The camera’s 1/3” ExViewTM sensor has a minimum sensitivity of 0.1 Lux / F1.2 (50 IRE) and can be used with IR wavelengths of up to 860 nm. With selectable AGC and backlight compensation, the GVK-330 delivers high contrast pictures with 580 TV lines in natural and artificial light and is available as a 100-230 VAC model or as a 12 VDC/24 VAC version.

Legend cameras incorporate GE’s new SilkTrak direct drive technology with closed-loop positioning feedback to provide the smoothest, most precise performance of any dome camera. SilkTrak eliminates the gears and belts that cause rough, jerky motions when viewing other PTZ cameras. With SilkTrak positioning, users obtain better tracking of objects while optically superior, injection-molded dome bubbles ensure crystal clear images, even at high zoom settings. Incorporating 1.0 lux color sensitivity, this new 26x day/night dome camera offers customers true 24-hour surveillance even in low light conditions. Closed-loop positioning technology provides preset positioning accuracy of ±0.015 degrees. A 26x optical zoom camera with 12x digital zoom gives this new dome a 312x total zoom. Spherical privacy masking uses a 3D representation of the camera view and eliminates mask drift caused by camera tilt angle. With the ability to store 24 privacy masks and display eight simultaneously, the dome prevents operators from viewing neighboring or sensitive areas while still viewing the surroundings. Since Legend cameras are field upgradeable to provide streaming digital video, they provide a path for users to transition from analog to digital systems. A plug-in video encoder/decoder facilitates field upgrades of Legend cameras to full IP-based systems. An electronic image flip feature eliminates the need to rotate the camera 180° at the bottom of the tilt travel to track objects. With 184-degree tilt travel and electronic image flip, the camera can track activity directly underneath it without having to spin on its pan axis. Each of the 128 preset positions stores the pan, tilt, and zoom position along with a complete list of camera settings including backlight compensation, iris, and shutter settings. Sixteen shadow tours can store a total of 20 minutes of pan, tilt, and zoom operation. Thirty two macros can also be programmed, each with up to 16 steps that can be set for presets, tours, relay outputs, or links to other macros. Eight alarm inputs can be assigned to presets, tours, or macros and can control either or both relay outputs. Separate passcode levels prevent unauthorized personnel from changing programming settings while still allowing administrative access. Installation is easy and can be accomplished with one hand. Users simply align the notches on the camera assembly with the tabs on the housing and slide the camera up until it locks into place. Housing options are available for indoor and outdoor applications. Exterior housings are rated for weather resistance. “GE’s new Legend dome camera is designed for the ultimate in ease of use, from installation, to programming, maintenance, and even making the transition to a digital system,” said Robert Siegel, Security’s marketing manager for video solutions. “Drop-down graphical menus simplify programming for presets, tours, macros, privacy masks, alarms and more. Features, such as single-hand insertion and removal with built-in coax and UTP connections, make this dome camera the easiest on the market to install and service.” The Legend pan-tilt-zoom dome camera with SilkTrak direct drive is available now.

One of only three finalists, Bosch’s high-performance, smart surveillance LTC 0495 DinionXF Day/Night Camera features a mechanically switching IR filter to ensure the highest image quality possible, even under poor lighting conditions, day or night.

The advanced technology of the 1/3-inch LTC 0495 Digital CCD Day/Night Camera guarantees around-the clock surveillance, making them ideal for high-security areas including public utilities, prisons, and banks, as well as for situations where identification and image detail are critical, such as in retail stores. The National Systems Contractors Association (NSCA), the leading not-for-profit association representing the commercial electronic systems industry, has more than 2,500 member companies worldwide. The Association is a powerful advocate for all who work within the low-voltage industry, including systems contractors and integrators, product manufacturers, consultants, sales representatives, a growing number of architects, specifying engineers and others. Over 100 companies entered products for consideration in this year’s Innovations in Technology Award Program, held at the Systems Integration Expo, Orlando, FL. Finalists were selected by a panel of judges, and then voted on by Expo attendees to determine the winner of each category.

The DVR4C system provides several weeks of uninterrupted video and audio recording from up to four cameras and four audio inputs, and features alarm handling, motion detection and local archiving. The system is ideal for 24-hour secure surveillance of businesses, shops or facilities that operate unmanned or with only a few people on duty. The DVR4C uses industry-standard video encoding, is equipped with built-in intelligent search for instant replay of events, and can be accessed remotely over standard telephone lines, or via a network or the Internet – features normally found only in high-end digital video recorders, and now made affordable for smaller retail shops and businesses. Using the DVR4C, a business owner, manager or security staff can easily stay in touch 24/7 by viewing live images, with full remote search and play-back of recorded images. They can even change the system’s configuration remotely. Alarms and motion-triggered events generate an immediate email message which includes a snapshot video image with audio of the scene. All recordings contain embedded data providing permanent proof of authentication for use in legal proceedings. The system has a built-in USB port for archiving video and audio recording locally to a PC. It records in real-time (25/30 images/sec) and uses high-capacity video compression allowing clear image capture and efficient storage. For a shop owner, this means that recordings of important events or incidents are archived easily onto a memory stick. The DVR4C digital video and audio recorder is now available from security dealers and distributors.

The Private Security Act 2004 also introduces changes to other private security sectors such as security guards, crowd controllers, bodyguards, investigators and security firms. The new requirements reflect the changing nature of the industry, specifically the growing responsibility the security industry has in ensuring the safety of the Victorian community. The Act was developed after extensive consultation with Victoria Police, the private security industry, the government and the community. Security advisers and security equipment installers operate as important members of the industry and have the capacity, through the nature of their work, to access and collect sensitive information about the personal and security arrangements of their clients. The need to regulate security advisers and security equipment installers through compulsory registration is in-line with community safety objectives and counter terrorism legislation, especially with the increasing number of security advisers operating in the industry. The new registration system focuses on probity and character requirements. A registration cannot be approved unless the applicant (and close associates in the case of businesses) meets the probity requirements set out in the Act. As part of these requirements, any person charged, convicted or found guilty of an indictable offence that in the opinion of the Chief Commissioner renders the person unsuitable will be refused a registration. The registration system will exist as follows: * A Private Security Individual Registration must be obtained by individuals operating as security equipment installers and security advisers. * A Private Security Business Registration must be obtained by persons wishing to provide the services of other persons operating as security equipment installers and security advisers. * A temporary permit must be obtained by interstate residents operating in Victoria for a specific event. The permit will only be issued for the period the event is occurring. It will be an offence to operate in any of the above capacities without first being registered. A security adviser is defined in the Act as a ‘person who is employed or retained to provide advice in relation to security equipment or security methods or principles’. A security equipment installer is defined as a ‘person who is employed or retained to install, repair, service or maintain security equipment’. The proposed Private Security Regulations define security equipment as the following: (a) security camera systems; (b) security audio systems; (c) security audio or visual recording systems; (d) security alarms; (e) security alarm monitoring systems; (f) safes; (g) vaults; (h) security intrusion detectors including motion, infrared, microwave or contact detectors; (i) electric, electro-mechanical, magnetic, or biometric access control devices, but not including stock, inventory or product loss prevention monitoring devices. Individuals or businesses requiring registration will have 6 weeks from 1 July 2005 to lodge the appropriate application with LSD. If an application has been lodged within this time frame the applicant may continue operate until a decision on their registration is made. The new legislation will have a significant impact on the private security industry and will address crime prevention issues and promote and maintain public safety in the places Victorians live and work. For more information please visit www.police.vic.gov.au. Please forward all enquiries to licensingservices@police.vic.gov.au.

Holmes’ device – an underwater hydrophone array designed to be towed by a small, autonomous submarine – can monitor for ocean-going threats to America’s waterways or for sound for ocean acoustics studies. The array combines sophisticated engineering with off-the-shelf hardware to create a relatively inexpensive but highly sensitive underwater listening device. The prototype comprises six underwater microphones, or hydrophones, spaced inside a 30-foot plastic tube filled with mineral oil. The array tube is filled with mineral oil to create neutral buoyancy, allowing the array to float behind the underwater towing vehicle. Signals from the hydrophones are captured and stored on mini-disc recorders aboard the unpiloted submarine, which is called Remus. Designed by Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Remus looks like a small torpedo and can navigate autonomously underwater around obstacles and through harbors using GPS sensors, sonar, and electronic maps. Listening arrays typically used by the military and ocean scientists are towed behind ships and are very long, the shortest being around 1,500 feet long, and are several inches in diameter. At 30 feet in length and 1.1 inches in diameter, the extremely compact prototype can easily be towed through the water by a small, quiet, battery-powered craft. The compact size of the towing sub and array make it easy for one or two people to launch the system, compared to the fully crewed ships required for conventional hydrophone systems. Holmes originally developed the array to help him study how sound waves travel through shallow water, where sound is refracted by the bottom. Until recently, most acoustic ocean studies have been conducted in deep water, where the bottom has little effect on sound. Holmes constructed the hydrophone system to tackle the problem of how sound waves behave in shallow water, but the U.S. Navy saw the device as a potential security tool, one that is vastly less expensive than the multi-million dollar listening arrays currently in use. Parts for Holmes’ array cost a mere $4,000 and are available as off-the-shelf technology.

The Blanket Purchase Agreement runs through June 2007 and is part of the DOD’s effort to standardize RFID technology pricing and compatibility for all of the department’s branches. The Blanket Purchase Agreement includes ADT’s Sensormatic Agile Series II readers, Sensormatic Agile Series II Omnipoint antennas and GlobeRanger’s iMotion RFID software. According to Randy Dunn, National Director of RFID Sales and Marketing for ADT, the Blanket Purchase Agreement was awarded because of ADT’s global capabilities and long history of working with UHF technologies and large-scale systems integration. “We are able to provide them with quality competitive products, and we have the expertise, longevity and worldwide presence to back those products,” Dunn said. The DOD will use RFID technology to better track and monitor the movement of supplies and assets in a number of areas including inventory control, supply chain tracking and the tracking of shipments from DOD depots and warehouses.