Tuning VCA for Real Life

Editor / Provider: a&s International | Updated: 6/30/2011 | Article type: Tech Corner

For an algorithm to make sense of a scene, it must identify the objects it sees. It looks for movements in the picture through changes in pixels, finds out if a group of moving pixels constitute a coherent object and checks if the object matches a certain criterion to estimate what the object is, said Katharina Geutebrück, MD at Geutebruck. “A very simple example is if the object is taller than its width, has a face and is approximately the size of a person, then the algorithm decides it is quite possibly a person and responds accordingly.”

To make this logical deduction, the algorithm must be told how big a person would be in the image when he is in the foreground, and how big he would be when he is in the background, Geutebrück continued. “This is done during the setup when the service engineer ‘measures' the scene to determine how wide the foreground and background are.” Calibration is an integral part of any video analytics installation, said Mahesh Saptharishi, Chief Scientist at VideoIQ, in a prepared statement. “The generally accepted meaning of calibration in video analytics focuses on defining the height and size of a human in the specific field of view of an individual camera through a manual process. Vehicle detection, be it cars, boats or bikes, is calibrated in a similar manner.”

Calibration
Calibration is typically performed after the corresponding camera is mounted and multiple points in a scene are mapped out and recorded with a consistent object, such as a pole, Saptharishi said. “The pole helps the camera determine the height of an average human being and trains it to trigger an alarm when something at that height enters a field of view.”

The expectation is that the field of view is not going to change dramatically, including landscape, trees and other objects, and the camera will never be repositioned or knocked during routine maintenance, Saptharishi continued. “The process is laborious and time-intensive; because it largely relies on a single characteristic, such as object height, manual calibration does not always provide the most optimal threat detection.”

One constraint has been the complexity of installing such a system in the field and obtaining optimal results, said Zvika Ashani, CTO of Agent Video Intelligence.

“Reducing setup complexity will contribute to greater market penetration of video content analysis (VCA).” As companies look more and more to active surveillance systems with analytics, ease of installation and maintenance become increasingly important, Saptharishi added.

With metadata and forensic searches, the user can install the camera and leave it running for a certain amount of time — maybe a couple of weeks or a month or two. “Now, you have all the environmental dependencies and variables, such as sunrise, sunset, rain, maybe even snow,” said Gerard Otterspeer, CCTV Product Marketing Manager, Bosch Security Systems.

“The engineer then tweaks the system to a level where the customer can accept the rate of false negatives and positives. Copy that into live-alarm settings, and the system is good to go.”

Self-learning algorithms are now available with some solutions. Some software can analyze targets in the field of view and automatically determine the camera angle, environment (indoor or outdoor) and pixel-to-meter ratio at various distances, Ashani said. “This feature removes some of the manual configuration that was previously required.”

However, while auto-configuration is now available for those who have very simple requirements, those who have complex needs should have a trained engineer implement the system, warned Ivy Li, cofounder and MD of iOmniscient. “This is not unreasonable. When you want to install a tap, you normally hire a trained plumber to put it in; and this is a basic technology that has been around for more than 1,000 years.”

Bringing in the Experts
"VCA is very sophisticated. Just as one would be reluctant to board an airplane piloted by an untrained person, one should not expect an untrained person to implement VCA," Li said.

Trained and experienced integrators should explain to customers that a VCA system might take two to three weeks to “settle in,” said Patrick Lim, Director of Sales and Marketing for Ademco Far East. “During this time, we hope to encounter as many situations as possible. Sometimes, we will create possible scenarios, such as ‘attempted intrusion during a rainy night.' Our engineers will try to fine-tune the system until it can deal with all the expected scenarios.”

For example, if a person is obscured by objects within a room, walking behind a parked vehicle, or partially hidden by shrubs, then only a fraction of an individual's head and torso can be visible to the camera, resulting in a missed detection, Saptharishi said. “To prevent this, analytics that require manual calibrations often have to simulate all possible scenarios during the installation process, including having individuals walk within an area with and without cars in order to properly detect partial objects. Moreover, as foliage changes and new objects are included in a field of view (such as dumpsters), cameras need to be recalibrated to detect properly in the new scene.”

The ability to “back-process” information against a video archive also comes in handy. During the tuning and training of a system, variables and parameters within the asset management system can be changed, and data reprocessed for comparison purposes, said Tim Chandler, President of CoastalCOMS, Coastalwatch.

“This allows for modeling of various outcomes until a set of parameters matches the desired level of accuracy. Confidence level reports then indicate how closely outputs match the desired level of accuracy.”
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Crying Wolf
False alarms arise for a number of reasons. For example, typical sources of false positives for people counting are shadows from people walking outside the field of view of the camera, and these can be minimized by proper positioning of lighting, Ashani said. “False negatives might occur when an adult and child are passing through and walking very close together. The software may mistake them as one person. There is no effective way to get around this, but statistically speaking, this situation is rare enough.”

Usually, high false alarms can stem from wrong applications of the technology, poor products, bad installations and poor understanding, Lim said. “No verticals should ever accept frequent false alarms; thus, the first three factors must be thoroughly tested in proof of concepts or pilot projects.”

Proper definition of false alarms is also a significant challenge, Lim continued. “It is normal that environmental factors such as trees and weather can cause some false alarms, but these should have minimal effects for a properly calibrated system. However, if a suspect's action is detected as a potential intrusion, though it did not happen, it should not be determined as a false alarm.” When a system constantly generates alarms when there is no good reason to do so, “operators cease to treat them as critical situations; they begin to dismiss or ignore alarms without proper verification,” Geutebrück said. “Then, the human operator is back to square one. The system ends up providing nothing but a false sense of security.”

The Eyes
While the analytics are the brains, the cameras are the eyes. As with human vision, the healthier the eyes, the better the vision; the advent of HD and megapixel cameras greatly increases the practicality of VCA. “We are always delighted when our customers choose manufacturers whose products provide consistently good images required for video analytics,” Li said. “We sometimes cringe when the customer insists on using certain brands which we know will cause problems because they were not designed with VCA in mind.” When customers insist on using older analog cameras, integrators and installers face difficulties in achieving the full suite of VCA features, Lim agreed. “Megapixel cameras definitely provide more possibilities to apply the VCA features.”

Camera Placement
Appropriate camera placement is also important. For example, people counting is impractical when the camera is not mounted correctly, Ashani said. “A low hanging camera mounted at an angle will make the count very inaccurate as people passing through the field of view will be blocking each other.”

A top-down view at the right height can provide maximum accuracy for people counting, Li added. Another example could be to detect a person moving toward the camera, Ashani said. “A camera that is almost parallel to the ground will detect little directional movement.”

Staying in the Loop
An often ignored element is the work flow. Even if VCA were 100-percent accurate — which is currently impossible — work flows must also be in place to support an alarm, Chandler said.

“For instance, we have the ability to use thermal cameras to detect someone fishing or poaching on a reef in the middle of the night, and our VMS can notify customers via alarm,” Chandler continued. “But who verifies the alarm? Who is dispatched? Often times, there are no blueprints for how to deal with the ever-growing amount of information VCA can provide, so we help policy makers understand options and change frameworks to support these new types of metrics and alarms. We feel the landscape is changing, and that VCA adoption will continue to grow as customer response frameworks better support what VCA can provide.” An alarm may be a digital signal, but the coordinated response should not be based on the simple yes/ no/true/false questions that VCA answers, Chandler added. “The goal is to put supporting information back into the hands of decision support managers who must ultimately make the call.” VCA cannot save lives in our world — humans do!

Your Business's Best Friend

Editor / Provider: a&s International | Updated: 6/29/2011 | Article type: Tech Corner

Anyone who hasever taken notes on a regular basis understands how limiting handwritten notes can be; finding specific information in a notebook can be time-consuming and frustrating. In the past, video archives were nothing more than a collection of footage waiting to be reviewed. With the advent of intelligent surveillance systems, raw video has been transformed into actionable information.

Video content analysis (VCA) has been plagued by bad business practices and unrealistic expectations, but the technology is, in many ways, still evolving and there have already been tried and tested real-life success stories that benefit from it.

The key for VCA to provide maximum value is having a clearly defined problem and realistic expectations of a solution. “There have been successful projects installed all across Europe,” said Gerard Otterspeer, CCTV Product Marketing Manager, Bosch Security Systems. “In Greece, for example, they use video analytics in tunnels to detect if someone is driving the wrong way or at the wrong speed.

That's directional detection coupled with speed detection. If a car stops in the tunnel for a certain amount of time, which is object loitering, the local authorities can be notified. Furthermore, a clear distinction is made between size and object shape, so the system knows if it's looking at a person or a car.”

Quality Comes With a Tag
What exactly is intelligent video? It is a system that analyzes millions of pixels at blazing speeds, Otterspeer said. “No matter what detection you choose, as simple as it may seem, all of it depends on the underlying algorithm. The first step is to analyze all those pixels and then identify objects. Only when you have the objects can you set the rules. So, it all starts with the quality of the algorithm, and this varies greatly from provider to provider.”

For example , in a complex environment where there are objects walking past one another in the background and foreground, the object IDs may be merging and splitting constantly since the camera is not aware of depth in the scene. “A lot of time and efforts have gone into optimizing ID tracking to ensure there is a right balance. If this is not done properly and two objects merge into one, it messes up the detection,” Otterspeer explained.

Many camera companies are giving away their software at low or even zero costs. However, you get what you pay for, which is nothing, cautioned Ivy Li, cofounder and MD of iOmniscient. “System integrators sometimes complain that the products they were using did not work — if they bought them based on price rather than quality and functionality, they should not be surprised.” Developing VCA algorithms requires a tremendous amount of time and resources. When a provider is giving them away for free, it is possible that they did not put in that much effort to begin with. Came r a s , DVRs a n d o t h e r hardware devices are becoming commodities with reasonable quality, leaving price the only thing to compete on, Li said. “This is not yet true for video analytics. The huge difference in quality drives the market and solution prices.”

Most companies already offer reliable, basic solutions such as line crossing, zone entry/exit and tampering detection. Price per channel for these is dropping since most companies can deliver, said Thejaswi Bharadwaj, Head of Civilian Technologies at Delopt. “However, for analytics that involve significant R&D and intellectual property such as people counting, PTZ tracking and ALPR, the prices will stay steady for quite a while.” Today, many camera and DVR manufacturers give away their software for free to sell their other products, Li said. “If you want a good, working product, you would have to pay for it. It's the same with transportation. You can get a bicycle very cheaply. However, it will not get you from Beijing to Paris quickly.”

"Many VCA solutions on the market today use video motion detection. Today's VCA uses advanced technology which applies machine vision to video scenarios in security and business intelligence applications," said Ed Troha, MD of Global Marketing at ObjectVideo. "Video motion detection is often used in products as an added component to drive hardware sales. These are not truly intelligent analytics and can have limited reliability."

Processing
The algorithms determine how intelligent the VCA is, said Patrick Lim, Director of Sales and Marketing for Ademco Far East. “There are products that use entrylevel processors but perform very intelligent functions without a problem. However, having a more powerful processor gives you some space to accommodate future firmware upgrades that can bring more complex algorithms and smarter features.”

VCA algorithms are very computationally intensive, and any increase in available processing power results in the ability to deploy more accurate algorithms without increasing solution prices, said Zvika Ashani, CTO of Agent Video Intelligence. “Computerized vision is a science that has many applications other than security, and advances are slowly applied to VCA, resulting in an increase in solution accuracy.”

Organizations that have the luxury of applying their algorithms to different industries have the greatest advantage since they can adapt and apply their algorithms to different applications, achieving economy of scale and knowledge-sharing among different projects, Otterspeer added. "For example, algorithm R&D could be centralized and later utilized across divisions such as automotive and security."

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Play Nice
Different vendors take different approaches, but the underlying concept is the same. Classifying different rules based on accuracy helps. According to Bharadwaj, there are three categories:
1. Moving objects: people counting, line crossing, zone entry/exit;
2. Static/semi-static objects: object removal, unattended object, dwell time detection (not based on face detection), loitering, crowd counting, object classification; and
3. Special rules: camera tampering, PTZ tracking of moving/stationary objects, ALPR, face detection.

Solutions for the first and third categories are mature, Bharadwaj said. “With the second, we believe more R&D investment is needed for a foolproof solution that works in all situations to surface.” However, Li feels that the question is not about whether an application is ready, but rather if a particular supplier has a product that can work robustly in different environments.

There are four VCA rules that most users are familiar with, namely people counting, directional detection, camera tampering detection and object removal. “The concept can be easily communicated to customers, and the benefits are easily understood,” said Jukka Riivari, CEO of Mirasys.

People Counting
The largest marketfor people counting is retail, Bharadwaj said. “Presently, most retail locations do not have a way to measure footfall traffic and correlate it with sales numbers. A real-life scenario is one in which a store has counting systems installed at all entrances, aisles and exits. These systems can provide various statistics about flow rate, occupancy and other information that can help optimize operations.” In terms of operational efficiency, people counting helps stores maximize staffing levels at both peak- and low-traffic periods, said Steve Gorski, GM for the Americas, Mobotix. “Hospitality is another vertical that also finds significant value through the use of VCA.”

The traditional method for retail counting was highly inaccurate and costly, requiring extensive wiring and many sensors, Lim added. “New top-down intelligent video devices come fully packaged. For chain stores looking to collect data centrally, IP network connectivity also saves a lot of money. Crowd counting for traffic flow in shopping malls is also a growing trend.”

Accurate people counting requires good processing power. “More often than not, multiple cameras are needed for a wide door/passage way. These cameras need to function as a single integrated sensing entity and generate a single count. It is also important to handle overlap between camera views to avoid over/under counting,” Bharadwaj said.

People counting is very valuable for indoor usage, especially in conjunction with access control. However, the greatest potential lies in commercial and retail settings where people want to know how many people are standing in a certain aisle at a certain time. For security and safety applications, there is increased use of crowd density detection, allowing for an alarm if a train platform reaches, for example, 80 percent of its capacity. Line checking, such as in airports, is another area that can greatly improve operational efficiency, Otterspeer said. “One of the things that can reduce false alarms is head detection. The shape of a human head and its relation to the shoulder is always a certain geometry. Detecting that greatly reduces false alarms from dogs or other animals.”

With the right camera placement and good software, you can do high-quality counting anywhere, Li said. “More sophisticated counting applications can be used for queue management to determine average waiting times.”

Counting and crowd management are slightly different, Lim cautioned. “Counting is expected to be more than 90-percent accurate while crowd management looks at the speed of a crowd formation and area of formation. Count accuracy in crowd management is usually not expected to be more than 85 percent.”

For Coastalwatch , people counting is most practical from a high-mounted camera in an area where background noise is less likely, said Tim Chandler, President of CoastalCOMS Division. “Our focus is to assign a risk variable to a risk index — the ‘count' or number of people is assessed to indicate that the number of people has significantly increased or decreased over a predefined amount of time. Our system ends up reporting 'load' rather than 'count,' which works best in beach areas where safety is a concern.”

Directional Detection
Directional detection and tampering detection are basic functions that many cameras include and most customers enable, Otterspeer said.

“Directional movement detection is used for triggering alerts when a person or vehicle is moving in an area and direction that they should not be moving in. This is used, for example, in protection of critical infrastructure and in airports,” Ashani said.

Real-life scenarios for directional detection involve perimeter surveillance and wrong-way movement detection for vehicles and people, Bharadwaj added. “This is a motionbased algorithm; false alarms arise when the line drawn includes objects such as trees that move due to wind.”

Directional detection can also be applied to beaches as a further indication of risk. “The ability to draw a virtual line in the sand and see if folks are stepping across the line to move into or out of the water is useful, as it can modify a risk calculation's results,” Chandler said. “The idea is to support the risk manager with useful decision support metrics that they can evaluate in real time, especially for remote or unmanned areas of responsibility.”

Directional movement detection can be very accurate, so long as the environment is not overly crowded. Outdoor scenarios are more challenging as there are environmental conditions that can lead to false positives or negatives, Ashani said. “Modern VCA algorithms are able to robustly handle outdoor scenarios in many common cases. Another challenge is the ability to distinguish between target types. For example, the system can fail to distinguish between a group of people and a slow moving vehicle if the algorithm is not sophisticated enough.”

Typical sources of false alarms are moving shadows, changing lights and incorrect object/target classification. Each of these can be minimized by developing additional algorithmic components, Ashani said.

Tampering Detection
Like with all video analytics, tampering can be a simple application, Li said. “The system can tell if someone has sabotaged the camera or covered the lens. More sophisticated systems can also tell if the system can see clearly. So even if the camera has not been tampered with but has lost focus or can't see because it's raining too hard or if the camera has moved due to vibrations, the system will let the operator know.”

Tampering detection is a must-have for any surveillance installation. A tampered camera directly defeats the purpose of video surveillance, Bharadwaj said. “Accuracy depends on design. A good solution needs to detect tampering due to camera defocusing, blocked camera and view change. At the same time, it needs to disregard camera shakes/vibrations due to environmental conditions.”

Camera-tampering detection is applicable to any surveillance camera and enhances the operational readiness of cameras in surveillance installations, Ashani said. “For some solutions, camera tampering is not limited to only video loss or image blocking but also detects insufficient lighting or oversaturated images which result in poor video quality.” This application is generally very accurate and generates very few false alarms, Ashani added.

Object Loitering/Removal
Object loitering and object removal are essentially the same thing. The targeted object is identified, but the alarm goes the other way around, Otterspeer said.

At the moment, object removal rules are probably most effective in places where the traffic is not too dynamic, Lim said. “Object loitering is not as magical as some would claim. If a camera is placed over a crowded airport and a crowd forms up covering one another and an unattended bag, there is no way the VCA will work.” Successful applications are likely in museums and exhibitions rather than airports and transport terminals. “I've heard stories about a public transport operator that tried to implement unattended-bag detection for trains, buses and even the stations. It was a complete failure,” Lim added.

Object removal detection is not practical if the object in question is too small, not in a well-lit area or occluded from the view of the camera for very long periods of time, Ashani added. “There was a large warehouse that installed 150 cameras, all of which carried video analytics. The customer wanted to be notified when cargo went missing, and to be able to use forensic search to find the cargo. This was not that difficult,” Otterspeer said. “However, the director of that establishment wanted to know when one little box of a cellular phone went missing, and wanted the system to follow it through all 150 cameras. That was simply not possible — and still isn't — with the current state of the technology.” Once the director was shown how to set up the right detection lines and proper rules, he was still impressed by how much it could help his operations.

Baggage abandoning is a different matter, as the system needs to understand when one object splits into two and establish a connection between the person and baggage.

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Customizations
Boxed solutions are generally not tailored for specific applications. If a customer is looking for one niche solution, it may still be a centralized solution because of the flexibility. It will also be more expensive because the system needs to be trained by engineers, Otterspeer said.

However, meeting customers' real-life needs is an increasingly popular requirement, Li said. “Solutions tailored for industries, ranging from oil and gas to prisons, maximizes value and reliability. For example, solutions for banking provide detection of skimming devices on ATMs, and solutions for airports provide metering of aircraft to tell precisely how long each is parked at the air bridge.”

Another example would be how people counting is used in coastalarea management. “For safety applications, people counting seems to be most interesting for remote ‘pocket beaches,' which are areas that are often off the beaten path and unguarded by lifesavers,” Chandler said. “If a large number of people suddenly appear in an unguarded or remote beach area, that may equate to higher risk if the ocean or water conditions also match up. This type of VCA, which requires accuracy within a range rather than identification of a single human form, is a great example of VCA working in tandem with business rules and VMS-actuated work flows.”

Integration
The power of analytics is greatly enhanced when alarms or events are correlated with those from other functions, such as access control or video management. A unified security platform allows the end user to view information from all the different systems, correlate it and report on it through one interface, said Jumbi Edulbehram, VP of Business Development at Next Level Security Systems. “The combination of this data enables the user to have a fully comprehensive view of security and business operations, and that is what the end user is seeking.”

The challenge in integrating with VMS is that suppliers are focused on storing information and displaying it, Li said. “They're not familiar with the sophistication of VCA metadata, so they don't have the ability to display it. For example, the VCA software may have a function that allows the user to track an individual and know which camera he has passed through over a period of time. However, most VMS systems are just focused on showing raw image scenes; they don't have the capability to ask complex questions nor to display the answers.” To complicate matters, most metadata today is still proprietary, but fortunately there will be a standardized set of metadata in ONVIF 2.0, making it easier to interact and to integrate VCA into other systems, Otterspeer added.

User interface is another problem area. “If the VCA software allows the user to go back to the beginning of an event when the need arises, the metadata to achieve this can be requested from the video analytics system,” Li said. “However, if the VMS's user interface doesn't have a button to activate this function, the user can't get this information.”

VMS integration, thus, requires software developers to work closely to ensure all functionalities can be accessed through a common user interface, and major standards bodies need to pick up their pace in addressing their clients' needs.

Video Content Analysis: The Last Mile is Key

Editor / Provider: a&s International | Updated: 6/27/2011 | Article type: Tech Corner

Statistics indicated that roughly US$50 million was spent on PC- and server-based video analytics back in 2008, whereas market forecasts for this year and 2012 are estimated at $120 to $140 million. Turning raw video into actionable information is invaluable not only for security purposes, but also for a wide variety of applications to improve operational efficiency. Despite a steady uptake for the past few years, mainstream adoption remains relatively challenging, and this feature explores why.

Having the system understand, to a certain extent, what is going on in the scene truly creates value. The human mind is not optimized for tedious, repetitive tasks; a guard can only stare at monitors and concentrate for so long before his mind begins to drift. Video content analysis (VCA) is here to help alert relevant personnel of any critical incident, and that is exactly what users should expect from it.

A scalable, intelligent detection system can be built through utilizing VCA, said Gerard Otterspeer, CCTV Product Marketing Manager, Bosch Security Systems. “You make your system intelligent, and it will tell you when it needs your attention. It should be positioned as a ‘guard assistance' system, where the human is notified of and acts upon alerts and alarms. This is what users are beginning to realize, and this helps them understand how intelligence fits into their security system.”

The key word was assistance, not replacement, as VCA can do many things, but it is not as magical as some make it sound. Video analytics is a science — one with clearly defined rules that must be followed for optimal results, Otterspeer said. “VCA provides additional benefits in modern surveillance systems and its overall value further justifies the investment in an advanced surveillance system.”

“A survey we did of 1,200 customers this year has shown that good video analytics was the most important component of their security system,” said Ivy Li, cofounder and MD of iOmniscient. “For more sophisticated users, the value of having a camera diminishes when it does not have video analytics, and they question why they need the camera at all.”

Smoke and Mirrors
Video analytics has been around for quite a while, but has not seen wider adoption over the ye ars. One reason may be unrealistic expectations from end users. These expectations were built up in the early days by overaggressive marketing, and later fueled through movies and TV shows, only to have end users disappointed in what could actually be delivered.

Over selling features that clearly need more R&D before reaching commercial viability can be problematic, said Thejaswi Bharadwaj, Head of Civilian Technologies at Delopt. “The overselling of premature algorithms over several years has unfortunately worked, and customers expect human-level accuracies. Efforts from VCA solution providers are required to communicate with consultants who draw up project specifications.”

Educating the market is, thus, critical for VCA to be successful, Otterspeer echoed. “Hollywood productions generate a ‘CSI effect' that sticks in people's minds. They have amazing special effects for intelligent video to ‘wow' people, but reality is a bit different.”

When users' high hopes were beaten down by a myriad of false alarms, some customers actually turned off analytic capabilities, said Steve Gorski, GM for the Americas, Mobotix. “The industry has learned much more about market needs and the technology to offer fully robust solutions that provide significant value to the end customer today.”

The focus is now on the analytics that provide the most operational value, such as people counting, loitering and directional detection.

“Many users have had very poor experiences with poor-quality products and are hesitant to spend money again. I believe this has affected overall growth in the market,” Li said. “But note that the market still exists. Most of our projects involve thousands of cameras. The largest one that we are working on now has well over 100,000 cameras.”

Another reason for some VCA companies today involve commitment issues, Li continued. Many vendors have significant venture capital(VC) backing . “VCs usually have an expectation of an exit strategy within two to three years. Their focus is on having the minimum acceptable technology, and they then attempt to get a few sales so that they can position themselves for an exit. In virtually all these companies, there is very little focus on improving their technology. With poor technology generating lots of false alarms, it is very difficult for such companies to grow sales. When the VCs grow impatient, these companies shut down and leave a bad name for VCA. Users have been scarred and become wary of similar technology,” Li said.

Empty Pockets
Another factor is cost. "There have been cost barriers to analytics being installed more widely — not just the cost of purchasing but also time required from staff to install, fine-tune, manage and maintain systems with analytics," said Christian Bohn, VP of Product Management and Marketing at Milestone Systems. “Furthermore, they are processing-heavy on the system and require more power in the hardware, so the investment is not just in buying the software. Typically, after installing analytics, fewer cameras can be operated perserver. This adds to the overall cost and complexity of an installation.”

▲ Sophisticated VCA implementations come with a hefty price, and the financial crisis further hindered wide adoption.

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Intelligence on Edge
Therefore, many solution providers are moving the processing elsewhere and are looking to embed intelligence in their cameras, Gorski said. “There are many benefits in incorporating analytics onto the edge. This approach dramatically reduces bandwidth and storage requirements by eliminating the need to send irrelevant video data across the network to a centralized server. Decentralization enhances efficiency.”

For some applications, intelligence on the edge is a must, Otterspeer added. “Raw data is processed to make sure everything is analyzed. It is also much more scalable. When you add a camera, you are also adding processing horsepower, as opposed to constant upgrades in a centralized environment.” Power usage of a smart network camera is also significantly less than that of a centralized server.

When there is no need for a centralized server, licensing expenses in the server's operating system can be saved, Otterspeer said. “In the long run, this reduces the TCO for the end user.”

Process ing No Longer A Bottleneck
Looking beyond surveillance, cellular and mobilede vices are increasingly powerful and affordable. “Consumers

today are buying millions and millions of mobile devices; as a result, chip costs are coming down, creating a great opportunity for VCA,” Otterspeer said. “Having a dedicated chip for VCA allows the camera to be capable of ensuring optimal image quality, while delivering the full potential of VCA. There need not be a compromise.”

More powerful and affordable processors, in turn, drive more complex VCA features into cameras, said Patrick Lim, Director of Sales and Marketing for Ademco Far East. “Hopefully, cameras will become increasingly smarter. They could adjust intelligently for diverse lighting and weather conditions as well as nonenvironmental patterns, such as a diverse range of human activities, to assist in preemptive intelligence.”

●Ed Troha,MD of Global Marketing, ObjectVideo

“ Typically, ' lighter ' VCA implementations are seen on the edge to provide more basic functions, whereas more processingdemanding algorithms and applications still get deployed centrally,” Bohn added.

If the software is optimized, the VCA features should have very little effect on the performance of the processor, added Ed Troha, MD of Global Marketing at ObjectVideo.

“If the software is inefficient, it will take up excessive resources no matter how powerful the processor is.” Despite all the processor developments, a main challenge for VCA remains, and that is the lack of a common processing platform across manufacturers, Bharadwaj said.

“For example, each camera vendor has a different processor type. This requires VCA companies to invest a huge amount of R&D in supporting each manufacturer.”

Servers Making a Comeback

●Zvika Ashani, CTO of Agent Video Intelligence

VCA on edge devices is growing in terms of market size, but so is server-based intelligence, said Zvika Ashani, CTO of Agent Video Intelligence. “Due to processingpower limitations, VCA which resides completely inside the edge device is mostly limited to relatively simple applications, such as tampering detection, people counting and directional movement detection.”

“When you need to perform analytics or correlate metadata on live or stored video from hundreds of cameras, you need the greater processing power and central management capabilities of a serverbased solution,” Bohn said. “Serverbased analytics enable more complex analytics and fast searches through archived video. Server solutions are also critical for making a variety of video analytics tools available to various departments, from security to operations and marketing, and allowing for searches of after-the-fact analyses, such as facial recognition, that are beyond the capabilities of on-camera solutions.”

A future-proof solution is to enable video analytics at both ends — server and edge, Bohn continued. “The need for a strong video management system with a unified yet flexible integration framework will also become more evident, as the value of querying across metadata from different edge devices from multiple vendors will be very high.”

A surveillance system that integrates information from multiple VCA-enabled cameras to a central server does offer a better picture of the entire monitored area, Lim agreed. “The system can take preemptive actions, such as triggering brighter lights where the intruder is detected or notify security to intercept the escape.”

There should be no debate of where VCA should reside, Troha added. “It all depends on how value can be delivered to the end user. VCA is only an ingredient in the video system and its purpose is to help the end user extract the most value from their investment in advanced surveillance.”

The end goal is to employ technologies that give the customer an optimal solution, Bharadwaj said. “VCA in itself is not a ‘be all, end all' solution; to maximize overall system reliability, even analytics solutions that are not video-based need to be integrated.”

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Hands Tied
More affordable central processing also means that more channels can be supported, Bharadwaj said. “Ideally, all analytics need to reside inside the camera. Analytics that need ‘inter-camera' collaboration need to be handled smartly. However, there are two practical challenges at the present time.”

One is the absence of a common VCA interface across camera manufacturers , Bharadwaj continued. “Ideally, application developers would want to code/ test once and incorporate this into different cameras from multiple vendors. This will provide flexibility to the end customer in choosing any camera vendor for different stages of implementation. At the present time, if the customer chooses an on-camera VCA solution, they are constrained to using cameras from vendors that are supported by the on-camera VCA company for further expansions.

VCA companies that provide serverbased implementations are more camera-agnostic and future-proof.” The other is a current lack of collaboration between VCA developers and camera manufacturers. “Ideally, the camera vendor would provide hardware and basic software only and leave all other features and camera resources to be used by the VCA or other application vendor.

To use a PC analogy, Dell makes the hardware, and Microsoft or Linux provides the operating system; it is entirely up to developers to create any application that they want,” Bharadwaj said.

Driving Further Growth
All technologies have limitations. Having an educated and knowledgeable customer ensures that the system will be successful, Li said. “There have been many instances where we have walked away from projects, as we did with the Commonwealth Games in Delhi, even though we had been involved with the previous Games in Melbourne. Sometimes, end users have no understanding of the technology that they are asking for, and would not be able to deploy it effectively. In situations like that, it is better to walk away from the project rather than let it affect reputation.”

Some say organizations avoid VCA because of their resistance to change. However, Otterspeer feels that it is more about caution of risk rather than resistance to change that is preventing VCA from gaining better traction. “In security, customers are very careful with chances. They want solutions they can trust. We need to earn that trust to be able to sell our products, and that is why we need to educate the market.”

Most installers know what they are doing. They are trained and have been using the same system on a daily basis, but they need to explain to the end user the difference between CSI and reality, Otterspeer continued. “Demo software provides the opportunity for the customer to try all the different elements in real-life situations and see if it works in their security environment. They can play, for instance, with color detection on finding guys in red shirts. This allows users to make educated purchases and maintain realistic expectations.”

●Tim Chandler,President of CoastalCOMS Division, Coastalwatch

Sometimes, it is the terms used when speaking to customers that give the wrong impression of what VCA can really provide, said Tim Chandler, President of CoastalCOMS Division, Coastalwatch. “For instance, the term ‘people counting' often is understood as ‘an exact count of people' and nothing else. However, we often find that's not what customers really need to answer their business or workflow question. VCA in our world is a tool for a decision support manager.” Ultimately, the technology's capability alone is not what one should focus on, but rather the combined relevance of VCA output to a specific business question.

“We had once been asked to count on a beach that easily had 10,000 people on it constantly coming and going, and ultimately had to ask the customer what decision tree they were really trying to support,” Chandler said. “Did they want to know how many people were on the beach each exact second? Did it matter if the beach suddenly lost or gained 150 people over the next minute? In the end, a range applied to a timeline was more the output they were looking for, which is serviceable with a reasonable confidence level versus trying to get an exact count in real time.”

Part 2 of this feature will look at how VCA is deployed in real life and key factors to consider when evaluating a solution.

Five is the New Three

Editor / Provider: the Editorial Team | Updated: 6/23/2011 | Article type: Hot Topics

This new warranty policy of IQinVision's covers all cameras from the date of purchase and is retroactive to Jan. 1, 2011. “None of our competitors offer such a warranty program,” said Pete DeAngelis, President and CEO. “We've always said that we make the most reliable megapixel cameras in the business; our warranty policy reflects that confidence, and it reflects our commitment to our integrator partners, distributors and end users.”

Similar programs and policies can be seen in other types of products, such as intrusion detectors, provided by manufacturers in Germany and even China. The main reason alluded to by many industry veterans is that the security industry is becoming increasingly “IT-like,” with clients expecting similar “pampering” experience from the consumer electronics world.

No One Left Behind                                                                                                   
Would such extended coverage translate to higher cost? “We make certain that our entire supply chain is appropriately inventoried to handle any warranty issues and demands that arise,” DeAngelis said. “Our MSRPs are not and will not be raised due to this expanded warranty policy. IQinVision has always and will continue to rigorously select our component suppliers.” Each and every camera is also examined and tested, individually, by a highly trained specialist at the California headquarters before shipping.

While no other prominent competitors in the video space are following suit in terms of warranty length, quality issues are never taken lightly. “Axis Communications always helps its partners and end users all the way, to find the best solution,” said Sharon Chong, Marketing Manager for South APAC. “Being a global company acting local, Axis has a global warranty program ensuring to help its customers wherever problems may arise and no matter where the product was purchased. Axis has a three-year warranty for a majority of its products.”

As important as the warranty is the professional and knowledgeable support Axis offers, having been around for 15 years in the network video market, Chong continued. “Axis has a highly skilled and accessible global technical service organization, working in all the phases of the customer relationship chain. Axis' technical support engineers assist throughout the whole project process; they also have an online help desk that gives an overview of the customer support case history.”

Another leader of the pack, Bosch Security Systems, also offers three-year warranties on all its products. “We embody this through our unique, fast central repair concept where we first send a functional product to the site before returning the dysfunctional one to Bosch; this so-called Advance Exchange Process gives us the maximum security on quality repair and correct functioning of our products, and brings the customer satisfaction to a much higher level than traditional carry-in repairs,” said Karel Mulder, Marketing and Sales Manager for EMEA. “We further guarantee repair options till five years after discontinuation of a product, which is unique in our IP range.”

Bosch monitors its repairs continuously and utilizes relevant data for continuous improvement and development of its next generation of products. “Quality is within our DNA, and we also demand that of our component suppliers,” Mulder elaborated. “Additionally, the Bosch Production System ensures a high level of quality in all our factories around the world. With our continuous focus on quality, we reduce our warranty costs and increase customer satisfaction from using our products and services.”

Selecting the Right Encoders for Migrating to IP Video

Editor / Provider: Submitted by Bosch Security Systems | Updated: 6/14/2011 | Article type: Tech Corner

The rise of IP video surveillance needs to account for existing analog devices, with video encoders easing the transition to networked solutions, as detailed by Samuel Lee, Product Marketing Manager, Bosch Security Systems.

Over the last five years, there has been an increased digitalization of the analog video signals from surveillance cameras. This trend is accelerating, with more cost-effective IP video surveillance solutions, as well as greater IP knowledge among customers about the advantages and challenges in implementing such solutions.

Hybrid IP and analog systems hold the allure of reducing the risks of a complete system overhaul, while easing cost through the reuse of existing system components, such as analog cameras already installed. Users can also choose from a wide array of analog cameras, from budget to specialty, available from a variety of manufacturers. Migrating recording to DVRs was the first step in the IP migration. With advances in networking technology and the drastic drop in the prices of embedded processors, moving the digitalization towards the edge through the use of encoders is the next logical step.

There is a mind-boggling array of encoders available in the market: Single-channel, multichannel, ruggedized and even some featuring video content analysis. While these features, along with price, are important factors to consider, system integrators and consultants also need to consider whether the encoder fits into the overall design of the security system.

Compression
There are various compression algorithms the end user can choose from. The most commonly available algorithms include H.264 — also known as MPEG-4 part 10 — and H.263, better known as MPEG-4. These video compression standards generally take advantage of the statistical similarity of adjacent pixels and have a strong time correlation of consecutive frames. These compression algorithms are used for a broad range of applications. H.264 is commonly used in HDTV, portable video, multimedia and video conferencing, offering approximately three times the encoding efficiency of MPEG-2. The downside is it requires two to three times the computational power, but the cost of providing this performance is dropping quickly.

While H.264 is an international standard, it does permit a degree of variation in implementation due to technological constraints. The standard describes a “toolbox” with various compression techniques, such as variable block-size motion compensation (VBSMC), deblocking filter and context-adaptive variable length coding (CAVLC). Different combinations of these techniques constitute a profile. The different profiles include baseline, main, extended and high profiles. Baseline and main profiles are the most commonly implemented profiles in IP video surveillance.

The most common H.264 profile found in encoders is the baseline profile, as it is easier to implement with lower-performance and lower-cost hardware. The end user must be aware that they will not be able to take advantage of the 30 percent improvement in bit rate efficiency conferred by using the main profile. A lower bit rate from the encoder will also mean less stress on the network hardware — an important factor in an IP video surveillance solution.
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Different Standard Implementations
While H.264 is a standard, manufacturers still have some leeway in choosing which tools in each profile should be implemented. This has made decoding the video a challenge, if decoders from different manufacturers are used. Because the tools to encode the video are not the same as the ones used to decode it, the user may see some decoding artifacts.

If anything, this reinforces the notion that open standards of interoperability among IP-based physical security

Samuel Lee, Product Marketing Manager, Bosch Security Systems

products are needed. This will eventually eliminate the need for SDKs customized for each brand. Currently there are two groups pursuing the same fundamental goal of bringing interoperability, namely ONVIF and PSIA.

SDKS
Before these standards reach maturity, SDKs will continue to be the chief means of integration. SDKs differ in the level of integration supported. Some only provide high-level integration such as identification, live streaming and PTZ control; others allow finer integration down to tuning the parameters within the physical devices. SDKs also suffer from version control and continuity problems, especially in situations where there is piecemeal upgrading of integrated pieces. One has to consider if this would break the integration done using previous SDK versions.

There are already a number of open platform video management software solutions that utilize SDKs to integrate encoders, decoders and cameras from different manufacturers. Users are also free to choose from the storage and server offerings from various brands.

This translates to greater flexibility for the end user and the opportunity for the system integrator to drive more value through their expertise in integration. They can size up a project and pick the most cost-effective and most technically appropriate platform, rather than be limited to “built-in” choices that usually do not scale up gracefully.

Of course, system integrators would find themselves burdened with the responsibility of selecting each component. The integrators with the strongest competence, and hence those who can drive the most value for their customers, would naturally emerge to be the most successful.
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Building a System
The responsible system integrator would consider how an encoder fits into the overall system capabilities and design. A common mistake is for the end user to place too much emphasis on the specifications of the camera without examining the encoder limitations. For example, encoders tend not to be able to capture the full resolution of a 600-TVL image, so using a 600-TVL camera would be a poor system fit.

Another consideration is the load an encoder would place upon the network, keeping in mind that overloading the network hardware would affect performance and video usability. This task is made more complicated, as determining network load requires more than just the switch closest to the encoder. The entire system must be seen as a whole to ensure there are no bottlenecks that could compromise performance. In this context, the integrator must look into which network functionalities, such as multicasting, can improve network performance and whether the system design supports the optimal usage of this functionality.

Memoori: Will Economic Setbacks Reduce Business Opportunities in the Security Industry?

Editor / Provider: Submitted by Memoori Business Intelligence | Updated: 6/8/2011 | Article type: Hot Topics

This time last year economic indicators took a hit with major concerns about the need for countries within the Euro Zone to cut back on public expenditure; in order to repay their massive debts. While this did have an effect on demand for security equipment it was marginal and the fragile recovery in the economy has limped on in the last nine months. But recent events in Greece, Portugal and Ireland would suggest that the bail outs have not worked and they are likely to default on the loan repayments. This has both extinguished any recovery in these markets and has taken its toll in other weak economies in Europe. It will have an adverse impact on world trade. Stock markets across the world have significantly marked down share prices and the buoyant forecasts of economic growth made some five months ago are being revised.

However the emerging markets of China, India and Brazil have so far not been affected. For some years financial markets have turned tail at the mere hint of bad news and have exaggerated the possible consequences; but by the same token the upswing also responds as rapidly. The facts and statistics shown in this month's do not flag up any serious adverse trends that will reduce the opportunity to grow the security business in the near term of the next six months, but they do suggest that there is less confidence and a hint of caution in the air.

Our figures for the first quarter of this year showed that consolidation had slowed down with the number of acquisitions down by 20 percent on the same period of 2010. The last two months have seen a significant recovery, Tyco Fire and Security claim they are about to close a US$110 million deal, there is serious talk about Securitas and Niscayah making a reunion and the possibility that Cisco will put Linksys on the block reach fruition, then we will be on track to beat the 2010 record for value of deals exceeding $7.98 billion.

Investment for the first five months of the year is marginally up on the same period of 2010 but much of this is the result of arranging new lines of credit. There appears to be little change in the area of venture capital funding.

The most encouraging feature of the business is reflected in the financial performance of security players. The fourth quarter 2010 and first quarter 2011 financial announcements made recently show for the most part revenues and profitability well up on the same quarter of 2010; and the full year outperforming 2009. With almost all anticipating improved trading conditions in 2011, it looks as though revenues and profitability will improve on 2010.

The star performers in 2010 include Axis Communications, Mobotix, Basler, Authentec and Bio-Key, despite the fact that their fourth quarter was well down on 2009. These companies are very specialist and perform in the high growth areas of the business and / or strong in geographic markets that performed well in 2010. They are all companies that spend on product development in the high-tech areas of IP networking.

Similarly the world's major security companies such as Tyco, Honeywell Security, Schneider Electric and Siemens Security Systems all increased both profitability and growth, they are bullish about 2011. Cooper Industries and Ingersoll Rand likewise also increased their growth and profitability, while Bosch Security Systems returned to profitability on increased sales.

With trading conditions looking buoyant in some geographic regions and the drivers that accelerated consolidation and investment in 2010 still well in place that the slowdown of acquisitions and stagnation in funding in the first five months of 2011 does not indicate in anyway a correction but is just a short-term deviation. One major acquisition would bring consolidation well back on track.

So despite economic setbacks it's expected the market to continue to flourish in the high-technology areas of the security business particularly where IT convergence can deliver better ROI. Working the emerging markets and the US with emphasis on some vertical markets will produce the best results while mainstream and low-tech business will continue to reduce its share of the business.

For more information, please go visit Memoori.

Managed Services Moving Mountains

Editor / Provider: Hayden Hsu | Updated: 6/6/2011 | Article type: Tech Corner

With network connectivity and cloud-based services becoming readily available, device manufacturers and service providers have found new ways to protect end users' properties and serve their evolving security and operational needs. a&s surveys current market conditions for managed video as a service and examines real-life usability issues, technical limitations and business development opportunities.

The prevalence of broadband along with 3-G and 4-G connections is making video accessibility easier than ever. While current uptake of managed video as a service (MVaaS) is limited to certain markets and business venues, momentum is picking up with increasing functionality and reliability. According to John Honovich, founder of website ipvideomarket.info, 2010 global subscription revenue was estimated to be US$50 million to $100 million, with a total of 200,000 to 300,000 cameras hosted, of which 75,000 to 125,000 were new. IMS Research pegged

▲Matt Steinfort, President and CEO of Envysion

the world market for video surveillance as a service and remote video monitoring in 2010 at approximately $692.4 million.

A highlighted benefit of MVaaS is plug-and-play, meaning that edge devices such as cameras and D/NVRs automatically connect to the video service without configuration by the customer. "However, not all managed and hosted video providers offer plug-and-play setup yet," said Matt Steinfort, President and CEO of Envysion. "Some providers, especially those hardware companies who have developed managed or hosted video solutions, do restrict users' camera choice. Others, like ourselves, are camera-agnostic and can deploy their video solutions with any mix of analog or network cameras."

Another important aspect of plug-and-play that remains inconsistent among MVaaS providers is the ability to run managed or hosted video independent of a computer's operating system, security configuration or other system configuration. "Web-based applications, like Envysion's, bypass these issues because no software is downloaded to the computer. Still, not all managed and hosted providers offer a cloud-based solution, meaning users must install software on their computers before using the system and any time an upgrade is released," Steinfort said.

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Many cloud offerings allow edge devices such as cameras and readers to autonegotiate their connections with the hosted application. "This is very valuable for both dealers and end users as it removes the necessity to configure the port forwarding and static IP addresses on the network, making it plug-and-play," said Brian Lohse, Director of Business Development for Secure-i. "Unfortunately, this requires the edge device to have proprietary connection information built into it from the manufacturer, and is thus not very open. For an MVaaS provider to add another camera model to its compatibility list, it can be time-consuming and expensive."

Indeed, many MVaaS offerings claim that they will work with multiple brands. "However, some of the vendors make their own encoders and cameras, making it difficult to use another line of product such as access and intrusion detection," said Jim Shepherd, National Account Manager for Retail, Protection One. "In addition, the newer entry-level technologies in the market may not have reached out to all the major video-monitoring service companies and provided their SDKs to work with the software and equipment."

As a result, options may be limited. "For example, older components that include analog technologies such as DVRs may have limited network functionality," said Jumbi Edulbehram, VP of Business Development, Next Level

▲ Brian Lohse, Director of Business Development for Secure-i

Security Systems. "If analog cameras and encoders are used, they typically have less functionality and flexibility when compared to network cameras." Newer MVaaS offerings rely on the full power of the network infrastructure to provide users with the ability to access, configure and monitor all features of their security system from anywhere and at any time through Web browsers or mobile devices. "When coupled with platforms that integrate multiple subsystems, security data is correlated across sites on a consolidated interface, offering users a comprehensive view of security operations."

"Our key strategy is to function as part of the cloud-computing network," said Stanley Mill, Technical Director of Virtual Eye. "Since many network cameras comply with M-JPEG and H.264 compression standards, video streaming is not an issue any more." For DVRs, fully integrated solutions are limited to a handful of brands; for intrusion detection, solution providers can usually work with alarm control panels that are compliant with Honeywell's Ademco or Bosch's contact ID protocols, offering automatic video recordings and text/email notifications when alarms are triggered.

In the case of iControl Networks, numerous camera OEMs were sourced to put its software into their cameras to work on the software platform. "This does not limit features," said Gregory Roberts, VP of Marketing. "Rather, it significantly increases the use cases for end users as they, as subscribers of home management/ security offerings from our deployment partners such as ADT Pulse, can not only see live video of their premises remotely, but can set their system to capture video clips and pictures when events occur, such as doors being opened or rooms being entered."

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FAILSAFE?
Be it landline or mobile, no network connections are perfect 100 percent of the time, which could be a reason to the seemingly slow uptake of MVaaS offerings in most parts of the world. "There are no assurances, which is a huge issue," Shepherd said. "Other issues include a lack of sufficient bandwidth to port video over networks, not having the video stored on mission-critical servers, and losing video when there is any power interruption." Protection One has seen large national accounts, especially in retail, with very little bandwidth at their locations. "The Internet connections are often sized solely for the purpose of uploading PoS data at night, not for transporting video on demand. Increasing bandwidth at thousands of locations is a huge expense," cautioned Douglas Paul, VP of Operations and Corporate Services.

On the other hand, many others feel the fear of service disruptions on IP networks is greatly exaggerated. "For example, how many times do you find that Google or your bank's website is down? The Internet was designed specifically to be ‘self-healing' or able to withstand disruptions," Edulbehram explained. "That means when one part of the network is affected, other parts make up for the disruption. Traditional security integrators need to be knowledgeable about the inherent best practices of robust network design." Mill agreed, adding that SAS 70-

▲ Jim Shepherd, National Account Manager for Retail, Protection One

compliant data centers today guarantee portal uptime by using redundant power sources, multiple network carriers providing reliability and performance, on-site staff to monitor and provide assistance, managed firewall and data backup services, flood-proofed raised floors, advanced canopy cold-row cooling, smoke detection systems, 24/7 security and digital video surveillance.

Most commercial-grade MVaaS solutions today use a hybrid of local and hosted storage, Lohse added. "They incorporate SD cards or local NAS drives to supplement the cloud infrastructure, which allows them to mitigate bandwidth concerns and provide redundancy in the event of a network failure. Furthermore, many MVaaS applications are constantly monitoring for connectivity and send out an alert to users if an outage is detected, so it can be addressed immediately."

Security communication to central monitoring stations can include cellular backup; thus, when the power and broadband service are out, emergency backup battery and cellular services initiate, keeping a constant level of communication to central stations, Roberts said. "This is critical to ensure the peace-of-mind value proposition that home security delivers, and features that solution providers like us offer."

For Envysion, much like the Internet a decade ago and software-as-a-service applications (SaaS, such as salesforce.com) a few years ago, questions of MVaaS uptime and redundancy are largely a thing of the past. "Internet connectivity and reliability continue to improve, and many enterprises have redundant or backup IP. In addition, MVaaS solutions can be designed and deployed to work ‘locally' if the Internet does go down," Steinfort said. Customers' video can actually reside both on the on-site DVR and in the cloud. The video remains on the DVR until the hard drive is full (typically 30 to 60 days depending on camera configurations and the drive size).
The Web-based application, through which users backup footage, review video and export reports, resides in the cloud. When customers log into the portal to view live or recorded video, the application streams the video content on demand from the DVR at the site.

An added advantage of managed video over traditional security is that many providers have system health monitoring in place and can immediately alert customers if a camera or DVR goes down, whereas traditional cameras could be down months before anyone knew.

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ONLY FOR COMMERCIAL USE?
The driving force behind MVaaS in the US commercial space has been a lack of internal resources to manage the video and to have the administrator expertise to use it wisely. "Much of the MVaaS supply chain is outsourced to cheaper labor, which allows users to pay low recurring fees over time as opposed to large capital expenditure that may not show an ROI. Also, various MVaaS models exist, allowing customers to pay by the service, specific device channel or their specific uses," Shepherd said.

In the past few years, businesses have begun to see that surveillance footage holds hidden business intelligence that can be used as a strategic management tool to drive bottom line improvements. "Businesses understand that by integrating video to key business data systems, users gain access to actionable insight," Steinfort said."This insight gives operators a clearer understanding of what's happening in the day-to-day operations of their business and enables users to make positive changes within the organization to improve productivity and financial performance." During the same time period, MVaaS providers began developing easy-to-use, rapidly scalable solutions that require minimal IT support on the customer's end. "Perhaps the largest

▲ Jumbi Edulbehram, VP of Business Development, Next Level Security Systems

deviation from traditional solutions is that these MVaaS solutions are designed to be used by hundreds or thousands of users in the organization, which provide the network effect," Steinfort observed.

Other driving forces noted by Lohse include more mature and refined options to choose from, increased dealer and end-user awareness and understanding of cloud technology, and more affordable solutions as they incur economies of scale in bandwidth and storage.

That is not to say it is all smoothing sailing, though. "Porting video to third parties, sending them overseas for review, and opening up closed networks to possible threats and hackers have become common concerns as of late. Additional concern with liability and risk is added if a video is somehow publicized without the customer's permission," Shepherd said.

However, Edulbehram expects that the private/ residential sector will use nothing but MVaaS in a few years. "Today's concerns are largely based on a lack of information or not following basic security practices. Most users are comfortable with conducting sensitive financial transactions over the network, and I expect to see similar comfort levels with remote security services."

Lohse echoed in agreement. “I do believe that the private/residential sector will eventually pick up. The limiting forces right now are just cost and need.”

For iControl, residential applications in the U.S. are significantly increasing due to recent mass-market launches such as ADT Pulse interactive services and other interactive home management and security offerings by major broadband service providers, Roberts said. "While consumer concern regarding privacy is prevalent, many software solutions address this via encryption techniques. Our solution actually creates a Wi-Fi subnet in the home, enabling encryption of the data using the latest technologies."

3DES and SSL security encryption protocols, along with ISO certifications, should ensure the peace of mind most customers require, Mill added.

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BUSINESS POTENTIAL
In physical security, many solutions have "tried" and failed or gone quiet (in the case of video analytics). What is to say MVaaS will not suffer the same fate?

"Telco efforts have been half-hearted and underfunded," Lohse analyzed. "Telcos don't understand the security industry, how to market and sell solutions effectively. Customers know the likes of ADT, Protection One and Stanley as security companies and that their respective success is based on core competency in security, whereas it seems telcos are doing this ‘on the side,' which isn't as comforting to customers."

Roberts agreed. "Consumer research directed us to integrate home management services with home security, enabling broadband service providers to offer a new, next-generation interactive home security solution and helping existing security companies upgrade their existing offerings. There is tremendous potential for add-ons

▲ Stanley Mill, Technical Director of Virtual Eye

like energy management solutions as well." To accommodate different wireless technologies such as
Wi-Fi, ZigBee, Z-Wave and cellular, solution providers also need to have the ability to adapt to the needs of their deployment partners.

By contrast, telco offerings are normally video-centric, and other systems, such as access control, are very difficult, if not impossible, to integrate, Edulbehram said. "Another difference is that telcos sell directly to end customers, bypassing the traditional security channel. Security integrators have the market knowledge and expertise to deliver proven solutions to customers; today's integrators provide a high level of service and support that telcos can't match."

Clearly, alarm-monitoring companies play an important role in managed video services, "because we are in the data and analytics business to observe behavior that requires actions," said Jamie Rosand Haenggi, CMO for Protection One. "We see more applications of video being used for ‘guard replacement.' The ability to offer visual and personalized verifications, guard tours or video escorts enables companies to leverage this kind of technology as a way to be all places ‘on demand' without the costs associated with manning multiple stations or locations."

In Edulbehram's view, the industry can provide and develop stronger revenue-sharing models with the security channel and help system integrators further build recurring monthly revenue (RMR) models. "Also, we can increase integration with traditional central stations or monitoring centers to help build business efficiencies and customer security."

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Indeed, while the concept sounds great, dealers want RMR and users do not want to buy security or manage assets remotely. There is still a lack of defensible use cases with white papers and TCO comparisons, Lohse observed.

"We often find in video services that the toughest part is not the hardware and software configuration," Paul said. "The toughest part is clearly understanding the customer's expectation of what we do with the video we see and then document that in a way that an operator can act on it."

Carlos Perez, VP of Product and Marketing at Envysion, agreed. "While our application offers many benefits and

▲ Gregory Roberts, VP of Marketing at iControl Networks

much flexibility, I am not suggesting that it does everything. Instead, I am suggesting that we communicate very effectively what we can do and work very hard to understand what prospective customers need from a solution to ensure that we can deliver."

Surveillance footage holds an incredible amount of information and potential to drive improvements across departments. The trick is getting to the video that matters quickly and in a cost-effective manner. MVaaS makes this possible. "Departments across the organization, including marketing, operations, human resources and risk management, can benefit from access to relevant video."

These areas remain relatively undeveloped, but there is enormous potential to add services to existing offerings or develop completely new ones,” Steinfort projected.

With growing 3-G and 4-G coverage and improved bandwidth, Mill also sees MVaaS potential in transportation, e-government, manufacturing and medical applications. "Our ultimate goal is to create public awareness about mobile surveillance and incorporate this service as part of their mobile lifestyle." Take Asia for example. The Chinese market consists of 350 million mobile subscribers, reaching 25 percent of its population. Taiwan has a 100-percent mobile penetration rate of about 22.5 million people. Malaysia currently has 14.6 million subscribers, out of a population of 27 million. "In total, the estimated global market size could be as high as $800 million," Mill concluded.

Firetide Wireless Video Surveillance System Cracks down on Crimes in Pennsylvania

Editor / Provider: Firetide | Updated: 5/27/2011 | Article type: Government & Public Services

Muggings, home break-ins, armed robberies, drug deals and even medical emergencies have been caught on Bethlehem, Pennsylvania's police department's wireless video surveillance system since it was first deployed in September 2009 and has dramatically helped improve the city's safety. Police have identified criminals, recovered stolen cars, busted drug dealers and users, cracked long-standing investigations and saved at least one person during a medical emergency. The system, deployed by Let's Think Wireless, uses Firetide's wireless infrastructure mesh equipment and Bosch PTZ cameras that are monitored in real time, 24 hours a day, seven days a week by police officials.

“Not even two years since the first wireless system was deployed and, to our surprise, we have had so many successes,” said Stuart Bedics, Bethlehem police Commissioner. “The wireless mesh network gives us coverage and access to areas where we don't have a police presence. It also provides us extra set of eyes to back up police when they are citing violations or conducting an investigation.”

Bethlehem PD chose the wireless infrastructure mesh system over a fiber-based one because it is less costly and gives them the flexibility to move and place cameras as needed. 50 surveillance cameras connected to 48 Firetide nodes have been placed in parks, high-crime areas and on the three bridges of the city. In addition, the wireless network has been integrated with Lehigh University's 13-camera wired video surveillance system extending the police's view into the campus. The primary viewing station is the 911 dispatch center where one of five dispatchers monitors the cameras 24/7. The watch commander, vice and narcotic officers, commissioner and Lehigh University officials also have access to the camera feeds. In addition, in one of Bethlehem's parks, the dispatchers are aided by Object Video's analytics software to protect a children's water park and public pool. The analytics software works in conjunction with two cameras to detect people entering the facility after hours and alert the PD.

“We chose to partner with Firetide because they have the best and proven wireless mesh infrastructure for video. The flexibility, performance and advanced features of their infrastructure are outstanding for sending and receiving video from multiple places all at once,” said Mickey Branson, Senior Director of National Sales, Let's Think Wireless.

The network has mushroomed from a pilot in two Elm Street parks in September 2009 to the 50-camera wireless network in high-crime areas in the South Side, in the new community art center and the multiple parks of the annual Musikfest site, among other locations. Funding comes from a combination of City of Bethlehem's budget and local sponsors such as the Elm Street Association, the Lehigh Transportation Authority for its parking garages and the non-profit agency of the Musikfest.

While most of the success stories are real-time apprehensions of criminals by police alerted to an incident by a 911 dispatcher, many are also after-the-fact apprehensions coming from reviewing video recordings that are stored for up to 30 days. For example, one recording helped police identify a car thief when in review the video showed the suspect parking the stolen car.

“Bethlehem is an example of the performance and flexibility of a video surveillance system required by law enforcement. The project also shows that public safety video surveillance is an excellent investment, especially in today's environment of strained municipal budgets,” said Bo Larsson, CEO of Firetide. “Wireless speeds projects and reduces infrastructure costs, especially in city environments where it would be cost prohibitive and disruptive to dig up sidewalks and close streets for construction. Reliable “eyes in the sky” needed to ensure public safety and protect first responders are now possible with wireless infrastructure mesh.”

Meeting Client Expectations for Success

Editor / Provider: By Editorial Team | Updated: 5/16/2011 | Article type: Hot Topics

Marketing 101 teaches the importance of the four P's: product, price, place and promotion. Several aspects, such as the company's background and its target region and country, greatly determine its game plan for success.

Every thriving company understands the necessity of securing the correct positioning of its brand and products. “The right position will be determined by its success in the marketplace and success is determined by the ability to have a strong international presence, provide an extensive range of products and offer excellent service,” said Clemens Krebs, Head of International Marketing and Communications Management, Bosch Security Systems.

From a consumer's perspective, a company's brand positioning and products helps distinguish it from a multitude of choices. “Positioning is very important, as it allows the market to understand what they can expect when choosing a product,” said James Smith, European Marketing Manager, Samsung Techwin. “The correct positioning is measured based on the demand for products from your target customer groups and ultimately, how successful you are in the market as a result.”

Achieving Prime Position
Cultivating the market's perception of a company and its products is critical, requiring plenty of research and work. To achieve the optimal position, it involves a wide range of people and company strategies, said William Ku, Director of Brand Business for Vivotek. “Upper management will map out a plan based on how they wish consumers to perceive their brand. This strategy will include proper branding and positioning of their products, providing adequate customer service and developing a channel into the market.”

Brand Power
Cultivating a recognized and respected brand validates a company's position in the market. “There are a number of factors that determine how a product is positioned, but brand power is a very important factor,” Smith said. Building brand value with customers is crucial and the products are the foundation of this brand promise, said Yoshikazu Hirano, GM of Security Solutions, Business and Professional Products for APAC, Sony Electronics. “To position products in a positive light is easy, but to remain in this position in the eyes of customers requires proven technology and superior products that stand the test of time.”

[NextPage]Consistent marketing will build brand recognition and market share over time. “Elements of the brand include the products, package, support, price, value, company and marketing sales channels,” said Martin Worndl, Senior VP of Product Development, Lorex. “Simply having a good product is not enough — customer support, warranty, availability and reliability contribute to a positive brand position.”

For some companies, repositioning requires them to rebuild themselves and their brand. “We have placed much emphasis on branding, with strategic marketing and a PR communications plan to build our positioning in all the markets we work in,” said Alan Hayes, MD of AMG Systems. “However, we changed our positioning five years ago — moving from exclusively focusing on digital fiber optic, to providing a full-range of different transmission technologies — in order to keep up to speed as new technologies have been introduced. Our brand has thus evolved to encompass total transmission solutions.”

Other companies, such as Sony and Samsung, already have strong name recognition as manufacturers through other business interests. “We are an electronic manufacturer whose business ventures span across business and professional products to movies, music, games and consumer electronic products,” Hirano said. “This gives us the unique strength of being able to share the latest innovations and technologies across all aspects of our business to ensure we leverage on our technological expertise as a whole — giving us a strong advantage. Through this we can uphold a strong position in the market, and thus gain loyalty and trust from customers.”

Having a trusted brand allowed Samsung to grow quickly within the electronic security market, Smith said. “We were able to enter the security market and grow as fast as we did within two and a half years partially because we were able to leverage the brand. However, it comes with big responsibilities and we must make sure our new products can uphold our reputation.”

A CEO's and company's background directly influences the brand and related solutions. “Having upper management be directly involved in all aspects of a product proved to be beneficial,” Hayes said. “I received a doctorate in engineering and this allowed me to understand and be involved in the R&D department, and to provide additional insight into the development of new products.”

Backgrounds also influence the company's priorities. “Our company was founded by a group of electronic and mechanical engineers,” Ku said. “Therefore, our focus is largely placed on R&D as our core competence and we maintain a large number of investments in product innovation. Our solid knowledge and experiences in the development of video codec technology, networking protocol and multimedia SoCs has given us good grounding as an electronic security manufacturer.” Sometimes it is about entering the market at the correct time. According to one source, the company began with no prior knowledge of the security industry. However, it knew there was a space in the market to be filled, and thus based development on the unfulfilled needs of customers.

[NextPage] Target Audience
Determining the target audience guides how a product is designed. As different customers have unique needs, not all manufacturers aim for the high-end market. Back in early 2006, there were not as many network camera players as there are now — only two manufacturers made network cameras in Taiwan. That was when one company realized there was a market for entry-level IP products. Pricing is the primary concern for customers looking for budget solutions. According to a source, the company kept things cost-friendly for its target audience. However, it could not compete with the prices of manufacturers in China, because it would have been difficult to keep R&D at the same level of quality. Finding a niche helps a brand blossom. “We have been in the DIY market for 15 years and are now the leaders in DIY security products — h o l d i n g the No. 1 m a r k e t share in N o r t h America,” Worndl said.

Any brand must be able to meet the target client's expectations. “When a company is positioned in the high-end market segment, it is met with more competitors each day, which is why it is important to transmit trust to the customers through the product,” said Carlos Bonilha, CEO of Digifort. “When we started our business 13 years ago, we suffered from doubt regarding our product's creditability. But over the course of the last 10 years, we were able to prove to the market that our product is reliable and thus have now become one of the most well known software companies in Latin America, with more than 80-percent market share for IP surveillance software in Brazil.”

Marketing tactics must match the perceived quality of the products. “For strategically important projects, a long-term investment is made in a system that adds significant value to the user,” Hayes said. “It is important to match the quality of the products and supplier with the significance of the project. Real high-end quality starts from component supply through to long-term support very many years into the future, matched with robust processes that support all these functions. When marketing into these markets, it is important to only position products that can support these needs.

The high-end market sector is dominated by global brands, which have proven their innovation and reliability matches their pricing. “We have a world-class development and manufacturing background formed in the niche, high-precision markets right through to mass consumer markets,” Smith said. “This has allowed us to develop very advanced design and manufacturing techniques, and as a result, we have developed a number of core technologies. We generally operate in the mid- to high-end market because that is where our technology can create the most value for our customers.

Responsibility does not end once the product leaves the factory. Value for users in the high-end market includes exceptional customer service. “This is why our company has decided to invest in building a world-class technical support service,” Hayes said. “We have also begun a new training program which focuses on satisfying customer needs for nonproduct-centric education.” Larger companies also have access to a larger pool of resources. “Thanks to high innovation, acquisitions and strategic alliances with powerful partners, we have established a very good position in the business of security products and systems,” Krebs said. Ultimately, the clients decide the position of a company and its products. A large part of targeting the correct audience lies in understanding customer needs. “We always need to keep an eye on the market, listen to and know our customer's needs and create new features, because these are the paths that will lead us to a good positioning in the market,” Bonilha said

[NextPage]Channel Promotion
A great product is unsuccessful until it makes its way to end users. “There is quite a long chain within the security industry and different people have different levels of influence on how the product reaches the market. We make sure to go to every end of the chain and offer them the support they need,” Smith said. “We build good relationships with all our carefully selected partners, from distributors, system integrators, consultants — all the way through to the end user.” Partners must understand the product well. “They must be well-trained in order for them to pro v ide g o od t e c h n i c a l support to o u r e n d users,” Bonilha said. “The best marketing technique involves both partners and end users, which is why they need to be made aware of everything our product and services have to offer.” Products catered towards the mass market have to make sure they are easily accessible. “Our DIY products are sold through thousands of retail locations across North America and our brand is a predominant brand in e-tail,” Worndl said.

Perceptions of Quality
Different countries, and even regions, have different needs and companies must be prepared to market their products accordingly. “There are different trends depending on the country and region. For example, IP is a major trend at the moment but it is in different stages of its life cycle across Europe — Scandinavia and the Benelux region, for example, are advanced in their adoption of this technology, with roughly half of the sales split between analog and IP, while other countries are still in the initial growth stages of adopting IP,” Smith said. “This is why we must structure ourselves by placing people who understand the regional market and can give us feedback from these different regions. Even though 95 percent of our products are global, we still maintain three different sales divisions, located on three different continents, with regional offices across numerous countries, to target the specific needs of our customers and feedback market information to our developers.</P><P>These varying needs will eventually affect the perception of a brand when used within that country. Products which satisfy the requirements of projects in China may be labeled as high-end, whereas Europe may consider them to be lacking, and thus mid-end. According to a source, quality perception differs everywhere. Taiwanese products are seen as being mid- to low-end in Germany, yet mid- to high-end in India and Egypt .

This discrepancy can be explained by different product expectations by market. “Electronic security products are adapted both in performance and functionality to their respective risks. The risk and the assessment of these risks can vary from place to place,” Krebs said. “This can lead to differences in evaluation of the products. To combat this, our strategy lies in delivering tailor-made solutions to the respective requirements of our customers.” Adjusting the products based on region must be done carefully or it may create an adverse affect. “Perception difference is sometimes made more prominent when products are sold through a worldwide channel network,” Ku said. “Because companies may adjust the product strategy to fit different local market needs in terms of selling point, price, recommended applications and marketing activities — it can cause an inconsistency in the brand message. This is why product portfolio management is very important.”

The way business is conducted in each country also affects the level of quality expected from a product to make the cut. According to a source, European customers generally have higher standards for their OEM products because they are very careful about not hurting their brand, which means they are willing to spend more for a bigger brand name, high-end quality and service. But in the U.S. and China, price is of bigger concern when ordering large quantities. A clear strategy and steadfast commitment to quality are key factors in securing a position in the high-end segment and be perceived as such by partners and users, Hirano said.

[NextPage]Growth During Economic Instability
Companies who had a strong position in the global market were not as greatly affected by the financial downturn. “In 2008, security was appointed as a core business for Samsung Techwin and as a result, our company benefitted from R&D investment,” Smith said. Because competition has dropped, it became a good time for larger companies to invest and develop new product lines. “We highly invested into the development of new products. We spend roughly 10 percent of our turnover for R&D,” Krebs said.

Some br and ssaw an opportunity to reposition themselves in a slow market. “The economic downturn did affect our global sales, but on the other hand, it allowed us a chance to rethink our strategy regarding our product and our company's future vision,” Ku said. “We ended up launching a new series of network cameras during this time.”

New marketing tactics were also used to combat the economic slowdown. “In order to thrive during those times, we developed a high-value product bundle,” Worndl said. “We shifted in business from selling discrete products to selling bundled solutions. This way, the average selling price goes up, while the consumer is getting better value by purchasing a turnkey solution.”

Surviving New Ma rket and UserRequirements
Market dynamics and technology trends are constantly in motion. “Players in the security market need to keep up and be ahead of market changes,” Hirano said. “The key to survive and thrive in the market is to constantly provide for customers' changing requirements and needs

Vendors must be aware of new standards, such as ONVIF and EN5013x for intrusion, Krebs said. “The current focus is on providing a product which can help reduce costs for customers to upgrade or migrate in the future.”

One other current requirement of the market is keeping products cost-friendly, due to economic uncertainty. “There is a constant drive within companies to work with R&D to reduce costs,” Hayes said. .”

In response to a growing market for entry-level products, many large companies have come out with budget solutions. “Entry-level products are an important market segment,” Krebs said.

By entering into the entry-level segment, large brands are now putting the pressure on companies who focuses largely on the low- to mid- level market. Before, many Asian brands could maintain a higher asking price because they were still significantly lower in cost compared to the high-end sector, said a source. However, now they must lower the margins to compete. This is due to larger companies having to maintain a level of quality that is expected of their brand. “Some of the features we have included in our most cost-friendly line are historically only found in high-end products,” Smith said. .”

Proper considerations and well thought-out plans must be formed for effective product positioning. Providers must listen carefully to the needs of their customers. At the end of the day, quality and reliability will determine the success of a product on the market. MAR

Security Industry Dynamics: April Came in with a Roar but Went out with a Whimper

Editor / Provider: Submitted by Memoori Business Intelligence | Updated: 5/5/2011 | Article type: Hot Topics

The first quarter results analyzed on Memoori, a site providing information involved in security industry, entitled “The Physical Security Industry in 15 Minutes” showed that both consolidation and investment had slowed down significantly. In the first quarter of this year the number of acquisitions was 20-percent down on the same period of 2010 when Tyco made a US$2 billion acquisition of Broadview Security.

This was a disappointing start to 2011, but Reuters broke the news that Schneider Electric was mulling the possibility of acquiring Tyco International. This startling news opened up the possibility of realizing a $30-billion deal, by far the biggest ever in this industry; having major implications particularly for the other suppliers in the distribution chain.

Within days every analyst and pundit had reviewed the implications from all angles most commenting that this daring strategy could work but that it was risky. Schneider quelled speculation that the company was exploring acquiring Tyco International, saying it prefers smaller deals and that there would be no large scale transaction in 2011.

There can be no doubt that Schneider had been taking a serious look at this potential acquisition but the shareholders and financial community did not like it and the board have been forced to call a halt. The risk is that this acquisition would have stretched their finances too far, which overruled the strategic benefits of driving their security business to the top of the league while at the same time providing them with a global market leading fire safety business. Both of these businesses have proved to be robust and have grown during the world recession.

So strategically this is an opportunity lost, for Tyco would fit in well with Schneider's existing security / safety structure. There is no duplication with Tyco's Fire Detection & Extinguishing business and surprisingly little overlap with their physical security business. Schneider's strength is in the video camera surveillance market in the commercial sector acquired through its purchase of Pelco in 2008 and has a strong business in systems integration through a number of acquisitions that made up Tour Andover Controls. Tyco through the ADT operation is strongest in the residential market and Schneider does not play in that market apart from low-voltage equipment.

The residential market for security is expected to play a major role in bringing together home area networks, energy management and its interface with the automatic metering infrastructure a rapidly growing part of the smart grid. This new business would offer very significant longer term prospects for organic growth.

[NextPage]Had Tyco come into play then it is highly likely that Schneider would have had to fight off Honeywell Security, Siemens Building Technologies and UTC Fire & Security, but all of these companies have a major overlap in both fire and security. While that does not obviously rule them out they would need to divest a significant part of this business in order to make the acquisition commercially viable. The deal would therefore be less attractive to them. In addition, Honeywell and Siemens would have been scrutinized by the European Commission with regard to market share implications in the fire detection market.

It would appear that Tyco would not be adverse to a merger or acquisition so expect more rumors in the next nine months.

There were no major deals this month but Tyco (ADT Security) scored again with the purchase of Proximex, a PSIM supplier; following last month's purchase of Signature Security which they purchased from Oceania Capital Partners Limited for $171 million.

April recorded two major investments, but as always alliance arrangements continued to be buoyant with some nine identified, bringing the total number to 33 for the first four months of this year.

The most encouraging feature of the business is reflected in the financial performance of security players. The fourth quarter 2010 and first quarter 2011 financial announcements made recently show for the most part revenues and profitability well up on the same quarter of 2010 and the full year outperforming 2009. With almost all anticipating improved trading conditions in 2011, it looks as though revenues and profitability will improve on 2010.

The star performers in 2010 include Axis Communications, Mobotix, Basler, China Security & Surveillance, Authentec and Bio-Key, despite the fact that their fourth quarter was well down on 2009. These companies are very specialist and perform in the high growth areas of the business and / or strong in geographic markets that performed well in 2010.

Tyco, Honeywell and Siemens all increased both profitability and growth and are bullish about 2011. Cooper and Ingersoll Rand similarly increased their growth and profitability, whist Bosch Security Systems returned to profitability on increased sales.

With trading conditions looking buoyant and the drivers that accelerated consolidation and investment in 2010 still well in place we expect that the slowdown of acquisitions and funding in the first four months of 2011 does not indicate in anyway a correction but is just a short term deviation and 1 major acquisition would bring consolidation well back on course.