Year: 2020

3xLOGIC, Inc., a leading provider of integrated, intelligent security solutions, recently announced Glasscock Independent School District (TX) has embarked on Phase Three of their ambitious plan to convert to a largely wireless, keyless access environment, supplemented by some hardwired doors as well. VGI Technology, San Angelo, TX, is managing the installation of this on-going project. VGI also provides access control and video surveillance to 40 school districts across Texas. About 18 months ago, Wade Williams, VGI, worked with the district to finalize Phase Two plans for over 70 Allegion wireless locks for the Texas school, managed by an existing 3xLOGIC infinias access control system. Phase Two involved wireless locks for internal classroom doors, Phase One of the project started in late 2018 with 60 exterior doors being fitted with both wireless and wired locks. Scott Bicknell, Superintendent, Glasscock ISD, contacted Williams after touring a nearby school district’s system of more than 100 doors, managed by the infinias system. “We wanted to stop people from entering the school during certain times,” explained Bicknell, “Our focus so far has been more on access control than video surveillance, but we’re looking at video in the future as well.” Phase Three, which is on-going in the fall of this year will see 38 more wireless locks added to the mix, in order to secure all academic settings at the school. The pre-K to high school facility serves approximately 300 students. “Phase Three is a nice addition to the system, Phase Two was focused on where students spend most of their time during the day,” said Bicknell, “Now, we’ll add more wireless locks as the budget has become available, and we’ll be about twothirds wireless, supplemented by some hardwired doors – all managed by the infinias system.” Glasscock ISD maintains multiple buildings, comprising two campuses, all connected into one large building. Other facilities include an agriculture shop, cafeteria and concessions, two gyms, and a bus depot. The school building has three outer doors and all visitors must be buzzed in by intercom. In this way, there is no free flow of outside parties into the building or anywhere around the building during the school day. “We didn’t want to fall behind in addressing our security needs,” said Bicknell, “We decided we would proceed from the exterior doors to the interior and now we’re achieving much better peace of mind for the safety and security of our students and staff.” The exterior and interior doors are access card-based, and only staff and teachers are issued cards. Glasscock maintains multiple user groups with different access privileges and times. Multiple staff members have the infinias application on their phones and these staff can manage the system remotely at any time, from anywhere. “The system is really convenient,” commented Bicknell, “Throughout the installation so far, it’s been smooth sailing. The system has been a great improvement. Now we have a system with very little maintenance needed, just batteries in each of the individual locks.”  

Many states face growing problem of uninsured vehicles on the road Rekor Systems, Inc., a Maryland-based company providing real-time roadway intelligence through AI-driven decisions, recently announced that the State of Oklahoma will integrate the Company’s Rekor One™ platform across the state to provide vehicle information associated with uninsured motorists as part of the state’s Uninsured Vehicle Enforcement Diversion Program (UVED Program), which is operated by the Oklahoma District Attorneys Council. Use of the Rekor One platform by Oklahoma’s UVED program furthers the state’s mission to decrease the number of uninsured motorists on the road and keep matters out of the court system. The platform allows for real-time detection of non-compliant vehicles and instant data consolidation into a regularly updating insurance database connected to the state’s enforcement programs. Additionally, Rekor’s AI-driven technology identifies a vehicle’s make, model and color – providing additional validation for confirming vehicle identification. Oklahoma created the UVED program as it ranked number one in the nation for uninsured motorists and after statistics showed that one out of four drivers were operating a vehicle without insurance, despite a legal obligation that motorists must have coverage. Oklahoma is losing millions in potential revenue each year from taxes on insurance premiums, and insured drivers are burdened with the cost of property damage and medical bills, as well as higher premiums, stemming from accidents involving uninsured motorists. “Oklahoma has hundreds of thousands of uninsured motorists on the road right now, which has huge safety and financial implications for the state and its citizens,” said Robert Berman, President and CEO, Rekor, “We are seeing eye-popping statistics in other states regarding an increase in uninsured motor vehicles on the road (as well as expired tags). Rekor One is a single turnkey solution that Rekor can deliver to any state. It provides all the technology they need, with a high level of data security, to identify uninsured vehicles and take effective measures to ensure compliance.” A motorist enters the UVED program by acquiring insurance and paying a $174 enrollment fee, thereby avoiding the possibility of criminal charges, associated penalties, and a permanent mark on his or her driving record. With over 273.6 million registered vehicles on the road in the United States, approximately 33.5 million are being driven without insurance, according to data derived from the Insurance Information Institute’s and Federal Highway Administration’s most current data. Nearly one in eight vehicles in the US are uninsured, which puts insured drivers at greater risk in the event of an accident. In addition to the burden on insured drivers, states are deprived of a significant amount of tax revenue that could be earned on insurance premiums that should be paid by millions of vehicle owners. Rekor will receive a $43 processing fee for each UVED Program enrollment. In addition to deploying technology to identify and process diversion notices issued to uninsured motor vehicle owners on the road, Rekor will also assist Oklahoma drivers by providing a one-stop web portal for uninsured motorists to easily find non-standard and standard insurance for their vehicle. Rekor’s technology supports and ensures adherence to Oklahoma’s privacy regulations. The Rekor One platform only retains data when a vehicle is out of compliance and until the vehicle becomes insured. No additional information is held or shared within the database. “The goal of the UVED Program is to create safer roadways for Oklahoma citizens. Uninsured vehicles create negative consequences for innocent motorists as well as the State,” said Amanda Arnall Couch, Director, Oklahoma UVED Program, “Rekor, a company based entirely in the United States, was the only bidder to offer a secure, complete solution platform within the framework of single-vendor accountability. This partnership will give UVED an outcomes-oriented approach for non-compliant vehicles, reducing the burden on the criminal justice system while assisting Oklahoma citizens in getting insured.” Rekor’s technology will assist the State of Oklahoma in identifying uninsured vehicles on the road, and once identified, the enforcement division will issue a ‘notice to respond,’ encouraging a vehicle owner to get insurance and comply with the law. Uninsured motorists cited on the road by police officers can face stiff penalties, including fines, imprisonment, license plate confiscation and/ or reinstatement fees. “The Oklahoma UVED Program is among the first in the country,” Berman concluded, “With Rekor One’s cost-effective and multidimensional technology, we anticipate that many states will initiate similar programs in the near future. An advantage of the Rekor One platform is that it can also be used to support multiple additional community safety, intelligent roadway and revenue generation activities.”  

IDIS is supporting affordable and straightforward returnto-work steps with its new AI Box (DV-2232) for COVID-19. Powered by the industry’s most accurate IDIS deep learning engine and compatible with IDIS deep learning analytics (IDLA), the AI Box for COVID-19 is a simple addon appliance that’s compatible with existing IDIS network cameras and DirectIP® NVRs, eliminating the need for complex analytics software or edge VA devices. The IDIS AI Box for COVID-19 includes functions for social distancing adherence, people counting and occupancy control, crowd detection, mask detection and dashboard and reporting tools that are critically important for compliance. These practical deep learning-based features support safe working practices which help prevent the spread of coronavirus and other infections. Users can take advantage of four advanced video analytics functions simultaneously across 32-channels and each camera stream, making the cost-effective IDIS AI Box adaptable for all sizes of business. Users also benefit from a perspective view, giving superior analysis compared to top view analytics cameras and ensuring that each camera provides exceptional surveillance for security, safety and data intelligence. IDIS AI Box advanced video analytics enables some of the most important counter-infection measures: People counting & occupancy monitoring: Counts the number of people coming in and out of premises (stores, banks, pharmacies, and busy commercial sites, for example) showing the status of occupancy in real-time. Using cameras positioned at entrances and exits, the IDIS AI Box generates precise AI-assisted alerts to overcrowding, with real-time calculations to underpin occupancy control interventions. For retail customers, dashboards positioned at store entrances use a simple 3-step traffic light system to automate the admissions and flow in and out. In addition, the dashboards show estimated wait times at peak periods and allow retailers to customise the displays with company logos and promotional graphics. Social distancing: Detects distances between individuals and sends an alarm when a defined distance is violated. Users can configure event notifications to issue verbal reminders and select from five spacing sensitivity levels depending on local state, industry, or sector-specific requirements. Crowd detection: Alerts building and store managers to overcrowding in pre-selected zones and triggers event alarms every time bottlenecking or overcrowding occurs. Face mask detection: Detects people wearing a mask or people not wearing a mask, giving users the ability to configure and trigger event alarms and issue verbal reminders accordingly. Reporting: Comprehensive reporting tools are provided for all four of these video analytic functions. They provide data analysis including people counts and occupancy, along with any violations by time, day, and month, for accurate and required record keeping. This data can also be exported to Excel spreadsheets for easy referencing. “The COVID-19 pandemic has tested everyone’s resilience,” said James Min, Managing Director, IDIS Europe, “IDIS has developed credible and practical solutions to help reduce infection risks, with automation that improves operating efficiency and technology that avoids the cost of hiring in additional manpower or redeploying existing staff to higher-risk front-line roles. “Moving forward much of this functionality will also prove particularly valuable for retail, with AI-driven video delivering insights into shoppers’ behaviour, helping to convert browsing into sales and improving the customer experience and for facilities managers to optimize buildings and workspace.”  

Poor driving doesn’t just increase the risk of accident and injury – it also slows down traffic and increases delays for other motorists. To help local authorities overcome these challenges, Hikvision has created its traffic violation detection solution, which detects traffic and parking violations across the road network in real time and supports fast, automated incident responses and ticketing deterrents. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), traffic accidents kill approximately 1.35 million people a year and injure up to 50 million more. A large number of these accidents are preventable, caused by speeding drivers, or distracted drivers who are talking on their phones or texting on the road. As well as causing accidents and near-misses, bad driving practices also increase traffic congestion, which is a major headache for motorists and local authorities. Common driving behaviors that typically impact traffic flow include illegal stopping or parking, incorrect use of priority lanes, illegal u-turns, and unnecessarily sharp braking at traffic lights and junctions. To help make roads safer, and to keep traffic flowing, Hikvision has created a traffic violation detection solution. This focuses on three key areas to ensure that motorists drive as safely as possible, and that any infractions are recorded and notified. As an additional benefit, the Hikvision solution uses smart video to automate traffic and incident management. This not only speeds up response times compared to manual monitoring, but it also helps to save police time and free up forces to focus on major incidents. Detecting speeding and other traffic violations at checkpoints Using Hikvision cameras and velocity radars mounted on checkpoint ‘gantries,’ traffic violations can be detected at key locations on the road network. In particular, the speed of vehicles can be verified – either using a location-based snapshot, or an average speed between two checkpoints (as shown in the images below). Speed check method 1 I nstantaneous speed detection: This uses a speed radar, a video camera, and a supplemental light to detect the speed of the vehicle as it passes the checkpoint. Speed check method 2 A double-checkpoint segmentation system: This calculates the average speed of a vehicle travelling between two checkpoints or ‘gantries.’ In addition to speeding, Hikvision checkpoint cameras use deep learning technology to detect a number of additional traffic violations. For example, the cameras can determine if drivers are wearing their seatbelt. By recognizing license number plates, checkpoint cameras can also support local authorities to detect stolen vehicles, and check that only the right types of vehicles travel on highways and urban streets by recognizing vehicle attributes. Preventing accidents and improving traffic flow at intersections Traffic violations at intersections are not only dangerous for motorists, cyclists and pedestrians, but they can also slow down traffic and cause long delays. To address these challenges, the Hikvision traffic violation detection solution monitors driving behaviour at intersections, helping reduce the risk of accidents and speed up traffic flow. Most traditional intersection monitoring solutions focus on vehicles that run red lights – cross referencing license plate information with traffic light status. Hikvision solution also does this, but it also integrates lane properties to detect and respond to misuse of lanes, illegal u-turns, wrong-way driving, and other incidents that can cause accidents and delays. Improving safety and reducing congestion with illegal parking detection I llegal parking has major consequences for road safety and traffic congestion. It can also be inconvenient or dangerous for cyclists and pedestrians who need to pass badly parked vehicles. The Hikvision traffic violation detection solution addresses these challenges with high-performance illegal parking detection cameras. Employed with Hikvision’s DarkFighter technology, the cameras provide upto 4 megapixel video images, even in very low-light conditions. The cameras can reliably detect vehicles and capture their license plates when they enter into the pre-defined illegal parking zones, including those on highways and urban streets. Hikvision illegal parking detection cameras can also be configured easily to implement rules that allow parking only during certain times of day, or for a limited time period. This makes the cameras suitable for town car parks, parking bays on high streets, airport pick-up bays, and other areas where motorists can only leave their vehicles for a short time. Bringing it all together in a single-pane view To maximize road safety and to help reduce traffic congestion, all elements of the Hikvision solution are integrated into a single, intelligent technology platform using HikCentral VMS. This brings cameras, velocity radars, servers, and control room infrastructure together to provide a real-time view of traffic incidents across the road network and to speed up response times dramatically. With video data streamed into the platform in real time, authorities can view vehicles that violate traffic rules, and play back footage to verify what took place, and review traffic statistics at peak demand times. The HikCentral platform can also be integrated with third-party ‘ticketing’ systems that send automated fines and other penalties to vehicle owners via email, sms, or traditional mail.