Surveillance

Truck Fleet Exoneration: Using Video To Determine Accident Liability

Inattention, excessive speed, failure to yield, and unsafe lane changes are among the top causes of truck collisions, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). For fleet managers, preventing collisions caused by their own drivers can be quite challenging because risk factors must be measured before an accident occurs. But what happens when a crash isn?t the truck driver?s fault? In fact, a Fleet Owner whitepaper on video-based safety, sponsored by SmartDrive, found that even though truckers are blamed for most of the crashes that occur in the U.S., 80% of those crashes are actually the fault of car drivers.

Discerning The Value Of Robotics In The Security Market

The use of robotics to streamline operations in various sectors of the market is not a new concept. In fact, automation and artificial intelligence (AI) in the form of robotics capabilities are being introduced in everything from transportation services to farming. I recently traveled through the Seattle-Tacoma International Airport and noticed that McDonald’s has self-serve menus for ordering and payment, resulting in advanced automation that focuses on streamlining the management and customer service that humans offer to customers.

Arrest Fraud: Prevent Workplace Theft With A Comprehensive Background Investigation Program

Organizations lose as much as 5% of their revenue each year to fraud. For a small to mid-size business earning $50 million annually, that?s a staggering $2.5 million – an amount no business can afford to forgo. A first step in preventing organizational fraud is screening employees and business partners. Whether you?re hiring a new employee, reviewing an employee for promotion to a greater position of trust or screening a potential new vendor or customer, the ability to conduct effective background research can reduce the risk of insider threats, fraud and improve productivity.

How Investors Will Profit From Ubiquitous Surveillance

Don?t look now, but video surveillance is hot. It was inevitable. The willing surrender of privacy and the fear of bad actors make a potent combination. Earlier this month, police in Dubai enlisted a new recruit. By the end of the year, a diminutive self-driving car will begin patrolling city streets. The robotic rig will feature cutting-edge video gear, networked facial-recognition software and an aerial drone, in case undesirables go off-road. Boosted by emerging technologies, video surveillance has become a service. And it is about to explode.

Man Wrongly Jailed Can’t Sue Cops Who Ignored His Video Alibi

This would seem to be a simple case, a real no-brainer, based on the opening statement of an opinion by a federal appeals court judge. “Rasheed Waters sat in jail for more than a year awaiting trial for a crime he did not commit,” wrote Judge Joseph A. Greenaway Jr. “He had a verifiable alibi, based on video surveillance, which he claims the arresting officer ignored.” After viewing that video, a Montgomery County judge promptly dismissed the burglary charges that had kept Waters behind bars so unnecessarily. So, Waters can sue the cops for his troubles, right? – No.

Security Industry Veteran Establishes Autonomous Security Association

In order to promote and advance autonomous security vehicles ?ground, marine, and aerial? a security industry veteran is announcing the formation of the Autonomous Security Association. This trade association is a focused venue for autonomous security technology partners and market experts working with surveillance and security robotics to advance the understanding and awareness of the autonomous security marketplace. Autonomous Security Association focuses on the unmanned vehicles and robotics industry and supports all forms of platforms including ground, air, and marine vehicles coupled with a broad spectrum of robotic initiatives including commercial, medical, military, personal, and industrial security applications.

Knightscope K5 ‘Drowns’ In Fountain Mishap

On Monday, a Knightscope K5 security robot in Washington DC suffered a watery demise after falling into a fountain. The mishap was spotted by passers-by whose photos of the aftermath quickly went viral on social media. Onlookers at the office complex discovered a curious sight: the body of a security robot, floating face-down in a fountain. The Knightscope K5 autonomous security ground vehicle is able to “detect unusual activity and report it for humans to investigate,” according to the company’s website.

Georgia Power Introduces SiteView Video Surveillance And Security Service

As physical security and video surveillance becomes more ubiquitous, more vendors are offering solutions and services to help protect commercial assets. And now Georgia Power, a southern U.S. utility company is getting into the act. Georgia Power is introducing SiteView™, a powerful new video surveillance and security tool, offered as part of the company’s growing menu of optional services. With SiteView, commercial, industrial, and governmental customers have the option to obtain a high-definition camera system, owned, installed, and maintained by Georgia Power with no upfront cost. The service will also be available to homeowner associations and multi-family residential developments. SiteView cameras are mounted on new or existing outdoor lighting poles and the video is provided directly to the customer’s on-site video recorder or third-party cloud-based storage.

Legal Cannabis Sales: 5 Video Surveillance Questions

Safety Vision, a leading provider of mobile surveillance technology, provided surveillance expert Clint Bryer to answer a couple of questions about the fledgling cannabis market and the utilization of video surveillance technologies. With 90 percent of theft coming from internal sources, security has become a part of everyday life and is crucial to the safety and profitability of your cannabis business. Bryer breaks down what you are putting at risk when you don?t secure your business properly and how to make it safer for your employees.

U.S. Security Associates Showcases Sharp INTELLOS A-UGV At Summer Roadshow Events

Sharp Robotics Business Development (SRBD), a division of Sharp Electronics Corporation (SEC), announced that U.S. Security Associates (USA), the authorized guard services reseller of the Sharp INTELLOS™ Automated Unmanned Ground Vehicle (A-UGV), will be hosting exclusive demonstration events across the United States this summer. The demonstration roadshow will begin in July and include the following cities: Atlanta, Dallas, Houston, Indianapolis, Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Diego, and Seattle.

Police Say Video Surveillance Helps Solve Crime Spree

With recent statements by Reno (NV) Police, arguments made by those against the usage of video surveillance —such as the ACLU— should start to understand that overall, video surveillance is indeed making an impact on crime. Many times, those arguments go along the lines that video surveillance does not decrease crime, only helps to arrest criminals. However, if the use of video surveillance is helping to capture, arrest, and prosecute criminal offenders, then that is removing criminals from repeating crimes and causing injury. Reno Police say the main reason detectives were able to solve this recently case was the quality and amount of surveillance video provided by victims and adjacent businesses.

The Border’s New Boundaries, Part I: Digital Towers

In a dim, low ceiling room, federal agents and private contractors are testing the feed coming off cameras erected along the southeastern Arizona border. It?s a subdued project when you consider the magnitude of the goal: eyes and ears watching every movement along the U.S.-Mexico border 24 hours, seven days a week. The Customs and Border Protection agency uses two types of towers: integrated fixed towers (IFT), which use ground sensor surveillance in rural parts of the Mexican border, and remote video surveillance systems, which are used in urban areas where legal traffic is heavy enough to render ground sensors useless. The agency currently uses eight of the IFTs in southeastern Arizona and 11 of the remote video systems. It?s called the Arizona Border Surveillance Technology Plan; and it?s a network of these towers, cameras mounted on pickup trucks and backpack surveillance systems that can be hiked into the desert and dug into the ground.

General Dynamics Obtains CBP FOC Status For Remote Video Surveillance Platform

General Dynamics’ Remote Video Surveillance System (RVSS) upgrade has achieved a ‘Full Operating Capability’ (FOC) designation by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security?s Customs and Border Protection (CBP). This key milestone was achieved after two years of successful deployment and field testing along the southern border and underscores the operational impact this solution provides to the U.S. Border Patrol. The RVSS capability is currently operational in Nogales, Douglas, Naco, Yuma, and Ajo, Arizona, with relocatable deployments planned in McAllen and Laredo, Texas in 2017.

Safer, Smarter Living With iotega

Tyco Security Products, part of Johnson Controls, announces the launch of iotega, its next generation wireless security and automation platform designed to provide safer, smarter, living for homes and businesses. iotega is an innovative security and lifestyle management platform, which is supported by Tyco Security Product?s trusted, full-featured security technology and facilitates home automation enhancements and add-ons via software apps running on additional devices. Discrete in design, iotega includes a touch keypad, as well as optional 7″ Wi-Fi capacitive touchscreens, wireless keypad arming stations and flexible software app compatibility.

DeTect Installs DroneWatcher Drone Detection And Defense System At Northwest Florida Beaches International Airport

DeTect announced installation of its DroneWatcher™ drone detection and defense system at the Northwest Florida Beaches International Airport (ECP) in Panama City, Florida. Drone incursions into controlled airspace around airports has emerged as a major security and flight safety risk over the past few years and DeTect?s DroneWatcher system provides the highest level of detection and control available.

Arecont Vision SNAPstream Bandwidth Reduction Technology Supports Multiple New And Existing Megapixel IP-Cameras

Arecont Vision®, the industry leader in IP-based megapixel camera technology, announces the expanded availability of SNAPstream™ (Smart Noise Adaptation and Processing) technology for 140 of the company?s megapixel camera models. SNAPstream greatly reduces camera bandwidth requirements without impacting image quality, delivering new benefits to Arecont Vision customers.

Robolliance / Sharp USA Supports ISC West Unmanned Security Expo

Founding sponsor of Robolliance, Sharp Electronics Corporation, will also take part in the Unmanned Security Expo by featuring its Sharp INTELLOS Automated Unmanned Ground Vehicle (?A-UGV?). Debuted in September 2016, the Sharp INTELLOS A-UGV is a cost-effective, multi-terrain, mobile sensor platform that can capture video, audio, and environmental data while providing a visible deterrent. The data it collects can enhance outdoor surveillance, security, safety, and maintenance inspections that will help organizations meet the challenges of an ever-changing security landscape by augmenting a skilled guard force.

Robolliance Experts On-Hand For ISC West “Unmanned Security Expo”

This year’s ISC West will be the first-ever Unmanned Security Expo focused on Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), Unmanned Ground Vehicles (UGVs), and various systems to support robotic technology. The Expo will include a fully functional flight cage and robotics demonstration area, booth exhibits and free education sessions. Robolliance, a forum for technology partners and industry experts in robotics, surveillance, and security created to advance the understanding and awareness of the Autonomous Robotics marketplace, is one of the four primary supporters of the Unmanned Security Expo.

NYPD Sent Video Teams To Record Occupy And BLM Protests Over 400 Times, Documents Reveal

New York City Police Department documents obtained by The Verge show that police camera teams were deployed to hundreds of Black Lives Matter and Occupy Wall Street protests from 2011?2013 and 2016. Originally acquired through a Freedom of Information Law request by New York attorney David Thompson of Stecklow, Cohen & Thompson, the records are job reports from the NYPD’s Technical Assistance Response Unit (TARU) that document over 400 instances in which the unit?s video team attended, and sometimes filmed, demonstrations. More important than the records the NYPD turned over, however, are those that it claims it cannot find: namely, any documents demonstrating that legal reviews and authorizations of these surveillance operations took place.

Robotic Assistance Devices To Demonstrate Next-Generation Autonomous Machines Using NVIDIA Jetson Platform At ISC West 2017

Robotic Assistance Devices (RAD), an innovator in artificial intelligence and robotics and master distributor for SMP Robotics Systems Corp., announced it is enhancing its complete line of autonomous robotic guards with the NVIDIA Jetson embedded computing platform. Using NVIDIA Jetson, an embedded AI supercomputer ideal for intelligent machines, RAD robotics can achieve higher levels of autonomy, while adding advanced people and vehicle detection on the moving robot.