D-Tec IP Network Cameras

ISC West continues to innovate and adapt to the changing needs of the security marketplace. In 2019, there will be 200 new exhibitors, 100 new speakers and an expanding mix of attendees that includes more end users and international attendees. The International Security Conference & Exposition (ISC West) will be held April 10-12 at the Sands Expo in Las Vegas. Among the more than 200 new exhibitors on the show floor will be Dell Technologies, Resideo, SAST (a Bosch IoT startup), Belkin International, NetApp, Lenovo, Kingston Technology and many others. The event continues to see more and more solutions in the area of IoT/connected security, a surge in barrier/bollards exhibitors, an increased number of start-up companies, and an emphasis this year on stadium/major events security. Plus, the new exhibit area of ISC West, Venetian Ballroom, will include a mix of solutions from mid-sized domestic and international companies, and is the home of the Emerging Technology Zone – back for its second year with 50-plus start-up companies expected.  The International Security Conference & Exposition (ISC West) will be held April 10-12 at the Sands Expo in Las Vegas “ISC West is no longer just about video cameras, access control systems and alarms,” says Will Wise, Group Vice President, Security Portfolio for Reed Exhibitions, which produces and manages ISC West. Embracing and stimulating the market dynamic of comprehensive security for a safer, connected world, solutions on display at the show reflect convergence across physical security, IT (information technology) and OT (operational technology). The ISC West expo floor includes specialized featured areas such Connected Home, Public Safety & Security, Connected Security, Unmanned Security Expo and the Emerging Technology Zone. Plus, complimentary education sessions in the Unmanned Security Expo theatre will include topics such as drones, counter-drone solutions, ground robotics and regulations/policies that support autonomous technology. This year’s event will feature more than 1,000 products and brands covering everything from video surveillance, access control and alarms/alerts, to IoT, IT/cybersecurity convergence, AI, embedded systems, drones and robotics, smart homes, smart cities, public safety and more. The ISC West expo floor includes specialized featured areas such Connected Home and the Emerging Technology Zone  Elevating the Keynote Series  Over the past few years, ISC West has elevated its Keynote Series (open to all attendee types) to include more speakers and dynamic content covering relevant topics. Attendees should be sure to head to the Keynote room Wednesday and Thursday mornings at 8:30 a.m. before the expo floor opens at 10 a.m.  Relating to attendance, ISC West continues to diversify and grow the attendee universe by attracting additional enterprise government end-users across physical and IT/OT responsibilities. The show also continues to attract and grow the channel audience, and there will be an increasing number of International attendees.  “Years ago, ISC West was known exclusively as a dealer/integrator/installer show, but not anymore,” says Wise. “Today, the demographic mix continues to evolve as the event diversifies its product and educational offerings, embracing the current market reality of collaboration among integrators/dealers/installers, end-user decision-makers, and public safety and security professionals.”  When planning for the show, be sure to view the list of special events and take advantage of the additional connection-making opportunities Within the SIA Education@ISC West conference program, there are over 100 new speakers. Through ISC West’s strong partnership with the Security Industry Association (SIA, the Premier Sponsor of ISC), the SIA Education@ISC West program has expanded and become increasingly dynamic and diverse over the last three years. In addition, ISC West and SIA are hosting a Women in Security breakfast on Friday morning April 12th.  Women in Security is a new track for the education program.    “Our attendance data reflects the demand for a mix of physical security integrator and end-user content, a balance of technical and management/strategic topics, and diverse topics incorporating IoT and cybersecurity/physical security convergence, and analytics expertise,” says Wise. “Last year was a record year for conference program attendance, and 2019 will yet again set new benchmarks.” Mobile apps, information desks and ease of registration ISC West is also focusing on the attendee experience. Need advice on what exhibitors are a fit for your business needs and interests? The Information Desk adjacent to the main expo entrance will provide customized recommendations based on the information attendees provided during the registration process.  Attendees can download the official ISC West mobile app and create a MyShow account through the ISC West website Attendees can download the official ISC West mobile app and create a MyShow account through the ISC West website to research exhibitors and product categories, receive exhibitor recommendations that best fit business needs, review complimentary educational opportunities as well as 85-plus sessions from the paid SIA Education@ISC program.  There are many networking opportunities being offered at the show this year. When planning for the show, be sure to view the list of special events and take advantage of the additional connection-making opportunities.  Whether attendees want to network with peers or customers at an awards ceremony (Sammy Awards, Fast 50, New Product Showcase Awards), Charity event (AIREF Golf Classic, Mission 500 Security 5K-2K Run/Walk), or an industry party (SIA Market Leaders Reception, ISC West Customer Appreciation Party at Tao), there are a variety of special events offered, all designed to help you make new connections. Make sure to check out the ISC West website for all the Special Events taking place at ISC West.

Video surveillance across the world is growing exponentially and its major application is in both public safety and law enforcement. Traditionally, it has been fixed surveillance where cameras provide live streams from fixed cameras situated in what is considered strategic locations. But they are limited in what they can see given by their very definition of being “fixed”. The future of video surveillance includes the deployment of more mobile video surveillance with the benefits it offers. Instead of fixed cameras, this is the ability to live stream from mobile devices on the move such as body-worn cams, drones, motorbikes, cars, helicopters and in some cases, even dogs!Sending drones into the air, for example for missing people or rescue missions, is much more cost-effective than deploying helicopters Advantages Of Mobile Surveillance The advantage of mobile surveillance is that the camera can go to where the action is, rather than relying on the action going to where the camera is. Also, sending drones into the air, for example for missing people or rescue missions, is much more cost-effective than deploying helicopters. The ability to live stream video from cars and helicopters in high-speed pursuits can be used to take some of the operational issues from the first responders on the ground and share that “life and death” responsibility with the operational team leaders back in the command center. This allows the first responders in the pursuit vehicle to focus on minimizing risk while staying in close proximity of the fleeing vehicle, with direction from a higher authority who can see for themselves in real time the issues that are being experienced, and direct accordingly. In addition to showing video live stream from a pursuit car or motorcycle, by using inbuilt GPS tracking, the video can be displayed on a map in real time, allowing a command chief to better utilize additional resource and where to deploy them, through the use of displaying mapping information with real time video feed. It allows police chiefs to make better informed decisions in highly-charged environments. The 4G phone network can now be used with compressed video to live stream cost effectively Application in emergency situations The same is true of first responders in many different emergency situations. Mobile surveillance opens up a new area of efficiencies that previously was impossible to achieve. For example, special operations can wear action body-worn cameras when doing raids, fire departments can live stream from emergency situations with both thermal and daylight cameras, and paramedics can send video streams back to hospitals allowing doctors to remotely diagnose and prepare themselves for when patients arrive at the hospital. How can special operations and emergency first responders live stream video from a mobile camera with the issues of weight, reliability and picture-quality being considered? H265 Mobile Video Compression Law enforcement insists on secure transmissions, and it is possible to encrypt video to the highest level of security available in the public domain The 4G phone network can now be used with compressed video to live stream cost effectively. The issue of course is that 4G is not always reliable. Soliton Systems has mitigated this risk of low mobile quality in certain areas, by building an H265 mobile video compression device that can use multiple SIM cards from different cellular providers simultaneously. H265 is the latest compression technique for video, that is 50% more effective than conventional H264, and coupling this with using multiple “bonded” SIM cards provides a highly reliable connection for live-streaming high-quality HD video. The 400-gram device with an internal battery can be connected to a small action cam, and can live-stream simultaneously over at least three different cellular providers, back to a command center. Latency is typically less than a second, and new advance improvements are looking to reduce that latency further. Encrypted Video Transmission What about security? Law enforcement insists on secure transmissions, and it is possible to encrypt video to the highest level of security available in the public domain, i.e. AES256.What about integration into existing video infrastructure at the command center? It is not untypical for a police force to have an existing video management system (VMS) at their command center such as Milestone System’s Xprotect. The Soliton range of products are ONVIF-compliant, a standard used by video surveillance cameras for interoperability, allowing cameras and video devices that are ONVIF-compliant to simply “plug&play” into existing video management systems. These mobile transmitters are deployed with law enforcement and first responders across the globe. Their ability to provide secure, full HD quality and highly-reliable video streaming within a small unit, and to enable it to be integrated into the current eco-system that is already installed at the receiving end, has made them a favorite choice with many companies and government agencies.

Over the course of the past few months, I have discussed a myriad of topics, from Big Data, the Internet of Things and emerging video surveillance-use cases, to analytics, storage complexities and IT technologies like virtualization and hyperconverged infrastructure (HCI). All of these trends have a significant effect on the security market, and in April they were highlighted in spades at ISC West. It’s great to talk about these trends but it’s far better to see how they are being leveraged in real-world applications. That’s really where we can all see the true value of new solutions and concepts. We’re lucky enough to work with some leading organizations that want others to benefit from their experience and I’m happy to have the opportunity to share two of these applications with you. Protecting Educational Facilities UCF has adopted advancements in technology, particularly video surveillance solutions, to help ensure stronger security on campus Educational institutions face an increasingly complex risk environment. Recent high-profile incidents emphasize these risks and magnify the vulnerabilities that educational facilities face. These incidents have led to more public demand for improved security solutions across campuses. The primary mission of these organizations is to deliver quality education to students, and they face the challenge of balancing between a highly secure facility and one that supports open interaction. The University of Central Florida is no different. This organization, one of the largest universities in the country, has adopted advancements in technology, particularly video surveillance solutions, to help ensure stronger security on campus. Active Shooter Incidents In March 2013, UCF faced an active shooter situation in which a former student planned to pull the fire alarm in a residence hall and then attack his classmates as the building was evacuated. However, the shooter’s gun jammed, and as officers were closing in on the gunman, he took his own life. During the university’s response to the incident, accessibility to critical video data was a major issue. Educational institutions face an increasingly complex risk environment UCF had cameras in the area where the incident took place, but first responders had no way of viewing the footage without being at the physical location of the video recorder. At the time, UCF had a wide variety of standalone systems in place, including non-integrated video surveillance, access control and intrusion systems. As a result, there was no way to centralize video management, viewing and analysis. Upgrading From Analog Systems Altogether, its security system consisted of older analog platforms that were reaching end of life, 58 standalone servers, 12,000 access points and a wide variety of DVRs — all being managed in a siloed manner. UCF needed a solution that would allow officials to centralize system management, store video data more effectively and reliably, and enable the security team to deliver situational awareness to responders when needed. Security leaders sought a way to further modernize its security, surveillance, access control and IT infrastructure The university deployed an HCI solution, one that is optimized for demanding, data-intensive workloads like video surveillance. Using standard off-the-shelf server hardware, the system aggregates the storage and compute resources from multiple servers into a single unified pool that all cameras can access, which maximizes performance and storage capacity utilization. The platform also hosts the university’s video management solution, which serves as a centralized source to manage video and effectively protect its security data. Because of the growing demand for video across UCF's campuses — for both safety and business purposes — the HCI solution’s ability to eliminate the opportunity for data loss and easily scale were key components in its selection. Protecting Air Travel And Airports In 2012, Charleston International Airport embarked on an ambitious upgrade project dubbed the Terminal Redevelopment and Improvement Program. The $200 million initiative was designed to modernize and expand the facility to meet increased passenger demand. While the aesthetics and amenities of the airport were under construction, security leaders sought a way to further modernize its security, surveillance, access control and IT infrastructure. The IT and security teams needed to address the challenges of their existing standalone server environment, which included siloed systems, management complexity and high administrative and equipment costs. Charleston International Airport embarked on an ambitious upgrade project dubbed the Terminal Redevelopment and Improvement Program Considering the high value of the airport’s video, security and IT data, it required a solution that could deliver reliable data protection, system resiliency and fault tolerance. The airport is required to store video for 30 days, but it seeks to expand its retention time to 60 days. Therefore, technology that can scale simply was key in the selection process. Storage System Updates It also required a storage platform that could manage the demanding and write-intensive nature of its nearly 250 IP surveillance cameras — a challenging task for traditional video recorders. The airport deployed HCI appliances to better manage captured video data and expand its archive capability for video surveillance. Users rely on video to validate whether something did or did not happen - and this is essential in airports HCI surveillance solutions are designed to provide industry-leading resiliency. Even if multiple hardware failures occur, including an entire appliance, video management servers will remain online and recording, and any previously recorded video will continue to be protected and accessible. Reducing Expenses And Costs The solution also reduced total cost of operations by consolidating servers, storage and client workstations into one enterprise-class solution that is easily managed from a single user interface, without the need for specialized IT skills. These use cases demonstrate the value emerging technologies bring to these types of modern environments. And they show that solutions like HCI are no longer simply much-talked about technology trends. Video, IT and security data is critical to organizations of all types and they need to ensure their investment in capturing this data is protected. From a security standpoint, users rely on video to validate whether something did or did not happen. If that video data isn’t protected, they lose a very valuable investigative tool. That isn’t an option in today’s complex environment. That’s is why it is paramount to understand how new technologies can help expand current capabilities and evolve security operations. This can’t be left to chance.

 D-Tec is a world leader in CCTV camera-based video smoke detection D-Tec, part of AD Group and a world leader in CCTV camera-based Video Smoke Detection (VSD) - announces that it is a finalist in the prestigious Fire Excellence Awards, run in conjunction with the International Firex and Fire & Rescue exhibitions.The company has been shortlisted in the key Export Innovation category for its successful deployment of VSD, which analyses images to provide early warning of fire, in a growing number of tunnel projects worldwide. Applications of note undertaken by D-Tec and highlighted in its award submission include: the landmark Palm Jumeirah in Dubai, Italian road tunnels and the Sydney Harbour Tunnel.Said Ian Moore, Managing Director of D-Tec: "We are very pleased to have reached the final stage of the Fire Excellence Awards for our global tunnel projects.   "The confined nature of tunnels presents a uniquely challenging environment where fire safety is concerned"The confined nature of tunnels presents a uniquely challenging environment where fire safety is concerned. Factors such as the length of tunnels, the difficulty of access and the higher heat release rate from fire, make any delay even more critical than in other scenarios. As a result, at D-Tec, we are seeing growing interest in the deployment of Video Smoke Detection with its proven ability to identify smoke rapidly (typically in seconds). There is also the added flexibility which comes with the availability of IP based solutions such as FireVu."The winners of the Fire Excellence Awards will be announced at a ceremony on the evening of Tuesday 12 May at the Hilton Birmingham Metropole.

  Pictured (Left) is Tim Maslen, Sales Manager, D-Tec, receiving a Finalist Certificate for the 'Best Application' category in the IP-in-Security Innovation Awards from Paul Hennings of IP Security Events & Media Ltd.D-Tec - part of AD Group - announces that it was a finalist in the prestigious IP-in-Security Innovation Awards held at the Hilton Hotel, Coventry, during the recent IIPSEC 2009 exhibition.The company made the shortlist in the ‘Best Application' category, following two stages of judging, for its IP-based, NetVu Connected, FireVu, system which - in conjunction with its partner in the Middle East, BSS-ME - provides a CCTV-based VSD (Video Smoke Detection) solution for the main tunnel at the famous Palm Jumeirah man-made island in Dubai.Thanks to FireVu the operators of the undersea link are assured of the fire safety of this vital connection between Palm Jumeirah's spine and the main crescent part of the island. Monitoring is provided around the clock by the FireVu based solution which has the ability to deliver a fast track response to potential fire detecting smoke in a matter of seconds, in contrast to more conventional approaches that often struggle within the confines of a tunnel environment.Said Ian Moore, D-Tec's Managing Director: "We are delighted that FireVu and its application at the visionary Palm Jumeirah in Dubai has been singled out for praise by the judges of the IP-in-Security Innovation Awards. I would also like to acknowledge the efforts of our partner in the region BSS-ME, who under the leadership of Malcolm Gatenby played such a pivotal role through the whole tendering, installation, testing and commissioning process."For more information on FireVu and VSD please visit www.dtec-fire.com and for the Middle East region please log on to www.bssme.com.

D-Tec - part of AD Group - announces that its partner in the Middle East region, BSS-ME, has supplied, tested, and commissioned seven advanced IP-based, NetVu Connected, FireVu units to provide a state-of-the-art CCTV-based VSD (Video Smoke Detection) solution for the main tunnel at the famous Palm Jumeirah man-made island in Dubai.Fast responseNow monitored around the clock by BSS-ME's supplied FireVu based solution - which has the ability to deliver a fast track response to potential fire detecting smoke in a matter of seconds, unlike conventional solutions which struggle in the confines of a tunnel - the operators of the 1.4 km long, 40 metres wide, undersea link can be assured of the fire safety of this vital connection between Palm Jumeirah's spine and the main crescent part of the island.The FireVu units adopted for the iconic Palm Jumeirah are the latest and most capable incarnation of D-Tec's VSD technology.  For the Dubai tunnel solution, the FireVu units installed by BSS-ME are connected to 28 fixed CCTV cameras positioned strategically throughout the tunnel's two outer tubes - 14 in each.  Crucially, the cameras used for Video Smoke Detection are the same as those for security and other surveillance tasks - such as traffic management - in the tunnel, thus maximising the return on investment.Image analysisLooking in more detail at the VSD utilised by FireVu at Palm Jumeirah, this approach works by using CCTV images, in real time, from a number of cameras simultaneously that are then analysed by specialized image processing software.Alarm and associated video images can be relayed back to a central control room and can be reviewed using NetVu ObserVer video management software to offer a fast response to an event and because multiple cameras are being used there is also the potential to provide all important situational awareness.  This means that drivers and their passengers in a tunnel such as at Palm Jumeirah can be directed safely away from danger - this is especially beneficial in tunnels with a gradient where as smoke rises it will tend to gather more on one side of the fire.  As all alarm events are recorded on the system's NetVu Connected Digital Video Recorder (DVR) these can be readily accessed for pre and post-event analysis, allowing the operator to view what, or who, caused the incident.The right solutionCommented Malcolm Gatenby, Sales Director, BSS-ME: "Working closely with D-Tec throughout the whole tendering, testing and commissioning process, we were able to have the solution up and running well within the agreed timescales, ensuring that the seven FireVu units were successfully integrated with the tunnel's CCTV cameras and control centre.  The all important commissioning process allowed the fine tuning of the advanced VSD to ensure the set-up took account of lighting and other local conditions."Looking ahead I believe that Video Smoke Detection is ideally suited to the challenges of today's road tunnels, with their small cross sectional area and higher heat release rate should a fire develop, and hope that success at the Palm Jumeirah will lead to additional project wins in the fast growing Middle East market."The next generation of VSDA key advantage of adopting FireVu for Palm Jumeirah tunnel is that it takes VSD to the next level by combining VSD with video over IP (Internet Protocol), this means that in additional to being supplied to a central control room, there is the flexibility for distribution of alarms and associated images to an unlimited number of locations for review.  Also, as FireVu shares a common NetVu Connected technology base with other AD Group systems - such as those from Dedicated Micros - and NetVu ObserVer video management software, there is the potential to integrate the system with a broad range of facilities management and security systems.Global applicationSaid Ian Moore, Managing Director of D-Tec: "It is gratifying to see FireVu, and our Video Smoke Detection technology, being applied to best effect at the visionary Palm Jumeirah in Dubai thanks to the efforts of Malcolm Gatenby and his team at BSS-ME who have been effective advocates for our technology in the region for more than five years."Click here to read the full case study.