At the ASIS International Conference (ASIS 2015), Genetec™, a leading manufacturer of open-platform, unified IP security solutions, and Sensity®Systems Inc., the pioneer of light sensory networks (LSNs), announced a strategic alliance to develop security-focused solutions and applications for municipalities, retail and more, built on Sensity’s NetSense™ platform. As part of the agreement, Sensity has completed interoperability certification for its Video Node with the Genetec Omnicast™ video management system (VMS) and announces that Genetec has joined the NetSense Partner Program to offer additional security applications in the future for light sensory networks worldwide.
Omnicast is an Internet Protocol (IP)-based VMS that is part of the Genetec unified Security Center security platform. Omnicast provides organizations of all sizes with the ability to deploy a surveillance system that truly matches their security needs. It supports a wide range of industry-leading networked cameras, encoders and CCTV equipment, and is able to scale to support up to 150,000 cameras. Its flexible and open architecture enables municipalities and other organizations to adapt to the evolving demands of their security departments.
“Genetec is excited to work with Sensity to support its vision to embed sensors, wireless connectivity, edge storage, and data analytics into modern LED lighting fixtures,” said Philippe Ouimette, Director of Strategic Alliances at Genetec, Inc. “Genetec and Sensity share a core strategy to develop and deliver innovative and sustainable solutions that can offer cities, airports, shopping malls and municipalities new ways to cooperate and pool security resources. Law enforcement and city organizations can become more productive and minimize operational costs by integrating the Genetec security platform with the Sensity light sensory network,” added Ouimette.
“We are thrilled to be working with global VMS leader Genetec,” said Sean Harrington, Senior Vice President of Sales and Marketing at Sensity. “Sensity continues to partner with leading technology providers to ensure that customers can choose from an array of first-class solutions and services to get the most from their lighting infrastructure. The innovative concept behind the light sensory network is to take one smart decision—to convert to LED lighting—and amplify its benefits in ways that go well beyond simply greater lighting efficiencies. Our partners will deliver added benefits of safety and security on an LSN, helping to further our vision of transforming lights into multi-modal strategic assets.”
Using Light Sensory Networks to Improve Security and Preserve Privacy
Integrating security devices and software applications with the NetSense platform allows companies to leverage an LED lighting conversion project—which pays for itself through lower energy and lighting maintenance costs—to deploy networked security systems that would otherwise be cost-prohibitive due to the additional construction costs associated with bringing power and networking infrastructure to the video cameras.
For example, Sensity video nodes or third-party surveillance cameras can be installed as part of an LSN project and integrated into a network of NetSense-enabled LED lights, streaming back to the Genetec Omnicast video management system. Analytics enabled at the network edge (i.e., within the Sensity nodes integrated with the LED luminaires) provide security staff with real-time situational awareness, so they can quickly detect, investigate, prevent and stop suspicious or threatening activities. These networked systems can provide real-time alerts about unauthorized activity or movement in a parking garage, at a facility perimeter, or at entry/exit points. Integration of security cameras with lights can be set to trigger specific actions—such as strobing the lights or sending alerts to security or police officers—to prevent or respond to security incidents.
Sensity’s security solution is designed to minimize the amount of data transported back to a central location for human monitoring. Sensity’s edge based storage and analytics in conjunction with Genetec Omnicast enable real time security alerts, video and image clipping, transmission and storage, thereby minimizing the amount of sensitive information in the system. By maintaining sensitive video data at the edge, Sensity will further safeguard citizen’s privacy.
