Earlier this month, the Obama Administration announced a new "Smart Cities" initiative that will invest over $160 million in federal research, as well as leverage more than 20 technology collaborations to help local communities address key challenges such as reducing traffic congestion, fighting crime, fostering economic growth, managing the effects of a changing climate, and improving the delivery of city services. Of course, one of the backbones of any smart city initiative that has been undertaken throughout the world has been the deployment of video surveillance cameras, which provide city leaders with the intelligence they need to make their communities more efficient.
This week at ASIS 2015 in Anaheim, Calif., DVTel is rolling out a suite of new products aimed at delivering advanced surveillance technology to users in both smart cities and critical infrastructure applications. Among these new products include; the United VMS 7.0 platform which features the company’s new IP-mmune Cyber Defense Suite that was first announced earlier this year at ISC West; the ioi Thermal Camera with built-in military-grade analytics is designed for perimeter protection, providing automated detection in fog, haze, smoke, and complete darkness; and, the TruWitness mobile application which increases real-time response and situational awareness by turning first responders into live camera operators with their smartphone.
According to Ron Grinfeld, director of global vertical marketing at DVTel, the company’s targeted focus on these two market segments is reflected in the advanced capabilities offered by these new products. For example, United VMS is offered with a client that enables control room operators to connect with any of the video management solutions in the company’s lineup – Meridian, Horizon and Latitude – from a single interface.
“It actually allows you to connect from a single point to multiple systems,” said Grinfeld. “Going back to cities as an example, you may think about one system being used to secure the streets as part of a safe city project and then maybe another system being used by a school and another being used by a hospital. They may well use separate systems, they may have different owners, but United VMS technology actually allows users, from a single control room, to take over those different systems and actually be able to monitor what is happening in each of those locations which is obviously very useful if something happens at one of those sites and there is a need to monitor and manage that event from a main control room.”
At ASIS, the company is highlighting its new EZ Client web interface and the aforementioned IP-mmune Cyber Defense Suite, which are part of United VMS 7.0. Although Grinfeld said the company’s VMS software is known for being a very powerful, enterprise-grade solution on one hand, on the other it is also perceived as being challenging to use, which is where the EZ Client comes into play.
“The EZ client is a way to enjoy the benefits of an enterprise system but with a very easy interface for utilizing these capabilities, so we see this as a great opportunity to grow our business and be able to overcome the obstacle as being perceived as complex to operate,” he added.
One of the other products that DVTel is featuring at this year’s show is the new ioi Thermal Camera. According to Grinfeld, this camera was born out of the company’s line of io image video analytics products and while they have developed video encoders, high-definition cameras and even other thermal cameras within the same product line, what is different about this camera is that it features built-in analytics.
“This definitely makes it simpler, provides a lower TCO, it is easy to deploy and you get all of the other benefits you could imagine having it as an all-in-one solution,” he said.
In addition, Grinfeld said the analytics DVTel is focusing on currently do not involve some of the more popular algorithms used by retailers and other vertical markets to glean business intelligence, but are rather focused on intrusion detection applications at places, such as power plants and other high-security facilities in critical infrastructure.
