Soliton Systems - Experts & Thought Leaders

Soliton Systems has been named as the winner of the Airbus Critical Apps Challenge Belgium at the recent Astrid event in Brussels. With their new Zao Android App, Soliton has developed an encrypted live streaming video app that can operate on the new Airbus Tactilon Dabat device. Airbus is a pioneer in aeronautics, space and related services with their Defence and Space group as innovators in providing secure communication devices for government agencies that include emergency services. The Tactilon Dabat device is the latest innovation for emergency services in that it combines a traditional TETRA radio used by emergency services, with a ruggedised smartphone that can use 4G for a variety of related data-enabled applications. Emergency service workers Jacques Brancart, who is the Managing Director for the Proximus-Airbus consortium, explains further “As we developed the Tactilon Dabat device, we were keen to work with partners who specialise in apps that can be utilised by emergency service workers to make their jobs more efficient and safer.” A law enforcement officer need not require many different gadgets if they can be all integrated into one tool" “As we see in the corporate world that the Smartphone has become the standard for everyday business apps, we also have the same vision for the communication device used by emergency workers - it should not be restricted to only voice communications. As an example, a law enforcement officer need not require many different gadgets if they can be all integrated into one tool.” Live video streaming Brancart continued “We decided upon the Critical App Challenge in Belgium to open up the floor to all our partners to showcase an app that would benefit emergency services. We had a very large response to the competition with a shortlist of 5 that were selected to exhibit at the recent Astrid event in Brussels. The final winner was selected by the end user attendees at the show voting on their favourite app. We were delighted to announce Soliton as the winner with their encrypted live streaming app.” The 7th edition of the ASTRID User Days, held in Brussels on 3 and 4 October 2018, was a seminar and exhibition for public safety and security agencies with over 1500 people attending. ASTRID manages the voice and data communication network for all emergency and security services in Belgium. The Zao Android App was developed by Soliton Systems to enable high quality and reliable encrypted live video streaming from both the integrated cameras on Tactilon Dabat device, even when there is low signal strength or congestion caused by many users. Live evidence gathering These VMS systems are typically deployed in command and control centres and use a standard called ONVIF that we are compliant with" Shinya Hyakutake, Senior VP of Mobil Broadcasting from Soliton Systems said “The app is very simple to use but it has a lot of rich features under the cover. We are both encrypting and compressing the video using the latest video compression of H.265 with the ability to quickly live stream to existing video management systems.” “These VMS systems are typically deployed in command and control centres and use a standard called ONVIF that we are compliant with. We have an innovative road map going forward and ultimately we see the ability for this app to both enhance and replace body worn cameras that are currently in use.” Video streaming for emergency services can provide a rich source of information for many different applications from live evidence gathering, facial recognition, GPS location, covert operations, special operations, public safety, resource planning, emergency first aid and mobile surveillance. The other four shortlisted finalists for the critical app challenge was United Biometrics, Steerpath, NSION-Core and BIG.

Soliton Systems K.K, a Japanese technology company specialising in IT security and mobile surveillance products, has successfully completed the certification of the Zao-S with Milestone’s XProtect video management platform. Mobile video transmission Utilised on a global stage with many law enforcement, first responder and emergency services, Soliton Systems manufactures the “Smart-telecaster Zao-S”, that allows instant encrypted video live streaming from remote mobile situations such as body worn actions cams, police surveillance vehicles, drones, helicopters and in some cases live streaming from dogs. This is achievable by the miniature device utilising multiple 4G connections simultaneously to live stream video reliably back to a command centre. The Zao-S, a lightweight yet powerful HEVC (H.265) mobile video transmission device, is used by many global law enforcement agencies The Zao-S, a lightweight yet powerful HEVC (H.265) mobile video transmission device, is used by many global law enforcement agencies and other public safety agencies to live stream for a variety of different applications such as public event surveillance, security, covert operations or live streaming from a body worn camera during police operations. In conjunction with Milestone’s XProtect VMS, it can be used to live stream high quality video that can then be displayed in real-time and recorded in the VMS environment with low latency and in full HD quality. XProtect VMS platform In addition to the Zao-S, Soliton have developed the “Zao Media Gateway” that is a receiving platform to recreate the H.265 stream from the multi-linked mobile networks and create IP video streams which for XProtect would be the H265/ONVIF over RTSP. The Zao Media Gateway can be operated in the cloud or in a customer’s own network (on-premises) and is used to stream to the VMS platform, or it can live stream to any destination in the world as required including laptops, tablets and smartphones. Regarding this partnership, Henrik Sydbo Hansen, Group Manager, Devices & Integrations commented as follows: “We are dedicated to working with partners in order to give our joint customers the perfect solution. At the same time, we are delighted to expand our mobile solutions portfolio with a partner like Soliton.” Surveillance cameras The Zao-S can be used with many off-the-shelf action cameras or surveillance cameras that supports HDMI or SDI The Zao-S can be used with many off-the-shelf action cameras or surveillance cameras that supports HDMI or SDI to live stream in full HD, with a latency typically of between 500ms to 1 second from the remote camera to the XProtect VMS back at a command centre. Henrik Sydbo Hansen continues: “We see a rapidly raising interest for highly mobile solutions, and the open platform approach in XProtect, means that we can present more and more partners meeting this demand.” Official support begun end of August 2018 when the Soliton solution was included in Milestones XProtect device pack version 9.9.

Milestone Systems, the provider of open platform networked video management Systems, releases Device Pack 9.9 for partners and customers using Milestone XProtect video solutions. The bi-monthly device packs contain software updates for XProtect VMS to support new hardware. 209 new devices have been added to this release, bringing the total of supported devices to more than 7,500. Milestone works closely with device manufacturers in the Milestone community to achieve optimal interaction between their devices and XProtect VMS. The same rigorous testing applies to driver standards like ONVIF - a priority for Milestone. Authentication of devices Automated retrieval of recordings from devices with edge storage is another new featureThis Device Pack has a particular focus on cybersecurity for ONVIF. Support has been added for more types of security certificates. This enables better authentication of devices. Automated retrieval of recordings from devices with edge storage is another new feature, primarily aimed at body worn cameras. When a body worn camera is docked, XProtect can detect it and download high-quality video recordings from the device’s internal storage. Enhanced security mechanism Before ONVIF-supported devices are listed in the supported hardware list, they have been tested to ensure 100% functionality with the XProtect open platform technology. This enables the Milestone community to pick the best devices for their end-customers, from the market’s broadest selection. They can be assured of the functionality of any supported device. We have added support for SRTP to Bosch cameras, with an enhanced security mechanismWe have added support for SRTP to Bosch cameras. Secure Real-Time Protocol (Secure RTP or SRTP) is an extension of the RTP protocol, with an enhanced security mechanism. It provides encryption, authentication and integrity verification of data and messages passed through the RTP-based communication protocol. Intelligent Axis cameras We have increased XProtect support for intelligent Axis cameras: we have expanded event-detection in selected camera models, enabling users to use a wider range of events in XProtect. Extended support for Axis Camera Application Platform has also been enabled in XProtect 2018 R3, Milestone’s last Product Update this year. Several models of Hanwha X-Lite cameras and encoders are now fully supported. The efficient H265 video compression has been added to the support of Soliton body worn cameras.

Video surveillance across the world is growing exponentially and its major application is in both public safety and law enforcement. Traditionally, it has been fixed surveillance where cameras provide live streams from fixed cameras situated in what is considered strategic locations. But they are limited in what they can see given by their very definition of being "fixed." The future of video surveillance includes the deployment of more mobile video surveillance with the benefits it offers. Instead of fixed cameras, this is the ability to live stream from mobile devices on the move such as body-worn cams, drones, motorbikes, cars, helicopters and in some cases, even dogs!Sending drones into the air, for example for missing people or rescue missions, is much more cost-effective than deploying helicopters Advantages of mobile surveillance The advantage of mobile surveillance is that the camera can go to where the action is, rather than relying on the action going to where the camera is. Also, sending drones into the air, for example for missing people or rescue missions, is much more cost-effective than deploying helicopters. The ability to live stream video from cars and helicopters in high-speed pursuits can be used to take some of the operational issues from the first responders on the ground and share that “life and death” responsibility with the operational team leaders back in the command centre. This allows the first responders in the pursuit vehicle to focus on minimising risk while staying in close proximity of the fleeing vehicle, with direction from a higher authority who can see for themselves in real time the issues that are being experienced, and direct accordingly. In addition to showing video live stream from a pursuit car or motorcycle, by using inbuilt GPS tracking, the video can be displayed on a map in real time, allowing a command chief to better utilise additional resource and where to deploy them, through the use of displaying mapping information with real time video feed. It allows police chiefs to make better informed decisions in highly-charged environments. The 4G phone network can now be used with compressed video to live stream cost effectively Application in emergency situations The same is true of first responders in many different emergency situations. Mobile surveillance opens up a new area of efficiencies that previously was impossible to achieve. For example, special operations can wear action body-worn cameras when doing raids, fire departments can live stream from emergency situations with both thermal and daylight cameras, and paramedics can send video streams back to hospitals allowing doctors to remotely diagnose and prepare themselves for when patients arrive at the hospital. How can special operations and emergency first responders live stream video from a mobile camera with the issues of weight, reliability and picture-quality being considered? H265 mobile video compression Law enforcement insists on secure transmissions, and it is possible to encrypt video to the highest level of security available in the public domain The 4G phone network can now be used with compressed video to live stream cost effectively. The issue of course is that 4G is not always reliable. Soliton Systems has mitigated this risk of low mobile quality in certain areas, by building an H265 mobile video compression device that can use multiple SIM cards from different cellular providers simultaneously. H265 is the latest compression technique for video, that is 50% more effective than conventional H264, and coupling this with using multiple “bonded” SIM cards provides a highly reliable connection for live-streaming high-quality HD video. The 400-gram device with an internal battery can be connected to a small action cam, and can live-stream simultaneously over at least three different cellular providers, back to a command centre. Latency is typically less than a second, and new advance improvements are looking to reduce that latency further. Encrypted video transmission What about security? Law enforcement insists on secure transmissions, and it is possible to encrypt video to the highest level of security available in the public domain, i.e. AES256.What about integration into existing video infrastructure at the command centre? It is not untypical for a police force to have an existing video management system (VMS) at their command centre such as Milestone System’s Xprotect. The Soliton range of products are ONVIF-compliant, a standard used by video surveillance cameras for interoperability, allowing cameras and video devices that are ONVIF-compliant to simply “plug&play” into existing video management systems. These mobile transmitters are deployed with law enforcement and first responders across the globe. Their ability to provide secure, full HD quality and highly-reliable video streaming within a small unit, and to enable it to be integrated into the current eco-system that is already installed at the receiving end, has made them a favourite choice with many companies and government agencies.