How smart can be video monitoring systems?

Alibaba, Chinese e-commerce giant, is testing a new automated sales system. Tao Cafe, the shop created for this purpose, is operated by a minimum number of staff, there are no cashiers and the resulting queues.
At the entrance of the shop, customers register by scanning QR codes on Taobao app in their smartphones. Since then, they are tracked with cameras for facial recognition. Similarly, all goods in the cafe are digitized and monitored, along with their placement on the shelf and purchase by customers. As the customers walk out of the cafe, their bills are automatically paid via e-payment accounts on their smartphones. The method of recognizing goods and customers is based on machine learning. The system proved to be very effective: within 5 days of testing an erroneous identification rate was on the level of 0.1% in the case of goods and 0.02% in the case of customers.

A customer of Tao Cafe ordering a meal. Customers are recognized by the system
and their bills are automatically paid via e-payment accounts on their smartphones.

The concept of building systems based on machine learning has more and more followers. There are special graphics cards available on the market, which speed up processing for artificial intelligence applications. Along with new camera and DVR/NVR models, it helps to deploy systems with advanced smart features. One of them is accurate recognition of human faces and of various objects. In addition to shopping, such capability is highly desirable in urban video surveillance systems.

Machine learning can change the way we buy products. Every trading company wants to reduce costs and minimize customer service time. Along with the strategy, similar systems are also tested by other players on the market. It is worth mentioning the Amazon Go store opened in the US or 7-Eleven launched in South Korea. In turn, Wheelys Moby Mart is testing a mobile, standalone shop which can reach places located away from cities.

DIPOL at International Power Industry Fair ENERGETAB 2017.

This year's International Power Industry Fair ENERGETAB 2017 has received 704 submissions from exhibitors from over a dozen European and Asian countries. The 30th edition of the trade fair will be the largest meeting of manufacturers and importers of equipment used in power and related industries in Poland. DIPOL company, distributor of equipment intended for installation of telecommunication systems, CCTV, alarm and home automation systems, has been attending that event for many years. We invite everyone to our stand at the fair, on September 12 and 13 from 9:00 to 17:00 CET and on September 14 from 9:00 to 15:00 CET.

DIPOL will present a number of new products for a wide variety of customers. First of all, it will be video surveillance systems based on modern megapixel analog cameras (Hikvision) and IP solutions (Hikvision, Signal, Sunell). The range of products will meet the needs of large installation companies as well as installers building small CCTV systems with several cameras. The most interesting products will certainly be analog cameras with impressive resolution of 5 MP.

K1705 - Hikvision iDS-2CD6810F/C camera with people counting function

A special attraction will also be stereoscopic Hikvision IP camera with specialized people counting function based on intelligent video analytics. Our system will count people passing past our stand, distinguishing the direction of movement. The monitor will display the number of visitors, hourly traffic graph and the outbound data presented in the banner promoting the fair at our website, with online updating.

An example of traffic supervision: image from the camera, counters of people (total number of people and the numbers of people moving in opposite directions - data collected by an external program), time chart.

More on DIPOL's exhibition at ENERGETAB 2017.

Displaying images from two sources simultaneously.

Dual-view HDMI Switch H3102 allows the user to display video from two HDMI sources side-by-side or select the displayed video from the HDMI 1 or HDMI 2 input. The operation modes can be selected with the use of the included remote control:

• simultaneous displaying of two HDMI signals (side-by-side),
• full screen (selection of the video from the HDMI 1 or HDMI 2 input).

In any mode the user can select the active audio channel. The device supports HDMI signals with video resolution up to 1080p @ 60 Hz.

Dual-view HDMI Switch H3102 enables the user to display e.g. video from two DVRs on a single monitor/television

Two IP cameras on a pole, video transmission via optical fiber.

Extensive monitoring systems with cameras placed on poles require careful planning, including the choice of equipment necessary for signal transmission via optical fibers and for power supply. Due to limited space, installers have to minimize the number and size of the pieces of the additional equipment and the size of the protective enclosures.

In such cases, the ideal solution is to use the L11542 media converter with integrated 2-port switch. This way, there is no need for an additional switch and power supply. The number of connections is also limited to a minimum. The concept is presented in the diagram below.

An application of the L11542 media converter with integrated 2-port switch
for transmission of signals from two IP cameras via universal single-mode fiber optic cable

Single-cable TERRA dSCR multiswitches - Unicable systems.

The new dSCR series of multiswitches from TERRA employs single-cable technology (Unicable) that allows for distribution of DVB-S/S2, DVB-T, DAB and FM signals via single coaxial cable. The dSCR acronym means digital Satellite Cable Router, sometimes called channel stacking switch, which converts the received satellite signals to so-called user bands (UBs) that can be received by the connected receivers compliant with the technology. The converted transponders are combined and sent via the single coaxial cable to all the receivers. The communication between the dSCR multiswitch and the receivers uses special protocol defined in the EN50494 (Unicable I) and/or EN50607 (Unicable II) standard, with DiSEqC commands. DIPOL offers TERRA dSCR multiswitches SRM-521R80521and SRM-580 R80580.

Cascadable single cable dSCR multiswitch SRM-521 R80521

By default, the SRM521 R80521 multiswitch is configured in dynamic mode, with dSCR OUT operating as Unicable port and Legacy OUT as universal (legacy) port that switches into Unicable mode after receiving DiSEqC command from a receiver/STB (compliant with EN50494 or EN50607 standard). It means that each of the two outputs of the multiswitch can independently feed up to 16 receivers (in the EN50607 standard).

Cascadable single-cable dSCR multiswitch SRM-580 R80580

By default, all outputs of the SRM-580 R80580 multiswitch are configured as Legacy (controlled by 14/18 V and 0/22 kHz commands from SAT receivers). Any output is switched to Unicable dynamic mode after receiving DiSEqC command compliant with EN50494/EN50607 standard. This means that each individual output can feed via a single coaxial cable and satellite splitters up to 16 receivers (EN50607).

dSCR multiswitch programmer PC102W R80561

The PC102W R80561 programmer is designed for configuring and troubleshooting SAT IF distribution systems built on dSCR multiswitches. With wireless access to the device from any platform (tablet, smartphone, laptop, PC), it is easy to configure SMATV systems based on dSCR multiswitches via a web browser: operating mode (static or dynamic), frequency plan for static mode, central frequencies and bandwidths of user bands for dynamic mode, output power level of each user band carrier, PINs.

Export / import of NVR configuration files (including added IP cameras).

Hikvision NVRs allow for import and export of two configuration files, with NVR settings and with settings of the connected IP cameras. The files can be exported directly from the NVR onto a USB memory device or to a PC, via a web browser. In the future, thay can be used as a backup of the configurations, or simply as "templates" for speeding up the process of installation and configuration of identical systems. The file with information on the added IP cameras, such as IP addresses, management port, admin password etc. is saved with .xls extension (Excel). The exported file is editable, so can be adapted for other, similar systems, while the NVR configuration file cannot be changed. In order to save or import the configuration files via a web browser, the user should:

In the case of importing Device Parameters, the system has to be rebooted.

Export / Import of configuration files (Hikvision DS-7608NI-I2 K22083 NVR)

Capacity of a rechargeable battery.

The main parameters of each rechargeable battery are the rated voltage and capacity. Due to the fact that the capacity of a battery depends on the discharge conditions, the value is normally given for a 10-hour full discharge current. For example, if the battery has a capacity of 20 Ah, it means that the load can take 2 A for ten hours. To determine how long the battery can supply a real system, one should know the actual current consumption and compare it with the characteristics of the battery for a similar discharge current.

Discharge time vs. discharge current - Securbat CB 7-12 SB M1883

Discharge time vs. discharge current - Securbat CB 17-12 SB M1885

An example use of line crossing function in FishEye camera. Hikvision DS-2CD2942F-IS K1790 Fisheye IP camera mounted on a ceiling has viewing angle of 360°, mounted on a wall - of 180°. Cameras of this type are becoming increasingly popular because of the possibility of replacing several cameras with only one that covers the entire area. An example application can be video monitoring of a small grocery store... >>>more

Monitoring of a store using single FishEye camera with the functionality of virtual line