Dubai, UAE: Axis Communications is returning for the 21st edition of Intersec from 20 – 22 January 2019. Axis will showcase the many dimensions of products, solutions and services across Retail, Critical Infrastructure and Smart Cities.
Philippe Kubbinga, Regional Director Middle East & Africa, Axis Communications, “At Axis, we have stayed at the forefront by constantly challenging the status quo and investing in our people and our partners. As we move into another year, we have an ever-increasing demand for smart products, solutions and services. In the last year, network audio, edge analytics, multi-sensors and privacy of data dominated in demand, conversations and actual applications – trends we deem very positive for our industry. We have continued to add new dimensions in our offerings across Retail, Critical Infrastructure and are also seeing a positive trend in Smart Cities. At Intersec 2019, we look forward to an in-depth conversation with our ecosystem on the future of security and surveillance, and its constantly adapting landscape and application”.
Martin Gren, Co-Founder of Axis Communications, will be a key speaker at the Intersec Future Security Summit on 20 January 2019 where he will discuss “Future of global security industry: security end points viewed as a mode of connection, not an intrusion”.
At the stand, visitors can experience the Q8742 Bi-Spectral Camera, Q1645-LE Fixed Box Outdoor Camera, Q6125-LE PTZ with IR, Access Control, Analytics, Audio Products and Management Software, Technologies and the award-winning AXIS P3717-PLE.
Axis Communications will be located at stand S1-J12, Dubai International Convention and Exhibition Centre.
Key Technology Trends 2019
In the lead up to Intersec, Axis also shared the Key Technology Trends for 2019. Johan Paulsson, Chief Technology Officer, Axis Communications, “It’s become a tradition to write about the key technology trends that we think will have a significant impact on our business over the coming year and the security sector as a whole. Future-gazing is never an easy task and while many new technologies and broader issues will no doubt be significant in the long-term, what particularly interests us are those areas where we can see a compelling use case in the shorter-term. As such, in thinking about 2019 we see a number of the key trends being an extension of those we identified at the start of 2018.”
Artificial Intelligence
In our industry today, machine or deep-learning is mostly used for video analytics, but we expect the technology will be an important component in many different applications and products in the future. Over time it will become a common tool for software engineers and will be included in many different environments and devices. But, again, its application will be driven by the most compelling use cases, not by the technology itself. There is a temptation in the surveillance and security sector to over-promise in relation to new technologies. This has been true of AI in video analytics and, particularly, in some of the claims made around the current application of deep learning. With AI and deep learning, as with any new technology, we’re committed to making sure its implementation is robust, reliable and addresses real customer challenges. Research and progress will continue, steadily, and bring incremental improvements and benefits over the next year rather than radical change.
Cloud and edge computing
Cloud computing is based on the centralized computing in one or many data centre, and as the proliferation of connected, Internet of Things (IoT) devices grows exponentially, so does the amount of data produced. Even as more data centres with ever-increased capacity are created, this tsunami of data could become overwhelming. This can be particularly critical in areas such as video surveillance, where despite the development of technologies designed to reduce storage and bandwidth needs, data demands are still significant.
This is where the benefits of edge computing come to the fore. In simple terms, as its name suggest, edge computing puts more data processing at the ‘edge’ of the network, close to where the data is collected by the sensor and before transfer to the data centre. In our business, edge computing means processing data within the camera itself. Firstly, initial processing of data within the camera can significantly reduce the bandwidth demands of both data transfer and storage. Additionally, data can be anonymized and encrypted before it is transferred, addressing security and privacy concerns.
Ultimately, cloud and edge computing will not be an ‘either…or’ decision; the two will work in balance to the greatest benefit.
Personalisation vs privacy
In years to come, 2018 might be considered as the year when broad awareness of data privacy reached its highest point, particularly that associated with personal information. To those in the public and private sectors, the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) bought a higher level of scrutiny than ever before to how organizations collect, store, share and use personal information (including that captured by video surveillance). To the broader consumer, however, it is more likely to be issues relating to Facebook’s use of data which has heightened awareness and concern regarding what happens to the personal data given away online.
Ultimately, we live in a world where we have been given valuable online services in exchange for knowingly or unconsciously handing over a significant amount of personal data. Indeed, this data is used by the likes of Facebook, Amazon, Google and others to increase the value of these services through a high degree of personalization. To many, however, it feels like a line has been crossed between useful personalization and invasion of privacy, and the rumours that home voice assistants listen in to domestic conversations will only cause this unease to increase.
Ultimately, the trust between an organization and its customers is becoming an increasingly important and tangible asset. Concerns about a company’s approach to privacy and the use of personal data will be one of the most impactful aspects of trust in business moving forwards.
Cybersecurity
Can something continue to be a ‘trend’ when it appears every year, and is a constant concern? Whatever your answer to that question, it’s impossible to think about issues that will affect every sector this year without a mention of cybersecurity. Indeed, in relation to the previous point, the fastest way to damage trust between a company and its customers (and shareholders) is through a cybersecurity breach.
Cybersecurity will never be solved, because the cybercriminals (and increasingly nation states) will never stop trying to find and exploit vulnerabilities. These organizations are incredibly well-funded and organized and can innovate much more quickly than companies that need to adhere to industry regulations. Attacks are becoming more sophisticated, at a time when the number of connected devices mean that potential vulnerabilities and insecure network end-points are growing exponentially.
One particular area of vulnerability that has been highlighted recently is in the supply chain, where either a lack of good cybersecurity practice or even deliberately malicious actions can result in cybersecurity breaches being achieved through both software and hardware. The provenance of products is ever more critical than ever, with manufacturers needing to be confident that every link in their supply chain is a secure as it should be.
Smart technology to deliver environmental benefits
We’ve already seen how video analytics can be used as an operational planning tool by organizations looking to improve energy efficiency within offices, with the subsequent positive benefits for the environment. But new types of sensors can more accurately measure environmental impact across an organization’s sites, effectively acting as highly sensitive artificial ‘noses’ calibrated to different forms of output, and thermal imaging can be used to pinpoint areas of energy wastage.
For instance, one critical area where such sensors can heighten awareness, understanding and, increasingly allow for remedial action is in air quality. Whether inside buildings or in the external urban environment, the negative impacts on health and associated costs are becoming an ever-greater issue. Smart sensors will have a central role to play in addressing the problem globally. Such applications add value to organizations through efficiencies and cost savings (and, hopefully, health benefits), but also help them reach their own environmental and sustainability goals.
Sensor integration driving smart actions
In themselves, individual sensors such as those described above can deliver significant benefits. But a final trend that we’re confident will be increasingly prevalent in 2019 will be combining and integrating sensors to prompt ‘smart’ actions. For instance, in a smart city, a motion sensor connected to a barrier could trigger a camera which, in turn, would trigger an alert in the operations centre, allowing for rapid and appropriate response. Or an environmental sensor could again trigger a video or thermal camera to quickly identify fires or spillages, again prompting alerts which will create a more rapid and effective response. When the range of sensors are considered – from thermal to motion, from atmospheric to video – the ways in which they could be combined are endless, as are the potential benefits of doing so.
Technology continues to develop at a rapid and accelerating pace. While it can be easy to become distracted by the potential of every new trend or innovation, each must be considered in relation to the use cases that are going to deliver maximum positive impact and value to organizations and citizens. This remains the lens through which we view technology trends and their application, and 2019 promises to be another exciting year in bringing new technologies to market in increasingly useful ways.”
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