Secutech Int'l 2012: Industry Perspectives from Taiwan (Part 2)

Editor / Provider: a&s International | Updated: 6/19/2012 | Article type: Hot Topics

With a strong presence at Secutech in Taipei this year (April 18 to 20), Taiwanese exhibitors capitalized on home court advantage by demonstrating the latest products/solutions along with R&D prowess. As dark clouds of uncertain world economy continue to linger, hardware and software developers were eager and determined to promote more cost-effective but tailored solutions with good quality and reliability.

HI SHARP ELECTRONICS
Our new o fferings are complete HD-SDI solutions, including panoramic cameras with embedded defog function along with 1,080p resolution at 30 fps and mobile DVRs.

Our commitment to customers is to provide creative products, quality assurance and good service. Our main focus now is on HD-SDI products, and we are getting good feedback — mostly from Europe. The Southeast Asian market will be our next region of expansion in the near future. HD-SDI is just at an early adopting stage, and we believe that SDI will gain more market share with lower overall cost. We will continue promoting HD-SDI solutions and pursuing to be the No.1 provider in HD-SDI products by 2015.

Our marketing strategy is to promote new, creative products to current partners and keep finding new partners through word-of-mouth recommendations.

MERIT LILIN
We are showcasing our latest NVR series with touch screen capability. Mouse clicking and joystick moving are very “last-decade,” so we hope this new series will “touch” customers' heart.

Also, we are collaborating with Taiwanese e-learning platform design company, Mao-Lin Digital Technology. By integrating our video/audio capability with the intuitive e-learning platform, cram school students can enjoy learning even if they cannot be physically in the classroom. To meet this unique requirement from the education vertical, our WDR and HD features are quite a perfect fit.

Another unique feature is that Mao-Lin has put a QR code into video footage to prevent end users from copying or recording the video. If students try to record with their smartphone without authorization, notifications will be sent to the corresponding school or teacher.

PLUSTEK
We are demonstrating our latest hybrid recording solutions at Secutech. Our slim series features a fanless design with low power consumption, making them fit in tight corners and run silently while requiring less power than traditional DVRs and PC-based NVRs. The series is especially suitable for ATMs, transportation and traffic/city surveillance. The most challenging part was to keep everything small in size without sacrificing functionality while retaining great efficiencies in heat emissions and low power consumption. In working with numerous network camera models, the key is to maintain great relationships with camera manufacturers. Since we do not manufacture cameras ourselves, our camera partners are more willing to share their APIs.

With the overcast in Europe and North America, we are looking for more system integrators in emerging countries, such as India. To avoid price competition, we always focus on projects instead of unit-selling. By proactively attending road shows and sharing dealer/ integrator partnerships with our camera partners, we believe we are stamping a strong impression on many key local players.

QNAP SYSTEMS
On display are our full lineup of 2- to 8-drive VioStor NVR models along with the latest VS-12100U-RP Pro VioStor NVR series available in 40, 48, 56 and 64 channels with Intel quad-core Xeon E3 processors — a wide range of options to suit various needs. We feel that the current NVR market is saturated with embedded models, so we will focus more on providing high-quality NAS and CMS solutions. Our greatest strengths are our hardware reliability, heat dissipation performance, fail-over design and easy-to-use setup. We are confident that end users can complete system setup within our six steps.

While keeping steady growth in the European and North American markets, we are optimistic about the potential in Russia, South Africa and India. We have local companies with 24/7 support to meet customers' various requirements in time.

UTECHZONE
Utechzone was founded in 1992, with automated machine vision as core technology. One of our highlighted products on the show ground is the Eye Key for access control. It features the latest pupil-tracking technology, which automatically detects where the user is focusing on. Users can enter the password/code by looking at the numbers on the screen in the right sequence and unlock the door/lock, eliminating the hassles with lost or stolen keys. Applications include credit card authorizations, ATMs, bank vaults and laboratories. Our target markets at the moment are Japan and China.

VIVOTEK
We are showcasing our latest smart-stream, region-of-interest camera feature, supreme series with WDR, fisheye camera with PTZ, vari-focal features for retail applications, and a 10-megapixel trial run.

We are also demonstrating our first 5-megapixel solution, the FD8372, which has a viewing resolution of 1,080p at 30 fps. It is equipped with a smart focus system for easy installation and maintenance. Lenses with built-in stepping motors are implemented for installers to remotely control the focal length and precisely adjust the camera focus. We are very excited about the launch and are confident that many applications, such as stadiums, parking lots and industrial warehouses, will benefit from it.

ZAVIO
Our highlight this year is the latest D5210 dome camera, featuring 2 megapixels, 1,080p full HD, vari-focal auto-iris lens, removable IR-cut filter and IR LEDs. It is designed for 24/7 indoor surveillance with vivid image quality. The LEDs' working distance is up to 15 meters. The D5210 also offers PoE, micro SD local storage support and free bundled 32-channel NVR software.

Targeting home and SMB applications, our R&D is dedicated to making sure an intuitive user experience while maintaining stable and superb product quality. Whether in Europe, North America or emerging countries, we are seeing constant demand for quality products at affordable prices. We will keep focusing on meeting such demand and put forward products that best address customer needs.

Major Korean Bank Installs IQinVision Megapixel Cameras

Editor / Provider: IQinVision | Updated: 6/8/2012 | Article type: Commercial Markets

IQinVision announced that one of the top four banks in Korea has installed more than 4,500 IQeye Alliance-mini dome cameras in its headquarters and bank branches located throughout the country. The distributor, IT&T International, has been in charge of the project from inception.

IQeye HD megapixel cameras were chosen for this prestigious installation after a “shoot-out” involving four camera manufacturers that IT&T International introduced to the bank's decision makers. IQinVision won the competition based on its cameras' superior video quality in all types of lighting conditions.

Over 100 cameras have been installed at the bank's headquarters and approximately 4,400 of the 1.3 megapixel cameras have been installed to date in more than 200 of the bank's branch offices. “In today's Asian video surveillance market, the customer is demanding a higher quality of video image to ensure more effective monitoring, especially in crucial locations like bank branches,” said Andy Kang, MD, IT&T International.

The bank is using IQeye camera video primarily for post-incident review in the branch offices. All cameras record on motion at 7.5 frames per second. Each branch office monitors and stores its own video. “Megapixel quality was critical for this customer,” said Kang, “the video image must enable positive facial recognition.”

“There are many camera companies to choose from in the Asian market, this top bank chose IQinVision over several competitors. Clearly, they recognized the quality and durability of the IQeye cameras, but for major Asian customers like this, IQinVision's record of excellent service and their industry-leading warranty were also important factors.” concluded Kang.

HD Surveillance Enhances Safety at Stadium

Editor / Provider: a&s International | Updated: 5/15/2012 | Article type: Commercial Markets

- Megapixel is attractive because large crowds can be monitored with fewer cameras.
- Response time is important for a stadium or sports events

Video surveillance has been deployed in stadiums to monitor large crowds and areas, as well as zero in on incidents according to needs. In recent years, advances in imaging are allowing megapixel cameras to be deployed in stadiums.

Megapixel is attractive because large crowds can be monitored with fewer cameras. The high definition (HD) means fine details can be captured. Additionally, megapixel cameras can investigate small events without losing sight of the overall crowd at the same time. “HD surveillance is extremely effective at large stadiums with large crowds and areas of coverage,” said Keith Marett, VP of Marketing and Communications, Avigilon. “We can achieve complete coverage of these large areas with fewer cameras and fewer staff, which means lower installation and management costs. In fact, we can cover 50,000 spectator seats with facial detail using only 14 of our cameras.”

Cameras watch for fan disturbances, such as fights and disorderly conduct in the stands, or unusual activity in the hallways and parking lots. It can be used to monitor concession stands and service staff to ensure they are complying with health and safety regulations. Surveillance can also be used to settle disputes or complaints that have been filed against staff, or to catch employee theft. Deployment of video surveillance should consider the various environments in and around stadiums and how to deploy cameras effectively.

A stadium in Peru deployed cameras for identification. PTZ cameras were installed at the entrances to capture attendee faces with facial recognition. Cameras had to be installed properly and lighting had to be controlled so that faces would be captured clearly across different entrances. Combined with a facial database of previous stadium offenders, this allowed operators to respond when troublemakers entered the stadium. “If a guy comes into the stadium and causes a fight, you book him,” said Aluisio Figueiredo, COO, Intelligent Security Systems. “The next time, there's a very good chance that he will be detected at the entrance. Once he is in, the police are going to be dispatched.”

Response time is important for a stadium or sports events. The purpose of security in stadiums is twofold: first, security does all it can to prevent dangers and threats from entering the stadium, or subduing threats within the stadium. Second, if an event has occurred, security must deploy resources to respond to the threat and control the situation. This requires immediate response. Many VMS platforms now incorporate features that will help catch perceived threats.

“A typical challenge in the stadium setting is having security personnel react fast enough to an event,” said Marett. “With video surveillance software, security personnel can use many search options that will tell them instantly if something has happened or changed and be able to react to it in seconds. For instance, if a child wanders away from his or her seat, security personnel can conduct an object-change search and see in seconds where the child is.”

Some stadiums may choose to use hybrid systems, to maximize analog security investments. PTZ dome cameras can be controlled with matrix switches for use of existing equipment. “By using direct control, integrators can guarantee video quality and real-time PTZ control of the cameras with no noticeable delay between the time operators move their joystick and the time the camera responds,” said Nathan Needel, North American VP of Sales, Infinova.

When connecting separate buildings in a sports venue, a central matrix in the control center can link independent surveillance system matrices found in each facility. “Thus, using a regional networked surveillance schema, the system can work independently at each noncentral matrix location yet cooperate with other subsystems to create a complete surveillance system,” Needel said.

High-End Quality and Variety Makes a Difference in Malaysia

Editor / Provider: HIKVISION | Updated: 5/4/2012 | Article type: China Corner

The global economy is currently facing a number of challenges — this should come as no suprise to anyone. As such, the number of companies looking for a competitive edge is greater than ever before.

Maureen Khoo, Project Manager at IS Solutions and Consultancy Sdn Bhd in Malaysia, is responsible for Prince of Wales Island International School security project had found this very edge in Hikvision products. "Chinese products have a reputation for focusing on low cost, yet Hikvision solutions are very different. Hikvision offers us, and our customers, what we are looking for: high-end solutions" said Ms Khoo.

This international school offers: a British-based secondary education, full dormitory accommodations, and a large campus that rivals many international schools. With these many amenities, school administrators were keen to add a comprehensive security solution to the package.

For outdoor areas, Hikvision's DS-2AF1-517-B 36X WDR speed dome was selected. "Regardless of the time of day, this gives us a very detailed picture of who or what we are looking at" said Ms Khoo. Also, "the ability of Hikvision's WDR technology guarantees unprecedented image quality — in varying lighting situations — to meet the school's security needs" added Miss Khoo.

Rounding off the camera aspect of this solution is the DS-2CC575P(N). A high definition & low light dome camera and the DS-2CC577P(N) a high definition & WDR dome camera. With over 150 units between these two models on campus, they secure both general and niche-type areas. While camera placement is an important issue as direct sunlight can diminish the quality of the picture, both of these cameras excel based on the fact that they only require minimum light to function.

Attaching these cameras into a central control room is the DS-9016HFI-SH

embeddedhybrid DVR. The DS-9016HFI-SH offers the ability to record, and view, in real-time — but in both analogue and IP. Supporting up to 8 SATA hard disk drives, and up to 2TB each, has given the school "the ability to easily store HD video and quickly retrieve cannot be understated, most local manufactures cannot come close to matching Hikvision's storage space," said Khoo .

Ms. Khoo stated that she relied "on Hikvision's expertise in providing a unique security solution that fit our individual needs." The DS-6308DI Decoder Server complements this DVR as both an efficiency measure, and as a tool to improve security productivity. One of the main requirements was to boost the capacity of the number of cameras able to reach the guard house.

Additionally, if there is a power failure to the school — which periodically happens in Malaysia — the DS-6308DI will automatically reboot the security system with the programmed security settings. This saves the school and the security provider the trouble and inefficiency of reprogramming everything after each power outage.

From high technology to aesthetics: Hikvision ensures facilities such as the Prince of Wales Island International School a quality comprehensive solution that promises both efficiency and safety.

Motobix Introduces New Camera for Poor Lighting Conditions

Editor / Provider: Motobix | Updated: 4/12/2012 | Article type: Security 50

Mobotix launches an update of the successful DualDome camera on the market. It offers high image quality in poor lighting conditions thanks to two camera modules mounted parallel to each other with two lenses and 6.2 megapixel dual sensor technology. Since March 2012, this extremely robust, weatherproof camera, has been available in three versions with different features: the standard version with free lens combination, with two day or two night lenses, or a mixture of the two.

The difference between the Day/Night Fix and standard versions is that the Day/Night Fix uses two camera modules with two lenses mounted parallel to each other instead of a maintenance-intensive mechanical filter switching function. The daylight module with color sensor generates high-contrast color images, whereas the other module works with minimal illumination thanks to the sensitive black and white image sensor and the infrared lens. The camera switches automatically depending on the lighting conditions. The advantage of the Day/Night Fix is that it can provide better image quality in poor lighting conditions because it uses a real infrared-sensitive, black and white image sensor and not, as is usual otherwise, a color sensor with electronic color fade-out whose infrared sensitivity is reduced through integrated color filters. The new Day/Night Fix is factory-fitted with pre-installed camera modules that are mounted precisely parallel to each other. This ensures that the day lens always covers the same area as the night lens.

Vivotek Launches Mini IP Fixed Dome

Editor / Provider: Vivotek | Updated: 4/12/2012 | Article type: Security 50

Vivotek is launching the world's smallest network-based fixed dome camera at a size of 90 mm in diameter with an installation time of less than 120 seconds.

Equipped with a 1-Megapixel sensor enabling viewing resolution of 1280x800 at 30 fps, Vivotek small network-based fixed dome camera supports the industry-standard H.264 compression technology, which drastically reduces file sizes and conserves valuable network bandwidth. MPEG-4 and MJPEG compatibility enables the user to transmit video streams in any of these formats for versatile applications. The camera also comes with selectable focal lengths suitable for various environments, including but not limited to: offices, elevators, campus, chain stores, boutique stores and health care facilities.

Designed with built-in SD/SDHC card slot for on-board storage, the FD8136 allows recording to take place independently on the camera itself. This perfect stand-alone device also boasts user-friendly installations as easy as one-two-three, Power over Ethernet (PoE) functionality and a choice of either black or white casing colours. With numerous advanced features available, the FD8136 is truly an all-in-one surveillance solution that meets a wide variety of needs for indoor surveillance.

Pakistan Power Plants Protected by Hikvision Security System

Editor / Provider: Hikvision | Updated: 3/29/2012 | Article type: Infrastructure

When it comes to security for Pakistan's Nishat Power Limited power plants –located in the city of Jambar Kalan and their Head Office in Lahore – one can see considerable development during recent time.

From late 2010 through the first quarter of 2011, Nishat management took steps to install security at a number of their Pakistani power facilities. For these installations to be made, both inside the plants and out, Hikvision was brought on board to ensure the highest level of quality.

Management at Nishat Mills Limited, the parent company of Nishat Power Limited, decided to introduce a comprehensive security system specifically to monitor movement of personnel and outside traffic. In order to do so, a number of considerations were taken into account: foremost among them, the architectural layout of the facilities, lighting conditions, and the variety of dissimilar working areas. In the later case, the differences extended between employees working outdoors on the top of elevated buildings, to smaller office spaces used for shipping.

Yet, the question of actually how to secure all of these varying locations still needed to be addressed. Mr. Rashid decided “to use a variety of Hikvision cameras, since each of these specific models offers a technological strength to overcome a particular problem.”

Case in point was the outdoor working area, where employees often roamed the top of tall boilers in their day-to-day operations. Hikvision's WDR speed dome was selected to perform this task. These speed domes were strategically placed upon higher facilities, such as chimneys or poles, to take advantage of the Hikvision's WDR speed dome's ability to view all areas of the horizon.

Additionally, “the excellent zoom feature was critical to accurately monitor what these workers were doing as a means of ensuring their safety and the overall security of the plant,” Mr. Rashid explained. Features such as a 1/4' SONY CCD, proportional zoom function, and 3D intelligent positioning function are but a few of the features that allow this speed dome to see both individual workers, and a detailed view of the horizon of this plant. Staying outdoors, the Analog Camera was tasked with securing the perimeter of the facility. To take advantage of a 40-meter IR range capacity, this camera was placed on gates and boundary walls to secure the perimeter. Built within a sturdy and compact structure design, the Analog Camera features a 1/3” Sony CCD, vari-focal lens with auto focus, wireless remote with zooming function and the ability to operate within a minimum Illumination of 0.1Lux @ F1.2 (0 Lux With IR) all combined to offer a “perfect camera to use in the daytime and at night to see what is happening on the periphery of these power plants,” Mr. Rashid explained.

Of particular note, the ability to remotely zoom onto objects at night was exceedingly important. Mr. Rashid noted, “We have the ability to see whatever might be of interest to us – be it an automobile license plate or a person walking – at the touch of a button and all with the confidence that lighting is not an issue.”

Inside the power plants, two different Hikvision speed domes were utilized. For smaller rooms, the Dome camera was chosen. In these areas, often staffed by only a handful of employees for tasks such as shipping, the ability to see detail was paramount. “Obviously, security personnel need the ability to quickly adjust the cameras vantage point and zoom onto an area in great detail. In locations such as this, detail is king,” Mr. Rashid elaborated upon.

The tremendous detail required is provided by another 1/3” Sony CCD, auto white balance, auto gain control, electric shutter control and backlight compensation; all the while guaranteeing high performance regardless of light level with a low illumination capacity of 0.1Lux at F1.2.

IndigoVision Video Solution Broadens Views at Lithuanian Oil Refinery

Editor / Provider: IndigoVision | Updated: 3/26/2012 | Article type: Commercial Markets

Staff at the ORLEN Lietuva oil refinery in Mazeikiai, Lithuania, now have access to new information on their huge territory that was previously impossible to gather. Thanks to IndigoVision's distributed architecture and IP Video solution, the refinery has been able to add cameras in distant areas that couldn't be reached until now, while staff can view more video streams, cover more areas – and keep an eye on safety procedures and technical issues from one of five control rooms.

Before the IndigoVision cameras were brought in, ORLEN Lietuva refinery had 256 analogue cameras across its huge operations. These were reaching capacity, and expansion was difficult, due to high cabling costs and distance constraints with older technology.

IndigoVision's local partner Euroelektronika suggested a solution: an IP solution that could help reach the remotest locations, allow more people to view video streams, and offer access to safety and procedural information as well as security.

Ninety of the original cameras have been reused by connecting to IndigoVision encoders, along with 12 IndigoVision 9000 PTZ dome cameras. The other existing cameras are still connected to the analogue network, and will be switched to IP over the course of the next five years. Without IndigoVision's open architecture, this hybrid solution involving close integration with the existing ORLEN Lietuva systems would not have been possible.

The distributed architecture of IndigoVision's solution allowed the team to site NVRs closer to cameras in several areas, reducing the load on the network. Several remote sites, some over 100km away, including a railway station and an oil terminal, can now be monitored by ORLEN Lietuva's surveillance system.

These operators are using the IP video network for more than surveillance: they can also check the positioning of valves, and any leakages from pipes, as well as monitoring how well staff and contractors follow safety procedures.

Activity Controlled Framerate (ACF) on all IndigoVision cameras dramatically reduces overall network traffic. ACF controls the framerate of the video stream based on the amount of motion in the scene. When there is no activity, video is streamed at minimal framerate; the instant any motion is detected, video is simultaneously transmitted at maximum configured framerate.

Indonesia Seaport Ensures Safety With Bosch Video Systems

Editor / Provider: Bosch Security Systems | Updated: 3/21/2012 | Article type: Infrastructure

The company PT Pelabuhan Indonesia 1 specializes in handling containers for international and domestic transportation in many ports in Indonesia. Due to harsh seaside conditions amidst facilities like container cranes and hypermodern cranes, they require top-class security equipment to ensure safety of employees, while enduring the extreme conditions there. Upon screening through many security providers, Bosch was selected for its ability to fulfill all their requirements at the seaport in Medan.

Muhamad Natsir S. Sos, Safety and Security manager at Belawan International Container Terminal said: "During the rigorous selection process, Bosch Security Systems was found to have outperformed the others in terms of image quality of their video systems, and audio clarity of their public address system."

Installer PT. SensorLink Yumitaro Indonesia brought in the following systems into the seaport: the Digital Public Address and Emergency Sound System, dome cameras, and the Video Management System from Bosch (BVMS). In the instance of an emergency evacuation, the Digital Public Address and Emergency Sound System consisting of speakers and microphones will project loud and clear announcements. To protect the pier, the Intelligent Video Analysis (IVA)-enabled cameras provide advanced detection functions ranging from head detection to trajectory tracking. In addition, the dome cameras are vandal-resistant and weatherproof, making them perfect equipments to handle seaside conditions.

Images captured by the cameras are processed by the BVMS which plays a crucial role in daily operations through the monitoring of all port activities. The cost-effective integrated security systems also enhanced overall productivity and quality of service of the ports.

Growing Demands of Fisheye and Panoramic Cameras

Editor / Provider: a&s International | Updated: 3/19/2012 | Article type: Tech Corner

Since the dawn of photography, people have been scratching their heads over how to fit more of the world into that little viewfinder. The latest solution to this problem for video surveillance lies in panoramic and 360-degree cameras, achieved mainly through packing multiple lenses and image sensors into a single unit and using specialized lenses, respectively.

In new projects where users are aware of these technologies, they seem to be well-accepted; around 10 percent of the cameras deployed in these installations are 360-degree or panoramic cameras, said Joel Schaffer, PM of Video Surveillance Applications at Immervision. “An increasing number of camera manufacturers have introduced these types of cameras in the past year. This trend should continue in the coming years, if not accelerate.”

The past few years have seen tremendous strides made in compression and megapixel technology. These technologies bring panoramic and hemispheric cameras up to a new level, where they can be used in more circumstances than before, said William Ku, Director of Brand Business for Vivotek. “While there were only a few players in this market when it was considered a niche market, many big manufacturers have entered this space to date.”

“The need for 360-degree technology is growing; there is a huge demand now for high-tech solutions and fisheye or panoramic plays an important part of that development,” said Ahmed Jawad, Chairman of Oncam Global. Major VMS vendors already support these types of cameras, and it is now fairly simple to integrate supported cameras into an existing surveillance system.

Enhancing Total Situational Awareness
The maturity of megapixel technology breathes new life into this space, as higher resolutions allow much better use of these measures to achieve total situational awareness. However, these cameras are fairly new to the video surveillance party and are still going through some growing pains.

The goal of a proper video surveillance system should provide users with the information they need, while also providing sufficient context in which the information was captured. Unfortunately, this can sometimes be difficult since any camera has blind spots, due to the way the camera was designed, how it was installed and the environment in which it resides.

Previous solutions have involved installing cameras in strategic locations, supplemented by additional cameras with PTZ functionality. Now there are other options that allow the user to effectively reduce the number of blind spots in their field of interest and to achieve total situation awareness.

Expanding horizontally allows the video to fit its world better than a 4:3 aspect ratio ever could, while hemispheric cameras meets the ever present need of covering an entire scene in a logical way without gaps or missing areas of coverage, said Dave Nieweg, VP of 3xLogic.

There are now three main types of video surveillance cameras: fixed, PTZ dome and 360-degree, said David Myers, CTO at AMG Systems.

A PTZ dome camera is intended for manned systems where an operator is always present to control and direct the camera, Myers continued. “When the operator of a PTZ dome camera has zoomed in maybe 30 times to see a faraway object, the rest of the 359 degrees are not being observed and not being recorded, and are therefore lost forever.” With panoramic and 360-degree cameras, everything is recorded at all times.

In addition, the use of multiple fixed cameras to cover different areas of the same scene makes it difficult for the user to gain an overview of the entire scene. End users are particularly impressed with the ease of training operators to be able to understand and work with panoramic and 360-degree imagery, compared to systems where a single scene is broken up into multiple, small chunks, said Ellen Cargill, Director of Product Development for Scallop Imaging (a division of Tenebraex).

Overall, panoramic and 360-degree solutions are about situational awareness — about knowing everything that is going on in the scene in a way that is more efficient and effective than using multiple cameras. “Having a panoramic solution can make a tangible difference to a facility's security by the retrospective tracking of an incident,” said Ahmed Jawad, Chairman of Oncam Global. “The cameras and the technology enable the acquisition and tracking of suspicious behavior and the interrogation and verification of a potential threat or incident. It is this evidence that provides the necessary intelligence needed to make a measured response to any situation or potential threat.”

Applications in veritical markets
Panoramic or 360-degree cameras are best suitable when there is a big area where full-area monitoring is needed, such as at an airport or train station. “It can simply watch the whole area, and also keep the details,” said William Ku, Director of Brand Business for Vivotek. “If the site only requires monitoring of certain areas, then normal cameras would fit well.”

Video surveillance cameras provide true value when they meet operational needs. Panoramic cameras are perfect solutions for gas stations, Nieweg said. “Nearly every gas station we deal with puts at least one panoramic camera to provide an overview of the entire gas pump area, entry and exit points, pump lanes and parking spots.” This is also the case for car washes, express delivery facilities and warehouses.

For convenience stores, one 360-degree camera can give complete coverage while regular megapixel cameras cover the cashiers and the door, Nieweg said. “We had a 1,100-location haircut chain where just a few analog cameras supplemented by one 360-degree cameras gave them the coverage they needed.” On average, 25 percent of cameras in new retail installations are now panoramic or 360-degree cameras.

Fewer cameras are required to cover a space, and operators are better able to follow the action and respond to situations without having to track a subject across a number of cameras, Cargill said. “This results in improved operational efficiency and faster response to events. In addition, one panoramic camera can cover a row of cash registers, a whole aisle in a retail store, a cash counting room with no blind spots, an entire fence line, or all of the parking spaces on one side of a building.”