Security & Safety Things sparks new surveillance era

Security & Safety Things GmbH (S&ST) is set to reshape innovation in video analytics and computer vision with the commercial availability of a number of new smart IP security cameras, from a variety of vendors, that leverage the Security & Safety Things open and secure IoT platform. This new generation of security cameras will operate using the free S&ST camera operating system, which enables the cameras to run multiple AI-enabled applications in parallel. The apps automate the analysis of video data to produce valuable operational intelligence for business optimisation as well as provide easy to deploy tools that can aid in re-opening measures from the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Organisations of all sizes around the world need flexible, easy to deploy solutions that enable compliance with constantly changing pandemic health and safety mandates and provide future value to ramp up and optimise their ongoing business operations,” says Hartmut Schaper, Chief Executive Officer, Security & Safety Things. “Companies can now deploy cameras, running the S&ST OS and using a selection of apps from our Application Store, to detect the absence of facial coverings in a retail environment. Tomorrow, the same camera can help that same retailer to optimise merchandise placement based on store foot traffic, in one store or throughout the enterprise, along with further optimisations.”

Qisda/Topview will be the first camera manufacturer to launch a camera running the S&ST OS in May, followed in quick succession by AndroVideo, who will also start shipping their S&ST enabled cameras in Q2. Bosch is making their INTEOX camera line available as of July followed by camera firms Vivotek and BSTsecurity who plan to ship a bit later in Q3. The first devices from Hanwha Techwin that run the S&ST OS are expected to be commercially available in Q4. Security & Safety Things, Hanwha, Vivotek, Bosch, Qisda/Topview and AndroVideo are also all proud members of the Open Security and Safety Alliance (OSSA).

The free Security & Safety Things OS is built on the Android Open Source Project (AOSP). It leverages the expanding processing and analytic power of modern IP cameras to exponentially increase the amount of operational intelligence that can be mined from traditional IP-based surveillance footage.

The applications that can be installed on these cameras, both in an on-premise as well as a remote setting, are created by highly specialised third-party developers and are available through the platform’s open Application Store. It already features more than 50 applications from more than 35 developer partners, with more than 30 additional apps expected to hit the store soon. In addition to pandemic applications, use cases include detection of weapons, behavioural analysis, payment systems for parking garages, drone threat detection and even identifying objects presented for purchase in a cash register transaction for cashier-free retail environments.

Security & Safety Things, together with some of its camera and system integration partners are already running projects in a live setting. These projects use, for example, heat mapping and queue analysis in retail stores and automated payment processing and license plate recognition for barrier free traffic. These types of applications are running in pilots with the parking management solutions provider, Peter Park as well as with the mobility provider, SIXT.

More about the Security & Safety Things platform and how businesses can benefit from the platform can be found at www.securityandsafetythings.com. For an overview of the AI video apps currently available for the S&ST supported cameras, the Application Store is publicly available for browsing at https://store.securityandsafetythings.com.