Integrated Video alarm: New competitive advantage

The use of video verification, previous to dispatch the alarm to public authorities, has started to be included in legislation in many countries.

Without detriment to that, the private security business also accepts the fact that it cannot keep on taking unnecessary costs in concept of dispatch private surveillance services when 90% of alarms are unreal.

The evolution of the systems has had 2 stages up to now:

1-      Alarm systems with signal report in digital format without image.

2-      IP video systems, of the webcam type, video server or DVR that we use via SOFTGUARD SG VIDEO and that allow the video verification of alarm in automated way, with wide compatibility.

But technologic evolution, predictable in this tendancy, offers VIDEO ALARM equipments, integrating the image with the conventional alarm system signal.

Some time ago, we introduced SOFTGUARD compatibility with RSI VIDEOFIED equipments, absolute pioneers in this field.

Now, with great pride and reassuring that we are always a step ahead. It is the second system that is totally integrated with SOFTGUARD and allows the immediate reception of the image that generated the panel alarm at the central station.

PIRCAM transmits the images and events to the panel in a wired or wireless way. This  panel brings a communicator via dual GPRS/IP, which will transmit the information to the SOFTGUARD system.

The connection licence between these innovative equipments is totally free of charge for SOFTGUARD users with a service plan and active up-dating. If you haven´t implemented the SG VIDEO module in your SoftGuard system, ask a commercial representative for advice.

COMPLETE ARTICLE ABOUT VIDEO ALARM AND ITS IMPACT ON THE MARKET

We are writing about a historic change in the evolution of alarm system. Time line will have a milestone clearly marked in 2010 as the year in which a radical change has taken place: from now onwards, alarms will be able to see.

PARALLEL STORIES

Alarm systems have been improved and have incorporated features that have adapted them to the complex scenarios of the demand of a society with security problems. But in this evolution, analysts only recognize a great milestone that took place at the beginning of the 90’s. At that time, alarm panels stopped being based on discrete electronics and started to incorporate microprocessors. These components allowed modern panels to store information and programs and process instructions, that later made it possible to communicate signals and events' data to the alarm receiver stations in high level protocols, among other strategic functions.

Tracing a parallelism, security video systems have also evolved when, in the mid 90’s, IP technology arrived, to replace Vhs tapes and multiplexors by digital videorecorders (DVR), hard discs and IP Megapixel cameras.

However, up to these last months, these worlds have evolved without a direct connection. On one hand, microprocessed alarm systems connected to alarm monitoring central stations by different communication links and, on the other hand, digital image monitoring systems via Internet, which have been related by the new technics in videoverification.

Last generation software to centralize and manage alarms like SoftGuard ® allows the benefits' fusion given by these 2 worlds, the one of signals and the one of images, into one intellegent management that meets the benefits of both systems.

As technical standards get adapted to the new alarm video verification reality and its noticeable decrease of false alarms dispatched (from 85% to 30%), leading manufacturers have launched products that revolutionize the market deeply and make the rules of the games to change once again.

ALARMS WITH A VISION OF THEIR OWN

In a new milestone within its developing history, the alarm systems are now able to process own images received form their sensors and send them to monitoring stations equipped with SoftGuard SG-VIDEO for their co-relation to events shootings with signals processed by SG-MONITORING.

This new technology can be explained from the origin, from the stage of acquisition of data in the sensors.

Typically, the kinds of detectors used in basic installations have been the PIR and the magnetic opening sensors. Additionally, crystal breaking sensors are used. These ones use audio or vibration analysis technologies or fotoelectric barriers. So, the idea is that these sensors keep on being the way they are, but in order to perform their function, they incorporate small video cameras, sensitive to infrared illumination and some IR illuminators to allow visibility in absolute darkness.

From now on, its internal processor has the ability to record camera images and discard them on a permanent loop except in case the PIR sensor detects movement. In this case, the coincident image in time will be protected in memory and sent, together with the report of sensor shooting to the receiving station.

By means of this process, a sensor alarm control with the most accurate image of detection when the event has taken place can be obtained. This apparently simple procedure, comprises a new way of understanding monitoring and business.

DRAWING NUMBERS

The use of VIDEO ALARM as detection, processing and report system is causing 75 out of 100 received events that are reported to authorities or own answer to stop being reported. Thus, valuable resources, human and non-human are not required all the time.

The economic saving derived from this mechanism is so great and important that it could simply change the business revenue positively.

COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGIES

The modern panels and sensors of this new VIDEO ALARM generation apply all the modern communication mechanisms, in a remote or local way. Many of them, as the ones we have presented as as absolute novelty at INTERSEC SEGURIEXPO 2010, allow a 100% local wireless application, that is to say, not even a simple wire among the panel, LCD alphanumeric keyboards or icons ones, PIR-CAM sensors, and conventional sensors. At the same time, panels can report a triple technology monitoring: Ehernet IP by ADSL or another internet connection, by cellular GPRS or by conventional telephone line as a backup.

This means that we are able to set installations that are much more efficient, eliminating at least 75 out of 100 alarms that we used to dispatch and now, we are doing so without the need of using wires, six times faster than we used to do it with a conventional installation and multiplying the productive force of our installation team.

ADDED VALUE

More advances get to these last generation panels, adds advanced features such as on-board SD card. With this card all images coming from all the sensors with camera (PIR-CAM) are recorded to be required later on from the control center. Having date-time camera filters it makes it possible to verify accurately the cause that sett off the alarm.

Some of these equipments already incorporate simple video sequences instead of individual images for alarm moments, allowing a pre and post alarm moments view.

In conclusion we can say that a new world of options and possibilities is beginning and those developing it first will gain better business in the most profitable high-tech tecnology sectors.

Nowadays we are living in a world full of public insecurity and these highly efficient solutions open doors to leading companies that want to be a step beyond competition.

DANIEL BANDA

CEO

SOFTGUARD TECH CORPORATION

 http://www.softguard.com