmo du jour. A recent Bloomberg article reported that Amazon alone is selling more than 10,000 a month, and with prices as low as $50, it’s a toy with a bright future—until it causes a catastrophe. Consider the January incident at the White House when a drunken National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency employee lost control of a quadcopter...

Better, faster networking plays into the optimistic outlook for the transportation vertical Our market has plenty of reasons to be optimistic about the future of security systems in the transportation vertical. “Given the advances in processing power and technology, we can only imagine what the capability of an IP camera will be in five years,” comments Anthony Incorvati, business development manager, critical infrastructure and transportation, Axis Communications....

In-vehicle technology allows security officials to view live footage from the bus’ cameras during an emergency One of the biggest security opportunities in transportation is onboard surveillance for buses and trains. While most transit organisations have invested heavily in video security for facilities such as terminals and stations, far fewer have taken the next step and installed IP cameras on board vehicles, says John Recesso, strategic business development manager,...

Of the many benefits offered by new and advanced IP video surveillance cameras, the ability to easily customise these devices with third party apps has the potential to change the landscape in video surveillance system design and implementation. By providing the ability to customise individual cameras with the specific functionality desired for every specific camera location, camera apps not only increase functionality where needed, they deliver tremendous savings on a system-wide...

The stigma of the cannabis industry still hangs in the balance Final installment of 4-part series: The legalisation of recreational marijuana use in Colorado and Washington, along with it medical use in about 23 other states, has created an industry made up mostly of small mom-and-pop operators. “While the revenues in this industry are big, the number of people involved is pretty small,” said one security industry insider. That’s about to change as Wall Stre...

Hosted video surveillance, or cloud video, has been utilised in small markets over the past few years and is just now really being pushed as a viable alternative to traditional onsite DVR’s.  Most of the major surveillance companies are marketing cloud products.  Some of these cloud products represent true hosted video surveillance and others are a play on word with ‘cloud access’ being the marketing ploy. True cloud or hosted video streams real-time vid...

To succeed at outsourcing, the relationship between the organisation and the outsourcing company has to be an equal partnership Can you save money on security by outsourcing? Maybe, maybe not, according to William J. Powers III, CIPM II, CIPI. “Considering the way I approach outsourcing, I’m not sure if it saves money,” says Powers. As director of facilities at the Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute in Williamstown, Mass., Powers oversees facilities,...

Good security basics enabled a security response before the shooting started  Mass shootings by emotionally disturbed individuals and terrorists have led authorities and security professionals to search for means of prevention. “Analysing an actual incident in which a potential shooter was stopped seconds before becoming active can illustrate how solid security basics can help prevent catastrophe,” says Drew Neckar, CPP, CHPA, regional director of security wi...

A growing number of users look to add cloud-based functionality to their surveillance toolkits In today’s market, both end users and resellers seek new technologies to make security programs more effective, while also helping business and employees be more efficient. Cloud-based monitoring services are gaining a significant amount of attention as an emerging solution to meet these needs. Maria Cambria, Vice President, Technical Center of Excellence, DVTEL says that end u...

Access control and alarm worlds are going digital and plugging into the network Open tech standards are integrating diverse security technology systems — and security people — into the corporate mainstream The digital technology revolution has begun to course through the public and private worlds of government and commerce, replacing old analogue technology. Chief among the many benefits of digital over analogue is the ability to integrate diverse technologies...

Video cameras are great tools for security at airports, but increasingly cameras are offering operational benefits, too. Anthony Incorvati, business development manager, critical infrastructure and transportation, Axis Communications, says cameras at airports today are often used for operations rather than (or in addition to) security. For example, cameras mounted at departure gates are not installed for security but rather for operations and maintenance, as a tool to help airlines...

Security technologies are used in a wide variety of locations and environments in the transportation vertical Transportation is among the more diverse markets within the security industry, consisting of multiple non-homogeneous segments and some varied sub-segments, too. Transportation means a lot of different things to a lot of different people. Typically, the transportation vertical includes any entities responsible for moving people and goods – that would encompass pu...

The solutions offered today in the field of server virtualisation seem to be a natural fit for the evolution of security systems from analogue to IP The video surveillance industry has been transitioning from analogue to IP-based systems over the last several years, and it is clear that this trend will continue. In light of this, it is apparent that taking advantage of the advancements in the IT world for use in security system design is the next logical step. In this article,...

Dave Tyson has 30 years of experience in all facets of enterprise security The incoming president of ASIS has volunteered with industry groups for years. His goal: to help people get better at their jobs. With 30 years' experience in all facets of enterprise security, Dave Tyson, CPP, CISSP, looks forward to his 2015 term as President of ASIS International (ASIS). “I’ve spent a lot of years working to make a difference in the security industry,” Tyson says...