Robber Makes "Gutsy" Lady's Day (Video)

Here’s a video from TrueTV that I just had to share. In it, Robin, the store manager at a small convenience store, faces off with a would-be robber. After narrowly dodging a bullet, Robin reaches for her gun.

"[W]e looked each other dead in the eye and we were barrel to barrel."

Sadly, the robber got away. And with such poor quality surveillance video, I don't think there is very much for the police to go on.

Internet Video Saves the Day

From the Smoking Gun:

Thomas, who set up the live video stream after her home was burglarized last October, immediately called 911 to report the burglary (click here to listen to her conversation with a police operator). Cops raced to her home and arrested the two men inside the house: Curtis Williams, 20, and Steven Morales, 19. Two other suspects--Scott George and Jonathan Cruz, both 20--were nabbed at a nearby residence and charged with helping plan the burglary.

Thanks to Al Shipp of 3VR Security for passing this one along. Nice Find!

$17,000 Megapixel UAV-Spybot

Check out this video of new LP960 UAV via Engadget Spanish:

Nice music. The 10 mega-pixel imager in the current model, seems a little light to me, however, considering what is possible today.

Adobe Video-Object Manipulation Project Holds Significant Promise

Video Object Manipulation may be going mainstream.

Once the exclusive domain of computer vision geeks in the Department of Defense, and more recently Hollywood, Adobe has now got its hands on these algorithms and every YouTuber with an HD camera will soon have the tools to not only mark up video in fantastic new ways, but literally to bend reality.

What does it mean for security when just about anyone can add, remove or alter people and objects within a video stream to create a perfectly realistic video of something that never happened? Well, in my opinion it’s mostly not good.

But, there is a bright side -- the entrance of consumer-focused companies like Adobe into this industry is likely to help the security professionals as much as the criminals. More experts, new approaches, better tools and easier-to-use interfaces are a welcome addition to security’s video analytic offerings, and can certainly help security personnel fulfill the promise of improved surveillance.

iPhone Aerial Surveillance

Some students at Berkeley have found a way to bring Unmanned Arial Vehicles (UAVs) to the masses...and all you need is an iPhone:



Thank you Steve Jobs!

Axis study claims that IP cameras save costs

Axis Communications has released a study that claims an IP-based system of 40 cameras offers a lower total cost of ownership than an analogue-based surveillance system. It also claims that if IP infrastructure is in place, the IP surveillance system will always cost less.

Axis UK managing director Steve Gorski said: "This study shows that on a like-for-like basis where cost is the only consideration, IP-based systems make sense at a relatively low number of installed cameras. In our experience, most end-users will have some IP infrastructure to integrate into already, which network cameras can take immediate advantage of. When you add in the wider benefits of IP-based systems, such as scalability, remote monitoring and image quality, solely basing a comparison on cost becomes less and less relevant."

The study's findings suggested that the cost to acquire, install and operate an IP-based system was 3.4 per cent lower than a traditional system consisting of analogue cameras and DVR-based recording. Overall, it says, an installation with 32 cameras is the break-even point for IP-based systems versus analogue systems.

Video surveillance gets smarter in Verbania, Italy

Verbania, the capital of the province of Verbano-Cusio-Ossola, Italy, was created when the towns of Intra and Pallanza merged. As one of the most idyllic and famous tourist destinations on Lake Maggiore, the town relies heavily on holidaymakers to fill its streets and generate income. To ensure the safety of visitors and citizens, the town council decided to launch a community surveillance project based on a system of network cameras.

Monitors linked to the ten Sony SSNC-RX550 network cameras are installed in the Verbania Municipal Police control room, which is currently undergoing restructuring. Even so, the system does not require the intervention of dedicated security operatives. The human element only comes into play when real-time monitoring is needed (for example during a major event), or when an automatic alarm is triggered.

Today the Municipality of Verbania can be assured that those who commit crime will be identified, thanks to technology which directly recognizes objects and reads vehicle registration plates. In fact, the town's network cameras have been positioned so that they can monitor all arrival and escape points in every area of the town. Intelligent image analysis functions now enable allow the city to keep special areas such as no-stopping zones under control. Using these features, live images can be monitored in unattended mode until suspicious activity occurs, at which point the operator is proactively alerted to the threat by means of an appropriate alarm.

Justice Chief Wants Cops Monitoring Cameras

San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom's new anti-crime adviser said Wednesday that he will recommend a major change to the city's beleaguered video surveillance program, allowing police to watch footage in real time as officers do in other cities. San Francisco, in deference to privacy concerns, only allows detectives to request footage if they have information that a crime occurred on camera.

In part because of a lack of costly data storage space, San Francisco achieves 80 percent of the resolution that its cameras are capable of producing and gets choppy footage comprised of, at best, two to four frames per second, telecommunications officials say. The problem is not with the manufacturer, but with the implementation of the cameras on a tight budget. The hearing made clear that city officials, and residents, have tough choices ahead on how much money to put into surveillance.

While informative, this article neglects to include an important option that could solve San Francisco’s dilemma—intelligent video surveillance.

Rethinking Surveillance

Video surveillance has become a fact of everyday life. Each time you withdraw cash from the corner ATM, travel through an airport or visit a national monument, your image is probably being recorded. But you may be surprised to learn that there are no federal laws governing how these images can be used, where they should be stored, with whom they may be shared and when they must be destroyed. In this age of YouTube, TMZ and "Cops," it's hard to know where your image might reappear.

The laissez-faire approach of our national legislators is no longer an option. As an increasingly sophisticated surveillance blanket covers more of the United States, we need federal laws to preserve an individual's right to privacy while setting principles governing the use of closed circuit television and other surveillance technologies for bona fide security purposes.

Surveillance technologies will continue to gain in capability -- and become more intrusive. Issues of privacy and public surveillance may appear vexing, but the United States must move forward with laws to effectively adapt to the inevitable spread of this technology. If the public is to trust business and government to watch over us, we need to follow the lessons of Britain and protect video images as we do other private data.

Video Focuses on Storage

With digital video on the rise in enterprises, storage teams will play a key role in accommodating the petabytes of data that can be generated by video surveillance systems.

http://searchstorage.techtarget.com/magazineFeature/0,296894,sid5_gci1293369,00.html?offer=STWNB1 (Registration required)

The need to store 30GB to 40GB per camera per day isn't unusual. That comes to 1TB or more per camera per month. Now, if a retail organization has 30 to 40 cameras per store and 1,000 stores, you're looking at multipetabytes of storage, even if you're rewriting over some old data.

No matter who controls the video surveillance budget, the storage team will be asked to build out the necessary capacity to store video. And they'll have to learn the idiosyncrasies of surveillance storage because it's not going away.

Video Surveillance Trailer Provides Visual Backup

Law enforcement agencies across the country can now rapidly deploy a live remote mobile surveillance trailer in high risk locations. Russell Turner, Vice-President of Sales for NetVision Mobile, states that "Law enforcement professionals at the National Association of Police Chiefs Annual Conference remarked on how the NetVision Remote Surveillance System 'will help protect personnel and property during large public gatherings, covert operations and in high risk situations.'"

Officers can view the cameras from within their vehicles. Monitoring companies, such as Securitas, can automatically dispatch EMS resources to the exact location while providing vital real-time information for effective planning & preparation. Should priorities change; the entire system can be taken down in five minutes, rapidly deployed at another location, and set up in five minutes.

The NetVision Mobile Security Surveillance Trailer is just skimming the surface with Law Enforcement & the Construction Industry because this mobile security solution will be used by many other types of businesses that need an 'Eye in the Sky' for their piece of mind.

Storeowner Posts Video on YouTube to Catch Thief

The owner of a computer store outside of St. John's, Canada has uploaded surveillance video to the popular online video website YouTube in an effort to catch a thief.

A screengrab from the YouTube video shows a man leaving the Computer Depot M.D. store with a computer component.

Using video surveillance content on the world’s most popular video distribution platform to catch a thief – smart.

3VR on Fox News

Tim Ross, EVP and Co-founder of 3VR, was interviewed today on Fox News:

For Those Who Like Their Robots Creepy

Engineer Max Denton has fabricated something that is sure be a big hit this holiday season. It's a six-legged face tracking robot he calls the 'Hexapod.'



It's reassuring to know that before they enslave us, our robot masters will at least be able to look us in the eyes.