Day: September 20, 2020

Rekor Systems, Inc, (REKR) a Maryland-based company providing real-time roadway intelligence through AI-driven decisions, recently announced that Mastercard is integrating the Company’s subscription based Edge proprietary vehicle recognition technology into its AI Powered Drive Through Platform. Mastercard’s AI Powered Drive Through platform, provided in partnership with Rekor, can help major quick service restaurant brands transform their drive through or drive in interactions through vehicle recognition, voice ordering, and artificial intelligence. “This is a significant milestone for our Company as we continue to actively pursue the commercial segment of our business. Teaming with Mastercard and their quick service restaurant partners not only helps usher in the future of frictionless vehicle recognition solution, but it signals the value of our technology to enable low touch, high engagement experiences for retailers and the end consumer,” said Robert A. Berman, President and CEO, Rekor. Mastercard’s platform leverages aggregated spending patterns and store level data to customize the ordering experience. Consumers can opt-in to receive personalized and dynamic menu offers based on historical purchasing trends either based on the specific restaurant’s location or the individual consumer. The solution also reduces friction within the ordering process by removing the need to wait for an employee to take an order, enabling staff to focus on order throughput. “As retailers and consumers navigate through one of the most disruptive periods in modern history, it’s clear that traditional business operations will need to evolve quickly,” said Stephane Wyper, Senior Vice President, Retail Innovation, Mastercard. “Technologies like Rekor’s give us the ability to help our retail partners meet the challenges posed by this new normal and provide their customers with a more digitally enabled, touchless, and secure retail experience.” Mastercard’s AI powered drive through platform using Rekor’s vehicle recognition technology will begin on-location pilots at White Castle locations in October 2020 and will also be rolling out with other quick service restaurants later in the year.  

Barco, a world leader in professional visualization, introduces its new generation RGB laser rear-projection video walls and reinforces its commitment to the mission-critical control room market. The newest generation offering strengthens the value proposition of rear-projection technology as the reliable, sustainable and long-lifetime visualization solution, and will be available for both new installations and to upgrade the installed base As a broad visualization solution supplier, Barco offers rear-projection, LCD and LED indoor video walls, allowing one to optimize the visualization outcome – depending on the specific application and customer needs. For mission-critical control rooms, rear-projection remains a key visualization technology especially for mid- to large-size control rooms, that work with dashboards and Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) content typically within the utilities and rail transportation markets. The Barco RGB Laser ODL series, with its unique value proposition, was introduced in 2016 and has been the flagship solution ever since, winning multiple industry awards. With the introduction of this newest generation laser engine, the ODL series now gets a major update which further establishes the RGB Laser series as the premium solution in the market. This will strengthen and safeguard the unique value proposition of rear-projection cubes by further extending the lifetime, protecting long-term serviceability commitments up to 10 years, and offering a sustainable solution considering the environment and ergonomics. Solutions for any environment The high-brightness RGB Laser engine allows control rooms to operate in the optimal conditions for the end users. The unique Sense X calibration system automatically and continuously adjusts brightness and color over the complete wall during the entire lifetime, making sure the displayed images reduce eye fatigue in 24/7 applications. Additionally, no heat is radiated out of the screens, which further optimizes the ergonomics for the operators and simplifies the room temperature control systems. The next-generation laser engine introduces new laser banks, improving the light source lifetime in different operational modes. The guaranteed 10 years of maintainability secures the system for the future, which is instrumental for mission-critical control rooms. The accompanying WallConnect software has further evolved, improving the user experience during setup, configuration, operation and maintenance. Along with the ODL-series’ motorized 7-axis alignment, this makes the installation process smoother and simpler. The system is also futureproof and ready for remote management and monitoring, optimizing the availability and lifetime within the mission critical environments. A wide portfolio of laser engines The new engine will be available within the full RGB Laser portfolio, covering 70” to 80” sizes and supporting both FHD and SXGA+ resolutions. Multiple screen options are available to deliver the optimum result depending on the application, control room environment and budget. Furthermore, existing customers can upgrade their installed base of lamp & LED cubes, which means a complete technology refresh can be accomplished while keeping the mechanical structure and screens. This not only lowers the cost and timeframe of the refurbishment, but also reduces waste and can often be accomplished without any operational interruption. Being able to upgrade video walls (running already for more than 10 years) with the latest projection technology at a reduced cost, for another 10 years of service, is a key advantage of rear projection. Reducing the environmental footprint The ODL series also received the ‘Barco Eco Product label A’ as it further reduces the environmental footprint. Barco’s stringent ecoscoring scores energy efficiency, material usage, packaging/ logistics and end-of-life processes in line with the ISO14021 standard. “By introducing the next-generation RGB Laser ODL series, Barco is again breaking the bar in the rear-projection cube market,” says Jay Badvel, Product Manager at Barco. “With this new engine, we go far beyond excelling at the technical level. We further enhance the lifetime, secure the reliability and lower the environmental footprint. The upgrade capability, reusing a large part of the infrastructure, in combination with the modularity, repairability and refurbishment options, further contributes to a true circular economy. The next generation RGB Laser ODL series are available for shipments starting August 2020.  

An upgrade of video technology at a south London residential estate has proved so effective that the system has been immediately scaled-up. The IDIS video solution, implemented by Hall & Kay Security Engineering at the Meridian South Development in Hither Green, is less obtrusive than the system it replaced, yet it immediately delivered better results, with a number of incidents tackled – to the surprise of the culprits. Although the mixed development, comprising 440 owner-occupied and rented properties, is a safe and pleasant neighbourhood for most of the time, to maintain this high standard of living managers needed to tackle a growing problem with petty crime and anti-social behaviour. Issues were being reported with increasing frequency, including rubbish being dumped by shortterm tenants vacating their apartments, theft from mailboxes, vandalism, and car crime. Rubbish removal alone was costing the management company more than £12,000 annually. Hall & Kay were asked to solve this problem by implementing an advanced, end-to-end video solution from IDIS, Korea’s largest in-country manufacturer. The H&K team began by replacing the ten column-mounted PTZ cameras with IDIS cameras. IDIS technicians visited the site with the H&K engineers and conducted a bandwidth test on the existing cabling – demonstrating that, by using the existing coax with IDIS ethernet converters, up to four IDIS fixed bullet cameras could be cost-effectively mounted on each existing column. Additionally, wireless access points were installed where cameras couldn’t be cabled directly to the estate control room. This approach eliminated blind-spots and guaranteed that events would not be missed when the system was unmanned. To provide wider coverage, a further six columns were added, and additional IDIS cameras were mounted in the underground car parking areas.   The system now delivers full HD images in all lighting conditions, with built-in IR ensuring nighttime image capture at distances up to 30m. All footage is stored for 30 days. The security officers and maintenance staff who manage the estate are also taking advantage of the easy-to-use analytics functions that come with the totally cost-free IDIS Center video management software (VMS). These tools include motion detection which can be utilised out of hours to ensure that scenes are only recorded when movement occurs, thus minimising bandwidth usage and storage requirements. This feature, along with IDIS MapVue navigation, also makes it easy to quickly review footage to find incidents of interest. The 57 IDIS full HD IR cameras, and the three NVRs with 12TB storage each, benefit from true plug-and-play set up with DirectIP®. When the South Meridian management team saw the quality of images now being captured, they asked if the system could be extended. With IDIS’s flexible approach this was quick and easy to do. Within 24 hours of cameras being installed, departing tenants were recorded illegally dumping rubbish. Shortly after this, a contractor working at the site reported that tools had been stolen – in both cases, high definition evidence of the crime was captured and passed to the police. In fact, thanks to the design of the system, and the easy-to-use VMS controls, security staff were able to retrieve footage of the incident itself, along with a full video trail of the thief moving across the estate before and afterwards. Word has now spread about how effective the new system is, and residents are delighted that there are now no blind-spots. “The support we had from IDIS was second to none and the technology works exactly as promised,” says Wayne Wharton, Security Sales Manager, H&K Security, “We are now looking at many more IDIS projects with the same customer and others.” “We are delighted that IDIS technology is making such a positive difference to the quality of life of residents at Meridian South,” says James Min, Managing Director, IDIS Europe.