Why MOST camera manufacturers don’t get 360?

The goal of 360 technology is to as our tag line says, “See the whole story”…  So if you’re only sending a section of the overall image to the VMS/NVR software what’s the point?  We have seen a lot of competitors recently wanting to play in the sector of 360 but think all they have to do is attached a fisheye lens and there done…   Here is our approach vs. the ‘other guys’…

1^st Sentry360 developed a 360 “SDK” (Software Development Kit) in 2009 and designed it (and customized it) with the idea if the VMS/NVR manufacturer integrated it correctly the full point of the product would be realized.  What the sdk allows users to do is record and display the full 360 View or Fisheye image and then in live or playback correct the view or dWarp™ for full retrospective Pan-Tilt-zoom in all directions.  The point of 360 is to enable that PTZ experience with the ability of hindsight in full 360°.  See our full list of compatible VMS/NVR technology partners who have integrated our 360 SDK.  Here

2^nd Offering the freedom of choice.  1 size does not fit all applications which is why we develop a full product-line dedicated to 360° & 180° read below how we designed specific cameras, lens options, form factors and resolutions to meet a variety of applications.

The Application: Ceiling Mount with 360° Technology

This is the North, South, East & West approach with everything in between.  The 360-degree cameras are designed to capture a full ½ of circle and to be mounted on the ceiling looking straight down so it can capture, record and reproduce corrected perspective PTZ windows in recorded or live video.  The optimization of this technology reduces the amount of total single field-of-view cameras you will need to cover heavy traffic or open areas.

 

dWarped section 1

dWarped section 2

The Goal: To capture the largest amount of information with the least amount of cameras from a single vantage point.

Depending on the environment and mounting height of the camera will change the pixel density you receive with which 360-degree camera.  For example if you mount a 10 megapixel at 8ft you will have tremendous detail in some instances too much detail by contrast if you mount a 3 megapixel 30 ft you will probably not receive the detail you need to identify small objects or people.  Sentry360 has 3 products FS-IP3000 (3 megapixel) FS-IP5000 (5MP) & FS-IP10K 10 megapixel all products range in price point, form factor and resolution to meet a variety of challenging mounting heights and applications. 

The Application: Wall Mount with 180°

Utilizing a specialized fisheye lens we are able to increase pixel density by upwards of 30% in the outer field of view.  Because of the use of a fisheye, and to minimize distortion, we section off the best portions of the image for display and eliminate the unimportant sections such as the sky for example.

AFTER

BEFORE

 

 

 

 

In doing this we correct the resolution within the description to match the resolution that would be on a comparable lens and sensor size.  So when we section out an image we optimize the field of view and pixel density, we are able to artificially increase this number averaging it out based on the percentage of increase.  The models we offer are a 4 megapixel model mini dome FS-IP4180 and 8 megapixel professional dome FS-IP8180.

The megapixel race is NOT over…

Sentry360 is a leading developer and manufacturer of advanced megapixel surveillance cameras for commercial and government markets.  With resolutions from HD 2.0 Mega-pixel to 10 Mega-pixel we have the combination of products that meet demanding applications to truly optimize pixel density, produce forensic detail & gather the facts to answer the Who, What, When, Where & How in a security investigation.  We believe the future of megapixel surveillance is to optimize each pixel and put the right product in the right position to accomplish a specific goal for the overall surveillance system.  In this series of briefs we will discuss sentry360’s “Fundamental design approach to developing megapixel surveillance edge devices”, “The optimization of 360° and 180° Technology”, “Is there a place for High Megapixel cameras?”, “The PTZ is not created equal”, and finally “Design your own megapixel surveillance project”.

Our fundamental design approach

1.) Small form factor: We believe and have proven that our design layout of our board which is significantly smaller than other cameras in our class is significantly less power consuming because of our design method. Whereas our 10/14 megapixel cameras carry a maximum of 4 watts other cameras in this class are up to 14 watts of constant power consumption which is very much a ‘hidden-cost’ in the IP Video Surveillance industry. We also like to build/design our products to be as small as possible so they are adaptable and applicable in a vast array of applications. The smaller the camera the easier it is to install and deploy.

2.) High fluid frame rates: We believe just because you have MEGApixels doesn’t mean you should have to sacrifice speed and the overall productive capability of catching something you could have missed otherwise with choppy frame rates or motion blur.

8 megapixel 180-degree surveillance camera

3.) Simplistic design 1 sensor 1 lens solution: We believe the more simple the design of the device the more reliable it will be over time. We do not believe in the multi-sensor approach to creating panoramic images. The goal of 360/180 technology is to send the entire image(s) through 1 IP address and because of this all the multiple imagers must be processed through 1 single processor. Most camera developers use simple Linux-based FPGA processors (to reduce cost) and these processors will die if exhausted over-time which comes into the reliability factor we’ve seen by several of these manufacturers.

ISC West 2012 – Recap

Sentry360 – ISC West Recap

To kick off the ISC West excitement, we had our 1st Annual Rep Group meeting.  In attendance were Representatives from Natech, Charles & Associates Marketing, Heitner Group, Hall Telecommunications, Par Products and Integrity Sales.  We showcased all the new Sentry360 products, our roadmap for success, and ended with a bang with Jason Glover from Genetec showing us what they bring to the table to support Sentry360.  This could not have gone better!

The show itself followed with a jam packed booth for Sentry360.  The energy was fierce as we handled everyone and proudly showcased our products.  With the debut of the smallest 14 mega-pixel camera everyone was amazed and wanted more.  We gave demonstrations on our cameras and displayed our new “Who is Sentry360” video.  This was for sure the most energetic and exciting show in our histoy!

Our President, Thomas Carnevale, was invited to speak at the “MegaPixel vs. HD: How to Fit the Right Technology into your CCTV System” course.  Him and a panel discussed the many differences between HD and MegaPixel and what it means to the average user.  He spoke to a full house and the overall mood was excellent.

Sentry360 would like to pay a special thanks to BlueStar, VideoInsight, Infinova, IP Video Corp., Axxonsoft, TimeSight, ONSSI and JDS for displaying our cameras in your booth. We also would like to thank Billy Steyn and Dean Sichelschmidt from Natech (South Africa) and Mike Polo from Hall Telecommunications (Canada) for lending a hand at the booth – we couldn’t have done it without you.

With that, we look forward to seeing everyone as ASIS 2012 this year!

Sentry360 Expands Global Sales Channel

Sentry360 Announces Sales Alliance to Support growth of Sentry360 multi-megapixel surveillance camera technology. Several new territories have been launched, such as, in the Middle East, India, Africa, UK and regional USA Representatives.

Sentry360, a leading developer of advanced multi-megapixel surveillance cameras, today announced a major advancement to scaling up its global sales presence by hiring top manufacturers’ representative firms to help service the overwhelming demand for Sentry360’s situational awareness cameras.

Industry reports indicate that the video surveillance industry is seeing continued growth, with the number of installed cameras at over 100 million worldwide and climbing annually. According to users, Sentry360’s multi-megapixel 360-degree immersive imaging and directional cameras actually reduce the amount of cameras needed to cover a given environment, thereby reducing both cost and complexity.

“We are very excited to be announcing our growing partnerships for regional expansion into the world’s security world markets. This expansion demonstrates our continued commitment to providing superior products and services to our customers on a global scale,” said Alan Waxenberg, Vice President of Business Development at Sentry360. “We believe our partnership with manufacturers’ representative firms will be instrumental in building awareness for our efficient, high megapixel, 360 Degree camera solutions that advance the evolution of video surveillance technology.”

To facilitate the expansion, Sentry360 has entered into sales contracts with the following companies and International territories: BioStream Axxonsoft Security Solutions covering the Middle East and India, Natech Universal Technology (Pty) Ltd covering South Africa and Harper Morgan covering the UK and Ireland.

In the USA, the following manufacturers rep firms are listed with there regional territories by state, Charles & Associates covers MO, KY, IN, OH, West PA, West NY; HeitneREPS covers FL, GA, MS, AL, NC, SC, TN; LCA Sales Co. covers, Metro NY, NJ, Middle and East PA, DE, CT, MD, VA; Professional Alarm Representation covers TX, OK, AR, LA; Somerville Security Associates CA, NV, AZ, HI; and finally Integrity Sales covering NM, CO, UT, WY, MT and ID.

“We are thrilled to be partnering with Sentry360 and view their camera offering as complementary to our current offerings,” states LCA President, Joel Schwartz. “The value proposition of 360-degree panoramic video is to solve the problem of blind-spots and poor resolution by reducing camera counts and delivering complete situational awareness will be a great addition to our portfolio of surveillance solutions.”

“We are very excited about the Sentry 360 cameras. The Fullsight 360 is one of the best true 360 degree single lens cameras on the market today. With this new camera technology, we can offer our customers a new paradigm for video surveillance that can take advantage of its great features, such as, no blind-spots and no moving parts,” says Tim Shiner President & Owner, Par Products.

“BioStream is very pleased to represent the wide variety of exciting new 360-degree megapixel cameras from Sentry 360,” comments “Dr. Ateeq Rahman, CEO of BioStream Security. ”Our requirements for situational awareness are pivotal to the security of our customers which include institutions, museums, retail establishments, industrial organizations, government & military all of which have great security concerns. The Sentry360 camera portfolio can help maintain vigilance in our highly visible region of the world.