The camera offers back light compensation and comes with a 110-240 VAC or a 10-30VDC/ 12-29 VAC power supply unit.

Argus Solutions CEO, Bruce Lyman said the acquisition of 100% of the shares in the Asian subsidiary company of ImageWare Systems Inc (IWS) was highly complementary to Argus’ existing business and gave the company a larger presence in the key markets of Asia and the US. The deal includes a small equity exchange whereby IWS will acquire new capital in Argus at a premium of 8% to the market, while Argus will acquire equity in IWS Inc. Jim Miller President and CEO of IWS, plans to join the Argus Board, and it is intended that Argus will provide a representative on the IWS Board following a planned vacancy later in the year. Under the arrangement, IWS will resell Argus products into the continental American market through its 5 domestic sales offices in the USA, Canada and South America, allowing Argus to target the large US law enforcement and health markets. It will also allow Argus to deliver a combined biometric and identity card solution to clients. “While Argus already has a base in Singapore, this deal gives us immediate exposure and access to a wider range of contracts and market opportunities such as drivers’ licences” said Bruce Lyman. “Since our listing last year, we have been focused on building our sales capability and this deal will greatly accelerate that process, adding an instant revenue stream to our business and an expanded product offering for our clients. “IWS is a highly respected company operating in the identity management market. The deal makes strategic sense on a number of levels and propels Argus to the next league in terms of our ability to aggressively compete for business in the Asian region and in the US.” About the Transaction The arrangement builds on the commercialisation agreement outlined in Argus Solutions’ prospectus and confirms the intent of both companies to leverage the strength of each other and to collaborate closely on market and product development. In Singapore, Argus has acquired an established sales force familiar with the IWS products. IWS had revenues of just over US$1million in 2004. It has contracts to supply the Indonesian, Singapore and Malaysian government driver’s license components and consumables markets. Argus will have exclusive distribution rights for all IWS products in the law enforcement and health markets, for a minimum period of 3 years. Argus Solutions Ltd is an Australian listed company focused on identity management using its proprietary iris recognition software and its state of the art facial recognition technology. The company sells packaged solutions to its clients such as the military, government departments and blue chip companies seeking absolute assurance of identity in its access control functions, and to clients in specialist areas such as hospitals where controlling the dispensing of controlled substances via careful identity management is critical.

“Topaz offers users and their installers an intelligent, customizable way to integrate essential security functions including access control and video surveillance into a single, user-friendly interface,” said Jim Paulson, Security’s marketing manager, Intrusion Solutions. “Dealers can now offer an affordable, complete video surveillance and access control solution to their customers. This powerful software solution includes everything a small- to medium-sized business needs to get its security system up and running quickly and reliably.” The new, upgraded Topaz, conveniently packaged in both two-door and four-door starter and expansion kits to easily accommodate all field applications, is available through Security’s distribution channels. Viewing video with Topaz is as easy as clicking on a video icon that’s tagged to event details or viewing live video by clicking the video button next to the alarm queue. Up to sixteen cameras may be connected to each of eight GE DVMRe Triplex series recorders on the Topaz network for a viewing universe of 128 locations. Regardless of the communication system, Topaz lets users choose the best option for each application. Every Topaz control panel contains an on-board, high-speed LAN/WAN connection plus RS-485, RS-232, and dial-up connections. Setting up Topaz is a quick mouse click away. Once activated, the Auto Configuration feature instantly detects RT panels, Input/Output modules, and dial-up modems on the system. The installer simply inputs a name for each device detected, saves the information to the database and the hardware is ready to run. A device tree can then be used to view the entire system configuration at a glance. A range of customization tools, from color graphics and custom reports to predefined password templates, time schedules and access groups, lets dealers create an extremely easy to use system for their customers. Additionally, delayed alarm reporting and monitoring provide adjustable entry and exit delays that let the system act as both an access control and intrusion detection panel. Credential activation is also automated. Its intelligent controllers support magnetic stripe, Wiegand, barium ferrite, barcode, proximity, biometric and smart card technologies. Users can instantly activate cards via a quick start menu. Photo ID badging and report generation with pre-configured and custom reports are provided. The Topaz server also operates as a fully functional workstation. Up to four extra workstations can be added to the system. Both the server and the workstations include dynamic and fully interactive maps with onscreen video call up, PTZ control, and report and event printing. ACURT2 and ACURT4 Intelligent Controllers feature state-of-the-art technology to optimize both flexibility and reliability. The ACURT2 supports two readers and/or keypads and the ACURT4 supports four readers and/or keypads. Each of the panels supports four input/output modules.

The city will use $US53 million from a cable company settlement to fund the Homeland Security Grid system, which will consist of 621 kilometres of fibre-optic cable to link the cameras and sensors with Chicago’s 911 center, reports the Chicago Tribune. Chicago officials announced last September that the city would be adding 250 cameras to the 2,000 already in the city’s video surveillance system, which aims its cameras at public spaces. City officials say the grid, which should be completed by mid-2006, will necessitate the addition of even more cameras.

“The software, developed for and beta tested by the U.S. Marine Corps, prioritizes resources using objective criteria and provides a cost-benefit analysis for various mitigations. Based on these results, the software can help determine resource allocations across competing anti-terrorism projects. “Organizations have limited budgets to protect their assets from terrorist attacks,” said Dr. Steven Haynes, assistant professor in the School of Information Sciences and Technology (IST) and lead researcher. “People need help in deciding which proposed projects to fund when each responds to a need and has its own benefits.” The cognitive-support system makes those decisions less subjective and helps more people understand how and on what basis resource allocation decisions were made, Haynes said. The software is described in a paper titled “Optimizing Anti-Terrorism Resource Allocation” that appears in a special issue (Vol. 56, Issue 3) of the Journal of the American Society for Information Science and Technology. The issue, “Intelligence and Security Informatics,” recently was published. Co-authors are Thomas G. Kannampallil, an IST doctoral student; Nitesh Garg, who earned his master’s degree at Penn State; and Lawrence Larson, retired Marine Corps colonel now with the Marine Corps Research University at Penn State. Protecting buildings from terrorist attacks can include anything blast-resistant glazing of windows to enhanced lighting and additional guards. Because anti-terrorist mitigations are expensive, deciding what, how, where and when to allocate resources to protect critical infrastructure is a challenge, according to the researchers. Considerations include protecting people, mission importance, cost and time to replace and access to and location of alternative facilities. To build the software, the researchers visited Marine bases and talked with commanders, anti-terrorism officers and facilities planners about what technologies could best assist them in prioritizing their assets. Researchers also conducted focus groups and “walk-throughs” or on-site evaluations of the system. The system also considers acceptable risks and acceptable losses in terms of money. The researchers note similar judgments occur in medical research allocations, transportation safety programs and in seismic retrofits for earthquake damage mitigation. “The system is designed to guide users towards more rigorous and justifiable resource allocation decisions in a domain where emotion and uncertainty play a major role,” Haynes said. The decision elements-asset prioritization, cost-benefit analysis and determination of resource allocation-can be implemented alone or in combination as required for more complex scenarios. While the researchers’ cognitive support software was designed for the military, it can be applied to protect government facilities, commercial buildings, public sites such as convention centers or installations from hydroelectric dams to power plants.

Inovonics is a manufacturer and marketer of monitoring and control wireless products with electronic security applications Inovonics President Andy Drenick said in a statement that his company sought the acquisition to reach new customers. “Being part of Roper allows us greater access to global markets, creates opportunities for synergies with existing Roper businesses and provides us the management tools and resources of a NYSE-traded company with a total capitalization of $US3.5 billion,” Drenick says.