New Johnson Controls Digital Vision Network Software Announced

Sept. 27, 2004
DVR-integratable system actually learns scenes, can understand security parameters, search for events and alert guards

At a Monday morning press briefing in Dallas, Johnson Controls president Pat Johnson introduced the company's newest product offering, the Johnson Controls Digital Vision Network (DVN).

The Johnson Controls DVN integrates digital video recording with a software system that controls the way video is monitored, analzyed and archived.

According to Pat Young, vice president/general manager fo Johnson Controls' fire and security solutions, the need for the product came out of meetings with existing clients, who were indicating features that they would need the most in a video software solution. The company then went into development and at the ASIS 2004 show in Dallas has now released the DVN product.

The system allowss for learning of security scenes. While the software is designed to pay attention to movement in a scene -- and to separate real movement from noise -- the system also has a function that allows it to learn a scene, and can therefore mark video clips and alert system users when an object is added to a scene or if something is removed from the scene, or if a defined "incident" has occurred. The system is programmable to provide automatic alerts to security personnel.

The results says Young, is that "Security guards are able to focus on actual events rather than staring at monitors."

The search function of the sytsem, he notes, allows users to set up rules for searches, such as the ability to find movemement of a red car by selecting color ranges and more, and can therefore examine hundreds of hours of video and select the appropriate clips for a security personnel to review.

For interfaces, the DVN requires a dedicated workstation for full software capabilities, but the system is also designed to allow access via PocketPCs and stand-alone computers that have a simple Johnson Controls DVN browser installed. These additional interfaces allow for remote viewing of a scene, making this new system highly appropriate for campus-wide security applications, such as at healthcare facilties, manufacturing parks and more.

For more information on Johnson Controls' DVN, visit the company's website at www.johnsoncontrols.com.