Product Spotlight

By Security Products Staff · February 2007

A conversation with Moshe Machline

VERINT'S Nextiva video analytics portfolio includes the industry's broadest array of integrated video analytics applications for transit, critical infrastructructure, retail, banking and enterprise organizations. Moshe Machline is the director of video analytics for Verint. We spent a few minutes talking about the product and its bearing on the security industry.

Q. What features differentiate the Nextiva S2600e intelligent IP camera from other cameras on the market?

A. The Nextiva S2600e is an IP camera designed to bring a large portfolio of integrated analytics functionalities to the network edge, allowing for a proactive approach to video surveillance. Security personnel are inundated with vast amounts of information -- often more than they can effectively evaluate and use. Analysis of video at the edge automatically watches video for security staff, allowing them to focus on deterring and managing the threats identified by the system, rather than constantly watching banks of video monitors. This allows security personnel the ability to pinpoint and understand events immediately, in real-time and transforms threat detection from a manual, resource-intensive operation to an efficient, automated process, ultimately leading to better overall security coverage.

The camera also can be integrated with Verint's Nextiva HealthCheck application, which allows security personnel to automatically recognize, manage and diagnose the camera upon implementation.

Analytics at the edge dramatically reduce video transport and storage requirements because video data does not have to be sent to centralized servers for analysis.

Q. What other benefits do analytics "at the edge" provide an organization?

A. Until recently, video analytics relied on the processor inside the recording system to perform analysis. Most high-end cameras transport compressed media -- MPEG-4 or MJPEG -- which needs to be decompressed before conducting analysis. This decompression is expensive and does not scale easily to support video from many cameras.

Analytics at the edge dramatically reduce video transport and storage requirements because video data does not have to be sent to centralized servers for analysis. The analysis is done right there -- at the edge of the network -- allowing for efficient bandwidth management and network optimization. The storage and bandwidth savings make analytics at the edge affordable and practical on virtually every camera in an enterprise. Also, compared to the alternative of running the video analysis on the recording systems, requiring multiple servers, analytics on the edge reduces the cost of maintenance and overall cost of ownership.


Additionally, when video is analyzed at the point of capture, even before the compression stage, it increases the accuracy of the data. This reduces the likelihood of false positives and allows security personnel to focus on only the most legitimate, pressing and actual threats.

Q. What are some of the Nextiva analytics features that can be deployed on the intelligent IP camera, and what value can they provide?

A. Nextiva provides the industry's broadest array of integrated video analytics for transit, critical infrastructure, retail, banking and enterprise applications. These powerful analytics are capable of differentiating between people, vehicles and inanimate objects while establishing appropriate parameters of movement within sensitive locations and during specific times as defined by security policies. One such application is perimeter intrusion detection. Nextiva Analytics enables a user to establish virtual perimeters around sensitive objects or areas of an organization. Virtual perimeters are a series of tripwires or intangible boundaries that users define using a point-and-click device within various camera views. When a virtual boundary is crossed, an alert is generated and distributed to personnel according the rules defined by the organization. Nextiva Analytics also can detect tailgating, or a person or vehicle gaining unauthorized access to a facility by following authorized personnel through a controlled entry way. This application automatically detects when more than one person or vehicle has passed, even under the cover of darkness. And by integrating seamlessly with existing access control systems, when a tripwire is crossed or tailgating is detected, access control measures can automatically respond to prevent a breach.

Along with movement and boundaries, Nextiva analytics are capable of detecting loitering, or people, objects or vehicles that remain in or near sensitive areas in excess of a certain length of time. This application is often the first line of defense in proactively protecting against terrorism, theft and enhancing public security.

Q. What factors do end users need to consider when purchasing intelligent, analytics-enabled IP cameras?

A. First, buy from a provider that offers a comprehensive end-to-end IP video management and analysis solution. The key components of such a solution include a robust video management platform, integrated analytics, intelligent edge devices and embedded DVRs. It also is essential that the solution is built on an open, IT-friendly architecture, allowing for seamless integration with the IT infrastructure, cost-effective management and operation, and maximum scalability when upgrades and additions are required.

Integrated analytics provide simplified administration, powerful notification and response capabilities and lower cost of ownership. In order to have the greatest effect, video analysis must be integrated into the alert and distribution capabilities of an end-to-end solution that provides increased situational awareness. This integration provides the actionable intelligence for sophisticated forensic analysis and unprecedented real-time awareness that can be used to quickly see the whole play of events as they unfold and trigger appropriate action.

This article originally appeared in the February 2007 issue of Security Products, pg. 34.

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