Bringing together all the puzzle pieces for video surveillance, together with a “perfect combination” to create a solution that keeps people and property safe, software company Milestone Systems’ XProtect video management software (VMS) enables “critical infrastructure site operators to interactively monitor equipment, operations, and processes”.

“The integration of third-party systems, like access control, life safety equipment, intrusion detection, body-worn cameras, facial recognition personal protective equipment (PPE) detection, automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) and more provides additional ways of enhancing safety measures,” the company explains.

Talking to Mining Weekly, Milestone Systems Africa channel business manager Markus Bodenstein notes that key features of the VMS include unrestricted number of servers, cameras, internet-of-things (IoT) and audio devices, as well as prioritised alarm lists to get an overview of active alarms and their severity.

In addition, the VMS also includes a proactive detection of imminent threats and unusual behavior, as well as noting lack of safety in regulated areas. Milestone also has video analytics partners, which offer search feature capabilities to help find “almost anything”, including things like people, vehicles, colors, direction of travel and more.

Using the VMS, Bodenstein says, makes it possible to use interactive maps and camera navigator, as well as enabling interaction with an emergency alarm system to notify security operators when an incident occurs.

“Edge storage also ensures that video is always stored, even when there is a system or network failutre. Milestone XProtect Smart Wall offers a complete overview of cameras to improve responsiveness when an alarm sounds,” he elaborates, adding that with the video push feature, security offers can transmit live video to a central security office, when needed.

The Smart Client Centralised Search supports easy and quick access in a user-friendly interface that works well for facility, security, and internet technology (IT) personnel.

COVID-19

Covid-19 continues to change the way business is done, and Bodenstein notes that “it is important that we become innovators with these new technologies that can help us better understand our end-users”.

“While the use of video technology for health benefits gains greater societal acceptance, we see that there is still a significant portion of the population that is unfamiliar with the purpose and benefits of such solutions,” he says, adding that it is critical for consumers to “remain vigilant about how businesses are using their personal data”.

As such, he suggests that organisations must prioritise data protection and practice full transparency to build greater trust in video solutions.

However, in the realm of technology, Bodenstein comments that “it is interesting” to see how video has evolved and taken on a bigger role in the fight against this pandemic. He adds that video has also provided frontline workers with some respite by increasing efficiencies and taking on labor-intensive tasks.

Applications such as thermal imaging cameras, PPE detection, collapse detection, facial detection and more have been deployed at facilities such as mine clinics, community centres, transportation hubs, and security checkpoints to quickly identify people with fever and possible ailments.

Combined with video analytics capabilities, Bodenstein says that these active assets could process multiple individuals simultaneously, increasing efficiency and reducing manpower requirements.

For Milestone specifically, Bodenstein states that future developments will incorporate artificial intelligence (AI), image processing, cloud computing, and IoT sensors, which he adds are “becoming vital parts to the ever-increasing demands of expanding organizations and the business outcomes they deliver”.

Milestone Systems VMS is, therefore, actively planning to aggregate and ingest new technologies to be deployed with video analytics solutions, AI and sensory devices to enable a wider set of advanced use cases to be delivered.

“These new use cases can help enterprises deliver new digital experiences and drive greater operational efficiencies.”

Milestone Systems is a global leader within open platform video management software. More than 3 000 hardware and software partners can integrate their video solutions in the company’s open platform for security and beyond security purposes in cities, schools, hospitals, and many other institutions.

“We enable customers to see what their eyes cannot always see, and we help them understand what they are looking at so they can analyse the past, predict the future and make better decisions,” Bodenstein says.