BEST PRODUCTS OF 2020

● Special Report

Products 2020 Part 1

BEST PRODUCTS OF 2020

2020 has been a year like no other, with challenges aplenty. But security people can take heart from the fact their rapidly evolving solutions have proved central to managing the COVID-19 pandemic – not only this, the pandemic has turbo-charged acceptance of technologies that have been knocking on the door for decades, including face recognition, analytics, cloud, and remote management functionalities.

Y OU might think a year like 2020 would impact negatively on R&D, stemming the flow of new electronic security technology as manufacturers, end users and security integrators sought refuge in familiar solutions but that’s not been the case at all. Instead this intensely challenging 9 months has not only stimulated manufacturer creativity but opened the minds of users and integrators to whatever might be possible.

There were plenty of COVID-19 specific solutions released in 2020 but what was interesting was how many other clever solutions were released. The nature of these products suggests the electronic security market’s future remains bolted to the operational outcomes of end users and their security integrators – outside of this fundamental, almost anything goes.

This year Inner Range released the Inception 3.2 firmware update which allows users to present biometric credentials, including face recognition, as well as traditional access cards to gain entry. With Inception 3.2 facial recognition, fingerprint scans and iris scans can all now be used as access credentials and this allows for more advanced security configurations for clients. Nirovision was one of the first to integrate its solution with Inception.

Inner Range’s new Multipath-IP T4000 Lite includes all the features of the original T4000 in a small form factor, with additional inputs and outputs. Connecting to the IR smartphone apps which provide push notification services, the T4000 Lite is bundled with a dual 4G SIM card on the Telstra and Optus networks, providing an additional layer of security if one network was to go down. The SkyCommand app allows the end user to control 3 built-in outputs which can be programmed to control areas in an alarm panel.

BriefCam released v5.6 of its video content analytics platform in 2020, which offers license plate

recognition with searches and watch lists, people counting that can monitor and alert on the increase or decrease of people in a pre-defined range of view or area and track semi-obstructed people, a mobile app that allows users to pinpoint faces in video by using facial recognition capabilities to view and select faces found in videos and search for their appearances across other cameras and video content analytics beyond the confines of a centralized location using Investigator, Cloud Edition.

Also new, the Axis body worn camera system features a mobile camera unit with Zipstream, docking station and system controller, and open system architecture, that means integration with a broad range of video management systems and evidence management systems.

The system is easily scalable for large and costefficient body worn systems. The system controller provides a single integration and management point and allows for fast and reliable video offloading (100Mbit per camera). All data is encrypted both at rest and in transfer using AES256 and TLS. In addition, video data can be fully end-to-end encrypted with specific integrations. Meanwhile, AXIS Body Worn Assistant mobile application allows users to review footage and add categories, descriptions and notes.

We also liked Hikvision’s new SuperWide outdoor bullet and indoor turret with a field of view of 180 degrees, 120dB wide dynamic range (WDR) and builtin infrared technology for visibility of up to 10m at night.

One of the best performing cameras we tested in 2020 was the AXIS P3245-LVE, which is an IP66 and IK10-rated 1080p dome camera with H.265 and H.264 compression, a 3.4–8.9mm F1.8 aperture varifocal lens, along with AXIS Lightfinder 2.0, Forensic WDR and OptimizedIR. degrees and rotation 175 degrees. This camera offered an excellent image – still with the slightly warm Axis tones but very sharp, with rich colours, excellent depth of field and a superlative catch rate of moving faces and plates in this form factor. The image is clean, depth of field is unusually strong, and it comes with no loss of focus close in. Looking through the scene there’s excellent light balance and strong management of backlight with excellent control of exposure.

When we visited Dahua a while back we heard a lot about the company’s products and complete end-toend solutions based on deep learning that focuses on human and vehicle, providing intelligence to users – WizSense technology offers accurate predictions before an event; instant deterrence during an event; quick target search after an event; storage saving while ensuring target details, and privacy protection and defence against attacks.

The technology analyses human and vehicle shapes based on motion detection using a deeplearning algorithm that effectively filters out false alarms triggered by raindrops, leaves, pets, insects and light, allowing users to focus on real threats. WizSense is also equipped with face detection THERE WERE PLENTY OF COVID-19 SPECIFIC SOLUTIONS RELEASED IN 2020 BUT WHAT WAS INTERESTING WAS HOW MANY OTHER CLEVER SOLUTIONS WERE RELEASED.

BY JOHN ADAMS

and face recognition features, instant deterrence functions and real-time push notifications. Features like face image search and face attribute search can effectively improve the efficiency of target searching.

Also new in 2020, VIVOTEK SD9374-EHL is the company’s latest professional IR speed dome camera with 4MP resolution, specifically designed to enhance video surveillance in large coverage areas. Equipped with 250 metre IR illuminators and a 36x optical zoom lens, the SD9374-EHL provides a high resolution image with 2560 x 1440 pixels. The SD9374-EHL also adopts VIVOTEK’s Smart IR II technology, Vari-Angle IR, which provides smooth vari-angle adjustment of the IR illuminators, allowing broad coverage FOV and highly uniform IR intensity while avoiding hotspots. There’s Trend Micro cyber security protection, H.265 compression technology and the camera has an IP66 and NEMA 4X-rated housing to protect against rain, dust, and corrosion.

I also liked the Hanwha Wave & Inner Range Inception Integration this year. It allows bidirectional control of both systems in one and is simple to use through Hanwha’s mobile app, Wisenet Wave. The integration incorporates features such as arming and disarming of the system and unlocking and locking doors on Inception from the Wisenet Wave mobile app. Video analytics triggers alarms, activating security inputs and emergency icons on the Wisenet Wave Mobile App which then activates alarms on the Inception panel.

Ipsotek’s analytics-based proximity detection module for social distancing awareness came out earlier in the year. It alerts security teams or management to personal proximity that may pose a health risk in public or workspaces. Ipsotek’s VISuite AI tracks the GPS co-ordinates of all persons in the camera FOV in real time. VISuite AI can precisely calculate the distance between each person and generate snap alarms immediately the distance falls below 2m. It also accurately measures the time people were less than 2m apart, so if required, alarms are only generated for breaches over a prescribed period, to identify people consciously engaging.

SCSI released Duress Watch in 2020, a smart wearable duress system designed specifically for sites such as large corporations like banks, as well as any location where the threat to staff is probable. Duress Watch operates and looks just like any other smart watch. It’s only when any level of duress alarm is activated that other staff in the location will receive notification that a team member requires assistance. Events are sent to a monitoring centre for appropriate action including audio/GPS detail. According to SCSI, Direct Connect and Duress Watch units are pre-programmed, ready for use, and include easy to follow user guides and web management portals.

The Genetec Occupancy Management Package

● Special report

Products 2020 Part 1

released this year enables businesses to tap into their security system to count people, visualise data, and manage occupancy density rules. As many retailers, restaurants and public venues get set to start reopening in the coming days and weeks, the need to enforce physical distancing measures is critical.

Also new this year, Bosch INTEOX is a camera platform built on the Android open source project (AOSP) that’s designed to give end users, system integrators and application developers freedom of customisation and development. The new open camera platform combines built-in intelligent video analytics from Bosch with AOSP giving the ability to add software apps securely. The new platform supports the latest technologies, such as neural network-based analytics, the next step in machine learning and artificial intelligence (AI).

Hikvision’s new Acusense 4K fixed turret camera features 8MP resolution supported by Darkfighter technology to enhance low light performance, integrated IR, H.265 compression, 120dB of WDR, and a robust part-metal build that’s rated IP67 against water and dust.

Hikvision’s Acusense is more a solution than a camera - the key is Acusense technology – a deep learning algorithm able to distinguish pedestrians, vehicles and objects and report events based on rules around what they do. Video clips are sorted into categories – people and vehicles – users click one of these categories and use time or location data to quickly locate the clip they need.

VIVOTEK Crowd Control released this year includes an edge-computing stereo counting camera, PoE switch, and network video recorder. The solution is designed to enable businesses to comply with social distancing regulations and maintain maximum occupancy as well as a safer and healthier environment during COVID-19. VIVOTEK’s Crowd Control Solution enables effective management of crowds in places where social distancing must be upheld. VIVOTEK’s 3D stereo counting camera provides precise tracking and a counting accuracy up to 98 per cent. This accuracy is further increased by the ability to transfer large datasets. Combining AI with deep-learning analytics, video data can be gathered, analyzed, and applied in real-time, enabling staffs to respond promptly to any change.

Alarm.com Outdoor Wi-Fi Camera (ADC-V723) with video analytics was also released in 2020 – it’s more about the AI than outright camera performance. Alarm.com AI points the way to the future of smart homes. The video analytics can detect and alert home or business owners of any person, vehicle, or animal on their property.

BriefCam v5.6.1 unveiled its video content analytics platform, which allows contact tracing and enforcing of social distancing, v5.6.1 offers the ability to forensically review video to identify individuals who were in proximity to another individual for a determined duration of time, and to combine with face recognition and appearance similarity capabilities to determine if a person has been in contact with COVID-19 infected individuals. This enables users to quantify the proximity of people across time and location, compare across days and correlate with external data sources to ensure compliance with social distancing mandates.

Meanwhile the new Hikvision DS-2CD2347G1LU 4MP ColorVu has a fast aperture F1.0 advanced lenses and high-performance sensors. There’s also 2688 x 1520 resolution at @30 fps, 120dB WDR and built-in mic and fixed lens options including 2.8mm, 4mm and 6mm. There are also 4 behaviour analysis functions are available with this model, including line crossing detection, intrusion detection, object removal detection, unattended baggage detection.

Dahua released DH-IPC-HDW8341X-BV-3D 3MP WizMind dual-lens IP67, IK10 network camera with behaviour detection this year. Dahua Perimeter Protection technology can recognize human and vehicle accurately. In restricted areas (such as pedestrian area and vehicle area), the false alarms of intelligent detection based on target type (such as tripwire, intrusion, fast moving, parking detection, loitering detection and gathering detection) are reduced. The deep learning algorithm and 3-dimensional scene information generated by Dahua Stereo Analysis technology can recognize people’s behaviours, such as fall detection, people approaching detection, people number error, stay detection, violence detection, and then generates alarm signals and triggers linkage.

Bosch introduced a software solution called Intelligent Insights that enables customers to use data in new ways to enhance situational awareness in real time. The software solution aggregates and visualizes metadata of one or multiple cameras in intuitive widgets to easily evaluate a complete scene, delivering via widgets for crowd detection, occupancy counting, area fill level, people counting, object counting and object positions. Intelligent Insights makes use of Bosch cameras’ built-in video analytics to interpret video images and collect metadata from cameras. This is collected, aggregated,

and displayed using a series of pre-defined widgets to visualize the data. Intelligent Insights enables users to easily evaluate a complete scene covered by multiple cameras.

Bosch also released BVMS 10.1, a modular and resilient security system that aggregates and delivers consolidated data to security operators in a way that helps them make informed decisions – so they can trigger the right actions and deploy a swift response to improve security and safety. When combined with the Access Management System 3.0, BVMS enables security operators to scrutinize any person attempting to gain entry using manual video verification. Not only can the operator instantly verify if the person matches the registered cardholder in the database, they can also search for cardholder activities, and other activities at the door. This makes it possible to check who has entered a certain area, and at what time, which is especially helpful for forensic investigations.

Uniview is something of a quiet achiever in CCTV but its latest cameras have really stepped up performance-wise. This year the company also released VMS-B180-A, a high-performance and highly cost-effective video management platform. VMSB180-A is a physical device with a built-in desktop, so it works without a PC and it can greatly reduce costs and speed up deployments, while its 1U size allows a more flexible installation. To match UNV frontend products, it offers a face recognition solution, a face-based access control system and a license plate recognition solution as well.

Nx Witness VMS released the latest version of its cross-platform video management system designed to discover, view, record, and manage IP video cameras so you can monitor, analyze and react to critical events in real-time with a very appealing onceoff cost. Users can receive push notifications from multiple systems and turn on/off notifications as they please on their mobile device. Users can also create custom text for notifications in the rules engine via desktop client. In cloud and local server web admin makes it easy to keep an eye on the health of your system devices so you can be proactive in keeping your system up and running.

Interesting from Honeywell this year is Pro-Watch Intelligent Command, a web-based user interface that provides organizations complete situational awareness of their security system to protect people, property and assets. The compliance-driven, enterprise security software platform combines access control, video surveillance, intrusion detection and other business critical functions into a single user interface to help to optimize productivity and reduce operational costs. The platform allows end users to easily scale their enterprise security systems and is easy to deploy. Pro-Watch Intelligent Command is a key element of the Pro-Watch Integrated Security Suite. It can also help companies comply with new guidelines like social distancing and wearing masks to create healthier and safer building environments.

Digifort VMS released integrated drone operation with Aeroguard in 2020, allowing end users to liberate the power of aerial surveillance on their sites simply and economically. Developed to be completely integrated with the VMS Digifort, Aeroguard performs a simultaneous connection with an unlimited number of DJI brand drones, allowing unified management of drone operations through the Digifort VMS, in real-time, anywhere in the world. As it is completely integrated into the Digifort VMS system, existing features, such as operational maps, can be used to make a drone’s operation extremely refined.

Milestone Systems XProtect 2020 R3 added a new level of encryption from Microsoft called Cryptography New Generation (CNG) that the company said reaches the highest level of cybersecurity and data protection available. XProtect 2020 R3 also offers a new multi-category search function that makes finding specific video evidence easier and faster than ever. Multi-category search allows the operator to combine and search across multiple search categories such as people, vehicles and location, as well as any search agents developed and integrated into XProtect by thirdparty technology partners.

Genetec Occupancy Management Package released this year enables businesses to tap into their security system to count people, visualise data, and manage occupancy density rules. The Occupancy Management Package includes analytics and reporting tools that enable organisations to tap into their security system to count the number of people in a store or similar business area, visualise data, and alert employees when occupancy limits are being reached. Audit reports can also be easily produced to demonstrate a business’ compliance with physical distancing regulations. Genetec also unveiled clever integrations between its Security Center management system, SENSTAR and LIDAR in 2020. n

Part 2 of Best Products next issue