Vintra Inc. - Experts & Thought Leaders

Vintra, Inc., a provider of AI-powered video analytics solutions, announced a new module for its Vintra Fortify platform designed to automate and simplify the management of existing manual security processes at mission-critical locations. Vintra Guard, available as an additional module for Vintra Prevent, enhances real-time monitoring and enterprise alerting by incorporating video-based identity verification for access control management. Integrated with C•CURE Initially integrated with the C•CURE 9000 Security + Event Management System (other access control integrations will be introduced in 2023), Vintra Guard will automate two-factor identity verification for C•CURE users, incorporating class-leading video analytics into a powerful access control system in order to automatically detect unauthorised access across a campus facility, remove the manual review of access control events and better protect people, places and things. “We are constantly seeking to improve the level of insights that organisations can derive from video analytics and the high-fidelity data they provide,” said Brent Boekestein, CEO and Co-Founder of Vintra. He adds, “Vintra Guard builds on our premise and promise that the future of security is multi-modal and this C•CURE integration is a perfect example of how our award-winning AI-powered video analytics can provide the easiest way to add a layer of intelligence on top of traditional access control to create a more-aware, more-automated and more-secure environment.” Reviewing access events Vintra Guard will automatically review all access events at a given point of entry Vintra Guard will automatically review all access events at a given point of entry, using facial recognition to verify the identity of the person that used each credential in order to find any unauthorised credential usage. If a badge is used by an individual that is not the actual credential holder, an alert will be generated, available within the Vintra Fortify platform or sent to leading VMS platforms such as Genetec or Milestone. Potential breach Given a potential breach, Vintra Guard users can quickly perform either a Live Re-ID or post-event Re-ID, Vintra’s unique search feature that can then quickly locate any potential offender in seconds across any of their connected cameras. Vintra’s Re-ID feature provides valuable, timely situational awareness, illustrating an individual’s journey throughout the facility, their current location and information needed to quickly mitigate the situation. Simple yet comprehensive approach Vintra’s Re-ID technology is effective using either facial recognition or via a body appearance search, providing a simple yet comprehensive approach to protecting both privacy and security. As a result, Vintra Guard frees up key personnel dedicated to manual identity verification efforts, adding an AI-powered second layer of security that ensures all access events are properly verified and enabling security teams to better fortify an entire facility.

Vintra, Inc., a provider of AI-powered video analytics solutions, is showcasing its next-generation video analytics at GSX 2022 in Atlanta, GA via a number of interactive forums. Vintra is driving the new science of intelligent video analytics by correlating data acquired from its purpose-built multi-class algorithms to deliver higher levels of analysis and understanding of event detection, classification, tracking, and forensics. GSX attendees can receive a demonstration of these new-wave video analytics solutions at Vintra booth 1317. Unique and innovative solutions “Vintra is ushering in a new era of video analytics with unique and innovative solutions that deliver even higher levels of automated situational awareness and detailed forensics than previously possible,” said Brent Boekestein, CEO and Co-founder of Vintra. “GSX is the perfect background for us to demonstrate and discuss these exciting new advancements that will greatly enhance longstanding security issues and deliver new and exciting sources of business intelligence.” Featured solutions Vintra Fortify, is a purpose-built video intelligence solution that automatically detects events of interest in real-time to issue immediate alerts and indexes recorded video streams for rapid post-event investigations. The innovative video analytics solution makes any fixed or mobile security camera smarter, effectively leveraging users’ investment in pre-existing video systems. Live Re-ID, which builds on Vintra’s class-leading re-identification technology, allows users to find and track individuals and/or vehicles across multiple cameras, and creates an alert on this result that stays active for the following four hours. This is the perfect compliment to Vintra’s existing Re-ID technology, adding a forward-looking re-identification element to increase situational awareness, alerting in real-time on the last known position of a face, person, or vehicle. Vintra IQ, allows users to quickly collect all video evidence surrounding a person of interest in one profile, and then outline that POI’s relationships with other persons and objects across days or months of data in just seconds. With Vintra IQ, forensic teams have a fast and easy way to sort through vast amounts of data better to understand patterns of life and key relationships within. Vintra BI enables users to leverage all the data that is generated by security cameras for business intelligence applications. This provides security professionals the ability to leverage video analytics metadata to gain valuable insights across the enterprise for such things as employee occupancy and space utilisation, office traffic flows, safety hazards and compliance, and so much more. The ability to leverage more intelligent video systems effectively helps security operations evolve from cost-centres to profit centres. Showcasing integrations  The two integrations provide users with the ability to rapidly review and analyse recorded video content In addition to showcasing its wide range of video analytics solutions, Vintra is also showcasing its latest integrations with Milestone and Genetec. The integration of Vintra Fortify with Milestone Xprotect provides seamless connectivity between the two technologies, making it easy for users to manage their full video experience within a single client. Also featured is the integration of Vintra Fortify with Genetec’s Security Center. These two integrations provide users with the ability to rapidly review and analyse recorded video content under one unified VMS platform. Education session  Additionally, show attendees can engage with Vintra CEO and Co-founder, Brent Boekestein by attending his education session entitled, “Intelligent AI-Powered Video Analytics Transform Security Operations Centers Into Profit Centers”. The session takes place on September 12th from 11:15 am to 12:15 pm in GSX meeting room B404, and covers how physical security practitioners can overcome the long-standing challenge of demonstrating security’s value to management using the new science of video analytics. Vintra is also co-sponsoring an invite-only, post-show event with Velasea on September 12 from 6:30 pm to 10 pm at Topgolf Atlanta.  

Vintra, Inc., a provider of AI-powered video analytics solutions, announces a new integration between Vintra Fortify, their video intelligence solution, and Milestone Xprotect, a VMS platform with more than 20 years on the market and over 500,000 installations worldwide. The integration will provide seamless connectivity between the two technologies, making it easy for users to manage their full video experience within a single client. Minimising false alerts Milestone XProtect users can now add AI-powered video analytics to any fixed or mobile camera or stored video with a single click, giving them the ability to apply analytics to specific cameras on demand. The rich rules engine within Vintra Fortify enables an endless combination of alerts to be produced, featuring ‘smart muting’ to train the system over time, minimising false alerts. This includes their Re-ID technology that can quickly locate individuals or objects across multiple video streams Vintra Fortify also features advanced pattern analysis technology that helps users go beyond simple detections of objects. This includes their Re-ID technology that can quickly locate individuals or objects across multiple video streams, providing valuable information regarding the ‘journey’ of that individual or object. “One of our fundamental objectives is to improve the information and insights that organisations can derive from their surveillance systems, effectively transforming them from reactive to proactive solutions,” said Brent Boekestein, CEO and Co-Founder of Vintra. Pattern analysis technology “Beyond the Fortune 10 company, a top-50 bank, numerous U.S. government and law enforcement agencies, and others that we share as customers, this partnership provides hundreds of thousands of Milestone users with an easy and convenient on-ramp to sophisticated analytics without a significant investment or need to rip and replace existing cameras or systems.” The integration takes the form of a plugin that enables the use of Vintra Fortify inside XProtect as a tab in the user interface. Cameras can be automatically imported from XProtect to Vintra so that Vintra’s AI-driven video analytics can be applied in real time. Real-time alerts generated by Vintra Prevent are sent to XProtect and can be viewed by users in Alarm Manager within the XProtect Smart Client, on Vintra’s alert page, and via the mobile app. Recorded video footage Milestone XProtect users now have access to many key features of Vintra Fortify For post-event investigations, recorded video footage can be easily imported from XProtect to Vintra Investigate for AI-powered video searches, automating and dramatically accelerating the often mundane and laborious process of manually reviewing video footage. Through this integration, Milestone XProtect users now have access to many key features of Vintra Fortify. Re-ID utilises a face, body or vehicle reference image, re-identifies that object across multiple cameras to quickly provide security teams with a heightened level of situational awareness regarding a potential issue. Live Re-ID also features the ability to alert users as to the last known position of that object of interest. Specified static object Crowd Size Alert is triggered when there are too many or too few individuals detected in a camera’s field of view, helping support health and safety initiatives as well as supporting use cases such as continuously verifying the presence of security personnel in a room. A Loitering Alert protects critical areas from unauthorised access or presence by notifying when a person or vehicle is detected for longer than a specified timeframe. Mute Alerts enables users to selectively mute alerts for a specified static object, reducing false positives and increasing trust in the system. For Vintra users, VMS on-demand indexing increases the number of cameras that can benefit from video analytics.

Although video camera technology has been around since the early 1900s, it was not until the 1980s that video started to gain traction for security and surveillance applications. The pictures generated by these initial black and white tube cameras were grainy at best, with early colour cameras providing a wonderful new source of visual data for better identification accuracy. But by today’s standards, these cameras produced images that were about as advanced as crayons and coloring books. Fast forward to 2022, where most security cameras deliver HD performance, with more and more models offering 4K resolution with 8K on the horizon. Advanced processing techniques, with and without the use of infrared illuminators, also provide the ability to capture usable images in total darkness; and mobile devices such as drones, dash cams, body cams, and even cell phones have further expanded the boundaries for video surveillance. Additionally, new cameras feature on-board processing and memory to deliver heightened levels of intelligence at the edge. A new way of doing things But video has evolved beyond the capabilities of advanced imaging and performance to include another level:  Artificial Intelligence. Video imaging technology combines with AI, delivers a wealth of new data, not just for traditional physical security applications, but for a much deeper analysis of past, present, and even future events across the enterprise. This is more than a big development for the physical security industry; it is a monumental paradigm shift that is changing how security system models are envisioned, designed, and deployed. Much of the heightened demand for advanced video analytics is being driven by six prevalent industry trends: 1) Purpose-built performance Several video analytics technologies have become somewhat commoditised “intelligent” solutions over the past few years, including basic motion and object detection that can be found embedded in even the most inexpensive video cameras. New, more powerful, and intelligent video analytics solutions deliver much higher levels of video understanding. Vintra custom-built their platform to focus on what matters most to security professionals: speed and accuracy.” This is accomplished using purpose-built deep learning, employing advanced algorithms and training input capable of extracting the relevant data and information of specific events of interest defined by the user. This capability powers the automation of two important workflows: the real-time monitoring of hundreds or thousands of live cameras, and the lightning-fast post-event search of recorded video. Vintra video analytics, for example, accomplishes this with proprietary analytics technology that defines multi-class algorithms for specific subject detection, classification, tracking, and re-identification and correlation of subjects and events captured in fixed or mobile video from live or recorded sources. 2) Increased security with personal privacy protections The demand for increased security and personal privacy are almost contradictory given the need to accurately identify threatening and/or known individuals, whether due to criminal activity or the need to locate missing persons. But there is still societal pushback on the use of facial recognition technology to accomplish such tasks, largely surrounding the gathering and storage of Personally Identifiable Information (PII). The good news is that this can be effectively accomplished with great accuracy without facial recognition, using advanced video analytics that analyse an individual’s whole-body signature based on various visual characteristics rather than a face. This innovative approach provides a fast and highly effective means of locating and identifying individuals without impeding the personal privacy of any individuals captured on live or recorded video. 3) Creation and utilisation of computer vision Computer vision-driven video analytics transform professional video security systems from being purely reactive to proactive and pre-emptive solutions.” There are a lot of terminologies used to describe AI-driven video analytics, including machine learning (ML) and deep learning (DL). Machine learning employs algorithms to transform data into mathematical models that a computer can interpret and learn from, and then use to decide or predict. Add the deep learning component, and you effectively expand the machine learning model using artificial neural networks which teach a computer to learn by example. The combination of layering machine learning and deep learning produces what is now defined as computer vision (CV). A subset but more evolved form of machine learning, computer vision is where the work happens with advanced video analytics. It trains computers to interpret and categorize events much the way humans do to derive meaningful insights such as identifying individuals, objects, and behaviours. 4) Increased operational efficiencies Surveillance systems with a dozen or more cameras are manpower-intensive by nature, requiring continuous live or recorded monitoring to detect and investigate potentially harmful or dangerous situations. Intelligent video analytics, which provides real-time detection, analysis, and notification of events to proactively identify abnormalities and potential threats, transform traditional surveillance systems from reactive to proactive sources of actionable intelligence. In addition to helping better protect people, property, and assets, advanced video analytics can increase productivity and proficiency while reducing overhead. With AI-powered video analytics, security and surveillance are powered by 24/7 technology that doesn’t require sleep, taking breaks, or calling in sick. This allows security operations to redeploy human capital where it is most needed such as alarm response or crime deterrence. It also allows security professionals to quickly and easily scale operations in new and growing environments. 5) A return on security investment “With video analytics, what has always been regarded as a cost centre is now being looked at as a profit centre.” The advent of advanced video analytics is slowly but surely also transforming physical security systems from necessary operational expenses into potential sources of revenue with tangible ROI, or as it is better known in the industry, ROSI – Return on Security Investment. New video analytics provide vast amounts of data for business intelligence across the enterprise. Advanced solutions can do this with extreme cost-efficiency by leveraging an organization’s existing investment in video surveillance systems technology. This easy migration path and a high degree of cost-efficiency are amplified by the ability to selectively apply purpose-built video analytics at specific camera locations for specific applications. Such enterprise-grade software solutions make existing fixed or mobile video security cameras smarter, vastly improving how organizations and governments can automatically detect, monitor, search for and predict events of interest that may impact physical security, health safety, and business operations. For example, slip-and-fall analysis can be used to identify persons down or prevent future incidents, while building/area occupancy data can be used to limit crowds or comply with occupancy and distancing guidelines. In this way, the data gathered is a valuable asset that can deliver cost and safety efficiencies that manual processes cannot. 6) Endless applications The business intelligence applications for advanced video analytics platforms are virtually endless including production and manufacturing, logistics, workforce management, retail merchandising and employee deployment, and more. This also includes mobile applications utilising dashboard and body-worn cameras, drones, and other forms of robotics for agricultural, oil and gas, transportation, and numerous other outdoor and/or remote applications. An added benefit is the ability to accommodate live video feeds from smartphones and common web browsers, further extending the application versatility of advanced video analytics. Navigating a busy intersection The accelerated rate of development for new advanced video analytics makes the intersection of video and AI technologies a very busy one to navigate. Just like crossing the street, one needs to be cautious in their approach. There are a lot of players entering this space who are making big statements and claims about their solutions. When vetting a provider, consider that it’s all about how they develop their technology, the accuracy they deliver, and their ability to leverage this new source of data to improve the specific outcomes you need to achieve. And most of all, it’s about proof of performance and how they arrived at the desired outcomes. Navigate your way across this busy intersection pragmatically, and you will find intelligent video analytics to be a real game-changer for your organisation’s physical security operations.

Most individuals have strong opinions about what is more essential to our civilisation: personal privacy or security. After more than a decade of technology enabling greater and greater amounts of Personally Identifiable Information (PII) and data harvesting, now the pendulum is swinging towards a society that places more emphasis on individual rights and privacies. This shift is manifesting in a variety of ways, quickly changing the technology, security and cyber security landscapes, and requiring organisations to take a hard look at their own data and privacy practices. Growth of digitisation While finding a balance point between the two that everyone can agree on is an ongoing struggle, today there are technology solutions that can help. As we continue to examine how our society, organisations, devices and individuals can achieve this balance, we acknowledge that ongoing discussion remains important as the digitisation and connectivity of our environments continues to grow. In recent years, a number of policies have been put into place, to help formally dictate the balance between privacy and security. The European Union (EU) looked to tackle this issue in 2018, with the passage of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), currently seen as the toughest privacy and security law in the world. Other, more specific guidelines based on industries or geographical areas, such as HIPAA in healthcare and the California Consumer Privacy Act, also help determine an individual’s right to privacy. Regulations have to keep up with technological advancements Every new regulation, policy and legal protection put in place helps draw a line in the sand, regarding privacy and security Every new regulation, policy and legal protection put in place helps draw a line in the sand, regarding privacy and security, addressing the growing societal concern for collective security and personal privacy. However, regulations are not usually able to keep up with technological advancements. With new policies being enacted at the same time new solutions and threats come to market, organisations can easily fall behind. This opens the door for security and safety teams to take data privacy into their own hands, in order to reassure their customers that their solutions and policies are both privacy-centric and security-minded. Where privacy and security co-exist As our presence in physical and cyber environments expands and merges - along with the inter-connectivity between devices - so does the attack surface available to those wishing to do harm. There have been several developments on both fronts to address these threats with built-in protections for privacy and safety in place. The question becomes: As we integrate solutions that help us address security, are we sacrificing privacy and vice versa? For example, physical access control systems are deployed to protect an organisation’s facilities, people and assets, ensuring only those with the right credentials have permission to enter. This helps to ensure the security of the organisation – but at the same time, the access control systems are gathering reams of data, including who entered what area, when, and with whom. Business intelligence Integrators and manufacturers are now actively marketing the data benefits of their solutions to their customers. These benefits typically revolve around business intelligence, as organisations can use the data gathered by security products to provide valuable insights, in order to guide business decisions and ensure compliance with applicable regulations. The same security vs. privacy conundrum is present in video surveillance. Video surveillance, which was once only able to provide real-time monitoring, has now expanded to include video analytics, capable of telling us what happened in the past, why it happened, and how to prevent it from happening in the future, using machine learning and AI (artificial intelligence). From a security perspective, video analytics removes guesswork, when it comes to leveraging business data and creating actionable results, but also introduces personal privacy concerns related to the generation of PII. PII gathered from video surveillance Some organisations are choosing to forego surveillance systems all together PII gathered from video surveillance, such as faces and biometric records, is of concern to organisations potentially looking to deploy the technology, and often rightfully so. Some organisations are choosing to forego surveillance systems all together, in order to help better protect the rights of their employees. To combat this, security professionals are starting to bring facial recognition and video analytics out of the shadows, marketing such innovations in the public-sphere in ways that are easily understood. Framework for security data governance On the end user side, responsible providers must begin outlining a framework for security data governance, in order to ensure that users’ privacy is protected from unlimited data gathering. Operating with transparency, security teams need to create a paradigm for how data is gathered, where it is being stored and what security measures are put in place to protect it. At the same time, security is a greater concern now than ever before. With modern threats, including workplace violence, COVID-19 concerns, and a growing number of cyber-attacks, today’s workplace have never been riskier. Organisations are constantly looking to deploy solutions that can both prevent and deter such risks. Privacy issues continue to grow While physical security systems, such as video surveillance and access control have become widely accepted solutions for such risks, privacy issues only continue to grow. With an estimated 75.44 billion networked IoT devices estimated to be installed in 2025, even more, questions will continue to be raised over the rights of individuals, to protect their personal privacy. It is up to security teams and their IT counterparts to find the best ways to optimise physical and cyber security, without breaching these boundaries. Is AI (artificial intelligence) the answer? AI and machine learning solutions can be easily configured, in order to enable or disable features Modern technologies and their champions are succeeding, when it comes to helping organisations create their own personal balance between security and privacy. Often, AI and machine learning solutions can be easily configured, in order to enable or disable features, when these features are not needed or wanted. For example, if an organisation is not comfortable with the use of facial recognition in their video surveillance, they can simply turn it off, while still taking advantage of available analytics that work based on body signatures. Similarly, operations teams can gather anonymised occupancy data from cameras, without accessing the security system itself. It is up to security teams, IT departments, and security integrators to understand the implications and capabilities of the technology they are installing, in order to determine if the solution meets their individual privacy and security specifications. Facial recognition leads to privacy concerns When it was first introduced in the market, facial recognition technology was considered an exciting new technology for a variety of applications. However, now facial recognition is highly controversial and not as well accepted by the general public. Opposition has grown due to reasons, including bias and the potential scraping of photos from public sites, in order to create a depository of images for use in facial matching. This is where artificial intelligence (AI) can make a game-changing difference, with its ability to power advanced video analytics and simultaneously, address both privacy and security. AI technology used to solve the problem of bias AI technology is also being used to solve the problem of bias, particularly with the development of better training data sets, used as the basis of facial recognition. Unlike databases where photos are skimmed from public sites, data sets can be artificially created using General Adversarial Networks (GANs). GANs use AI to create computer-generated faces indistinguishable from real photos, as the base for training facial recognition devices. In this way, millions of faces are made under perfect conditions, with a variety of skin tones, eye shapes and facial structures. These artificially created images are, in turn, used to train the facial recognition AI device, in order to reduce bias and create a greater pool of recognition. AI can help protect personal information on the cyber-side The use of facial recognition and two-factor authentication is commonly used to unlock a personal mobile phone AI can further help protect personal information on the cyber-side. For example, the use of facial recognition and two-factor authentication is commonly used to unlock a personal mobile phone. This technology is similarly being deployed in remote work, where individuals working from home must first verify themselves using facial recognition, in order to access their organisation’s sensitive files. AI used in reporting AI is also used in reporting, making it possible for organisations and individuals to know immediately, if an unauthorised user intended to use their identity, going as far as to even recognise when a social security number is being entered online in an unsecured environment. While both man and machine (AI) can help find the line between privacy and security, it will be up to the individual to determine how, when, where and to what extent, the technologies they employ address their personal assessment of privacy vs. security. Smart solutions providers, in turn, recognise this by creating systems and tools that allow for a sliding scale of privacy and security, wherein the individual can determine which of their concerns is addressed more directly.