Ipsotek - Experts & Thought Leaders

Ipsotek, an Eviden business and global pioneer in AI Computer Vision solutions, has announced the launch of VISense, a groundbreaking addition to its VISuite platform that redefines real-time video analytics with Vision Language Models (VLMs).  VISense represents a major advancement in Generative AI integration, using VLMs to achieve detailed scene understanding and contextual insights empowering operators to make informed decisions promptly. Natural Language Detector Building on Ipsotek’s Natural Language Detector introduced in April 2024, VISense allows users to ask questions like, “Let me know when something unusual is happening in any camera view” and receive a detailed response describing the unusual aspect of the captured behaviour. For instance, it might respond, “Yes, there is a flood; water levels are rising in the northern section, and several vehicles are stranded, causing heavy traffic congestion,” providing actionable insights that enable quick decisions. Key advantages of VISense Zero Configuration Deployment: VISense eliminates predefined alarm configurations, intuitively understanding scenes and ensuring seamless scalability across thousands of cameras. Contextual Accuracy: By answering generic questions, VISense delivers highly accurate insights, providing operators with critical details beyond the traditional alarms with static descriptions. Scalability: VISense seamlessly scales to support vast deployments, making it suitable for industries ranging from transportation to retail and beyond. Video analytics “VISense is a game-changer for video analytics. By combining Computer Vision with the power of Vision Language Models, we’ve empowered users with an unprecedented level of interaction with Ipsotek’s VISuite platform that led to an intuitive experience with enhanced benefits,” said Ipsotek CTO & Sales Director Dr. Boghos Boghossian. “We are very excited about the future advancements this innovation will bring.” Ipsotek’s VISuite platform is already tailored to over 17 industry verticals, and future updates will bring even more specialised capabilities. Generative AI Ipsotek’s R&D team is actively working on future VISense features aiming to design tools VISense is just one milestone in Ipsotek’s ambitious roadmap to bring Generative AI to the forefront of AI Video Analytics. Future developments, set for release in 2025, will further transform how operators interact with and gain more value from Computer Vision systems. Ipsotek’s R&D team is actively working on future VISense features aiming to design tools that elevate real-time decision-making, operational safety, and automation to the next level. Intersec Dubai Ipsotek is set to showcase VISense for the first time at Intersec Dubai, taking place from January 14-16, followed by AI Everything in February. Visitors to the events can witness a live demonstration of VISense in action on the company booths. The team will be on hand to provide expert guidance, highlighting its innovative capabilities and discussing real-world use cases.

Ipsotek, an Eviden company and global pioneer in AI Computer Vision solutions, has announced that Spark New Zealand, the country’s largest telecommunications and digital services provider, has announced a strategic partnership with Ipsotek and launched Spark AI Vision - an advanced AI Computer Vision platform designed to transform workplace safety, retail intelligence, and security operations across New Zealand businesses. This partnership combines Spark's digital infrastructure expertise with Ipsotek's more than twenty years of AI Computer Vision experience, bringing enterprise-grade video analytics capabilities to New Zealand organisations. Ipsotek's proven track record includes successful deployments of more than eight hundred projects across 44 countries. AI capabilities “Our partnership with Ipsotek represents a significant milestone in bringing world-class AI capabilities to New Zealand businesses,” said Michele Wong, Internet of Things and Solution Lead at Spark New Zealand. “We’re enabling organisations to extract meaningful insights from their existing camera infrastructure while solving critical business challenges.” Early adoption of Spark AI Vision “At United Industries, we are working towards safety solutions that not only protect our workforce but have the potential to revolutionise the entire NZ construction industry." "By partnering with Spark, we are working to utilise their AI Vision Health & Safety solutions with our existing CCTV cameras in high-risk areas of our steel operations. Our commitment to industry-led innovation is paving the way for smarter, safer workplaces across New Zealand,” said Ben Hammond, Group Health and Safety Manager, United Industries Limited. Ipsotek’s AI Computer Vision solutions Spark AI Vision deployed with IP camera infrastructure, making it a cost-effective key for firms Chris Bishop, Head of APAC at Ipsotek, commented: “Our collaboration with Spark brings together our global expertise in AI-powered Computer Vision video analytics with Spark's deep understanding of the New Zealand market. This partnership will accelerate the adoption of smart video analytics across various sectors, driving operational efficiency and innovation.” Ipsotek’s AI Computer Vision solutions leverage advanced AI and Scenario-based Rules to analyse IP video streams in real-time, providing actionable insights while adhering to strict privacy and security standards. Spark AI Vision can be deployed with existing IP camera infrastructure, making it a cost-effective solution for businesses looking to enhance their operations. Spark’s broader strategy  Dr. Boghos Boghossian, CTO & Sales Director at Ipsotek, added: “The Partnership with Spark NZ marks another key collaboration with a pioneering telecom provider that is pioneering the value proposition of AI-driven Computer Vision in the industry.” The launch of Spark AI Vision aligns with Spark’s broader strategy of providing solutions that combine connectivity, edge compute, and AI capabilities to solve complex business challenges. The solution is available for New Zealand businesses, with flexible deployment options.

Ipsotek, a global pioneer in AI-powered video analytics, has announced the appointment of Sean Grimm as US Country Manager. This strategic move underscores the company’s commitment to expanding its presence in the United States and investing in market growth. Sean Grimm Sean brings over 25 years of expertise in physical and electronic security, with a distinguished career spanning computer vision, AI, and sales leadership. Most recently, he served as VP of AIoT Sales at EPIC iO Technologies, where he led a team focused on on-site security and computer vision for critical infrastructure. Before that, Sean successfully led sales teams for the Eastern US and Canada at BriefCam and held key roles at industry pioneers, including Hitachi, Hanwha Vision, Diebold Nixdorf, Johnson Controls, and Verint. Talent and innovation investment "Sean’s extensive experience in computer vision and AI, combined with his proven leadership in building teams and driving revenue growth, makes him the ideal pioneer to expand Ipsotek’s presence in the US," said Dr. Boghos Boghossian, CTO & Sales Director at Ipsotek. He adds, "His appointment reinforces our commitment to investing in talent and innovation as we continue to deliver cutting-edge solutions to meet the growing demand in this market." AI-powered video analytics Commenting on his new role, Sean Grimm said, "I am excited to join Ipsotek at such a pivotal time in its growth journey." He adds, "The company’s innovative approach to AI-powered video analytics is transforming industries, and I am eager to bring these solutions to our US customers." Goals in computer vision Sean Grimm continues, "I look forward to working with the talented Ipsotek team to expand our reach, foster strong partnerships, and help organisations achieve their goals in computer vision and AI implementation." Sean’s appointment represents an important milestone for Ipsotek in the US, as the company leverages his expertise to drive growth, build new partnerships, and strengthen its position as a pioneer of AI-powered solutions.

IFSEC International took place over three days at the ExCel in London, presented alongside shows covering fire safety, intelligent buildings, facilities management, and safety and health. While perhaps not on the same scale as pre-pandemic events, the atmosphere was convivial and spirits high, everyone glad to be back amongst their peers in the industry. Predictably, the trending topics were steered by issues in the wider world: sustainability, moving services to a subscription-based model, and new ways of working inspired by COVID-19 safety measures. A place for cutting-edge innovation After a challenging couple of years, companies were keen to meet customers, showcase their products and reveal the latest innovations. Integrated Design Limited displayed their new Glassgate 400 Plus turnstile, a sleek design for the corporate market. Tony Smith, Major Accounts and Marketing Manager, Entrance Control and Turnstile Security, told SourceSecurity.com, “I feel trade shows are a very important part of IDL’s marketing effort. We are more than pleased to display alongside our peers and have customers make direct comparisons with our products and theirs.” Biometric access reader Biometrics, as ever, generated a lot of interest, including the European launch of RealNetworks’ new SAFR SCAN biometric access reader, which combines facial recognition, computer vision, and image capture technologies for a range of applications. “Overall, there was a really good footfall, and we met an excellent mixture of end-customers, system integrators, distributors, and consultants from both Europe and the Middle East who are exactly the types of people we were hoping to demonstrate SAFR SCAN to,” commented Charlie Bennett, Vice President UK & Europe – SAFR, RealNetworks. Access control systems going green HID Global is one company leading the way in the move away from plastics to focus on mobile access The eco-friendly trend and the need to be more sustainable is becoming a real force in the security industry, particularly in access control where there is considerable pressure to ditch the plastic. HID Global is one company leading the way in the move away from plastics to focus on mobile access. Gerald Grattoni, Physical Access Control Solutions Regional Business Unit Vice President at HID Global (part of the ASSA ABLOY Group), explained in a press briefing, “Making buildings smarter and more eco-conscious is high on the corporate responsibility agenda of many companies as the sustainability credentials of new buildings are now very important. With digitalised mobile identities there is less plastic waste and lower emissions.” Flexible, remote, and contactless Innovation in smart buildings is also being led by changes to how we work, live, and play, inspired in part by the recent pandemic. New technology is required to meet the needs of the hybrid workspace, as employers adopt more flexible working models and demand for contactless access control increases. Now, the most technologically sophisticated buildings are controlled by an app on a mobile phone, giving ease of access and full control without the need for plastic cards. Remote monitoring Advances in remote monitoring have escalated due to COVID-19, particularly in high demand in the health and education markets. Connecting via industrial standard network protocols allows for remote communication Ian Bridgewater, Director, Technical Sales Manager, TOA Corporation (UK) Ltd, explained further, “Connecting via industrial standard network protocols allows for remote communication. Working with specialist software developers has expanded this, giving greater flexibility to monitor and maintain systems remotely from a central hub.” AI-based autonomous access solution AI also has a role to play in this new high-tech, touchless world and various companies are utilising this technology. Alcatraz AI found IFSEC the perfect opportunity to exhibit their new Rock autonomous access solution. "We now live in a time in which AI can make precise real-time decisions at the door to authenticate or deny access using your face as a credential,” said Greg Sarrail, Senior Vice President of Sales at Alcatraz AI. “IFSEC 2022 allowed Alcatraz AI to demonstrate the speed and accuracy of autonomous access control. The number of qualified partners and end-users representing a broad international scope in attendance at IFSEC was encouraging.” Meanwhile, the Eagle Eye Networks stand attracted a lot of visitors keen for a demo of their new Eagle Eye Smart Video Search, which allows users to search for people, vehicles, or objects, and immediately find the exact video across all cameras in all sites. "AI and cloud are two trends that Eagle Eye, the media, and the security business community have been talking about for a while. We were excited to showcase Eagle Eye's new AI-powered technologies at IFSEC 2022," added Rishi Lodhia, Eagle Eye Networks Vice President and Manager Director EMEA. "Our stand was buzzing with activity and AI was the main topic of discussion for all three days. All in all, a great show."  Investing in a secure future Engineers of Tomorrow gave apprentice finalists the chance to show off their skills in front of thousands of peers and professionals from the security sectors live on the show floor. The winners will go on to the WorldSkills UK (WSUK) LIVE competition – the nation’s premier skills, apprenticeships, and careers event. Although the products on display at IFSEC promised a contactless, digital future, this was a good reminder of the importance of the people who install and maintain these systems and the vital role of engineering apprenticeships in the industry.

Developing an effective contact tracing system in the UK to monitor the spread of COVID-19 has proved to be problematic. The trials of the app developed by the government and its partners encountered numerous challenges, and despite the reopening of restaurants, pubs and shops, the current approach to contact tracing is inconsistent, with recent reports suggesting not all establishments are following the government guidance.  At the same time, businesses are being encouraged to ask employees to return to the workplace as lockdown restrictions ease, and the lack of an effective contact tracing system is only going to become more of an issue. Responsibility now lies with employers to ensure social distancing measures are adhered to in the workplace, trace any contact that a person infected with COVID-19 has had with others, and communicate consistent messaging across their organisations. Considering all of these challenges, it is not surprising that technology is being turned to for the answers.  Turning to technology  However, it is not just cutting-edge technology that can support measures to address health and safety issues related to COVID-19; the use of existing infrastructure is vital too. Consider the ubiquity of CCTV in workplaces and public spaces, especially in densely populated cities. Recent research has shown that London, for example, has 627,727 cameras for 9.3 million residents - the equivalent of 67.5 cameras per 1,000 people. The data collected from these feeds will play a key role in effectively tracing interactions and monitoring the adherence to social distancing measures. Tracing interactions and monitoring the adherence to social distancing measures As useful as this data is though, the sheer volume of it is enormous. Sifting through hundreds of hours of video footage collected from networks of thousands of cameras will be far too time-consuming and inaccurate to complete manually. This is where more advanced technology such as A.I.V.A. (Artificial Intelligence Video Analytics) is required. A.I.V.A. solutions use existing camera networks and geospatial algorithms to determine an individual’s location in the camera field of view in real-time, automatically learning the perspective of the scene and calculating the GPS coordinates of individuals in real-time based on their location in the camera field of view. Social distancing algorithms For example, with regards to social distancing, an algorithm can detect when two parties are within a metre proximity of each other. This will trigger an alert in the system and log the occurrence in a dashboard report. If government recommendations change and the suggested distance is 2 meters, the algorithm is easily adjusted. This approach will help to reinforce changes in behaviour to encourage social distancing and, in the worst case, establish an effective contact tracing system for those who have been infected with COVID-19 and have come into contact with others. An effective contact tracing system for those who have been infected with COVID-19 Firstly, in terms of how this can be used for social distancing, AI powered video analytics can be used to identify particular hotspots where breaches occur. While isolated incidents of a breach in the 1m rule may not be particularly useful, when a series of occurrences is identified from thousands of hours of CCTV footage, vital insights can be gained into localised clusters of COVID-19 infections. The reports generated from this type of analysis can be extremely useful; for example, pinpointing particularly busy areas of a job site, identifying queues at a coffee station at a certain time of the day, or the most frequently used exit of an office building. Breaching the rules Armed with these insights, businesses can implement measures to try and alleviate such bottlenecks. In practice, this may involve implementing one-way systems or moving people from one congested area to a quieter one at particular times of the day, to help reduce the chances of breaching the 1m social distancing rule. There is even the capability of triggering an automatic alert when a breach is observed to remind employees of their responsibility to adhere to the guidelines. If a business is informed that one of its employees or a visitor has contracted COVID-19, the use of A.I.V.A can support in helping to identify areas that the person has visited and whether there were any other people in that area at the same time. Instead of informing others directly, the business can issue a notice to say exactly where that person was and advise employees who may have been present to be tested. This is particularly useful for businesses with large sites, who need to manage each building and facility on a case-by-case basis. Workforces can be protected by decreasing the chance of social distancing breaches Although simple to implement, AI powered video analytics can play a key role in helping businesses implement solutions that allow employees to safely return to work. With such technology in place, workforces can be protected by decreasing the chance of social distancing breaches occurring and effectively tracking those who have it. The technology does not rely on the identification of specific individuals nor their personal information or mobile phones, but rather recognises behaviour patterns and uses this approach to provide accurate information to groups of people that need it. AI has long been touted as the technology set to revolutionise life as we know it, and now it has the chance to unlock its potential and protect people in a world significantly affected by COVID-19.

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 separate dedicated server. However, there isn’t one right solution, as a video analytics' complexity and a camera’s processing power are not always aligned. Some analytics can begin the analysis at the camera and also utilise a server to balance the workload. Others may be best used in server-only models. Speed of alert is of importance, as results that are not urgent may not dictate a powerful camera. Another variable is whether the system needs actual video of an event or just information (metadata) from that video. When recorded video is not required at a server, intelligent cameras at the edge help lessen the required bandwidth, says Brian Lane, director of marketing, 3VR. He says intelligent cameras and the cloud go hand-in-hand. For example, only metadata is needed when counting people; therefore, intelligent cameras can do all the processing in the camera, and only the metadata is sent to the cloud. For security, only a low-bandwidth stream is sent to the cloud, while the high-resolution video is stored at the camera. When video is required, the edge advantage becomes far less, since the video must reach the server to be recorded, adds Lane. Having analytics such as face and demographics at the server level keeps the cost of the cameras low since the processor on the server does most of the work. Processing power on servers is far cheaper than having a robust processor in each camera. Analytics that require a lot of processing power greatly increase the cost of the cameras, since they must have a robust processor. When the processing takes place at the server level, the customer can keep overall costs down by using far cheaper cameras and using a centralised server-based system. Edge-based analytic cameras offer a host of benefits to facilities that need to monitor large perimeters, complex campus environments or geographically dispersed open spaces Sometimes, a combination is optimal. For example, Agent Vi has a patented approach that enables analytics processing both at the server and distributed to the edge. The Agent VI system operates on a server between the camera and the video management system (VMS), analysing video streams and providing output of that analysis. A software module called “Vi Agent” runs inside video encoders and cameras at the edge (including brands such as Axis, Samsung, Hikvision, and Vivotek). The Agent Vi software completes “preprocessing” at the edge and sends information to the server, which completes the process and provides the output. Unlike strictly edge-based analytics, the approach is not limited by processing power and memory in the camera. Compared to server-only installations, the system is more scalable (by a factor of 10 to 20 compared to server-based systems), says Zvika Ashani, chief technology officer (CTO), Agent Video Intelligence (Agent Vi). The Vi Agent and server are the same for various verticals; various functionalities are activated per user based on license keys, with various licensing at different price points. Ashani notes a trend in the market of camera vendors turning their cameras into open platforms to allow software vendors to load analytics (and other applications) onto the cameras. Previously, software vendors had to work closely with camera vendors, even creating special software versions. “Today, the cameras are not yet at the level of an iPhone or Android [platform], but they are much more open and there is greater variety in terms of applications you can load,” he says. Ipsotek has always seen edge-based analytics as an interesting alternative to traditional server-based (centralised) solutions. Edge deployment lends itself to a distributed solution where infrastructure is not available, hence where transmitting video of high quality to a centralised server is not an option. Transport (road/rail) has been a major beneficiary of edge-based analytics technology, says Dr. Boghos Boghossian, CTO, Ipsotek. The lack of infrastructure results in a need for a more complex management of rules and possibly more challenging environmental aspects. In order to operate advanced video analytics solutions at the edge, a suitable hardware platform should be provided with enough processing power. However, often at the edge, the system must be rugged and should operate at high temperature extremes; consequently, the availability of such a hardware platform is less likely. There isn’t one right solution,as a video analytic’s complexityand a camera’s processing powerare not always aligned “Because of these issues, most manufacturers have opted to offer only basic analytics solutions at the edge,” says Boghossian. “Ipsotek took a different route, and through the use of digital signal processing technology, has managed to move its technology to the edge with no compromise to performance, feature list or robustness.” Ipsotek has been offering cloud-based systems to a number of large customers for a few years. The interesting correlation is the larger adoption of cloud-based solutions in projects based on edge analytics due to the lack of infrastructure and therefore reverting to cloud storage for data management. This trend may soon be overtaken by cloud-based video analytics, which is waiting for sufficient affordable bandwidth to stream video to the cloud at the required speed and quality. Edge-based analytics run on raw video data as opposed to encoded video on the server, allowing the analytics to gather more sensitive and accurate data, says Maor Mishkin, director, Video Analytics Product Champion, DVTEL. In addition, it allows the analytics to control the sensor and enable optimised video input for the analytic engine. Edge-based analytic cameras offer a host of benefits to facilities that need to monitor large perimeters, complex campus environments or geographically dispersed open spaces. Edge-based analytic devices do not rely on servers or third-party software. This reduces the network bandwidth requirements while maintaining performance at the highest level. In addition, when technology developers offer a complete solution that ties in edge analytics and video management, users benefit from a single, tightly integrated solution, which means there is less opportunity for failure, Mishkin says.