HauteSpot and Network Optix

For the last year or so we have been collaborating with Network Optix to create a network video processing solution that is simple to use, compact, cost effective and bleeding edge. This solution combines Network Optix software with HauteSpot microNVR and WRAP hardware.

Network Optix is a software startup founded this year by Nathan Wheeler and Sergey Bystrov. I met Nathan and Sergey several years ago when they were working at Arecont Vision. Nathan was in charge of West Coast sales and Sergey was writing the software behind Arecont's products. Both are geniuses in their own right.

Nathan, a former Navy submariner, must have picked up a little atomic energy from the nuclear subs he served on, because it is really hard to keep up with his enthusiasm, excitement, and myriad of innovative ideas. Nathan not only can envision new ideas but he can make them practical and sell them.

Sergey is a software coding marvel unlike anyone else I have met. You can sit across the table from him, suggest a new product feature, and in minutes he will have coded, compiled and have running in the application not only your suggestion but additional extensions to your idea, all without breaking a sweat. His work is elegant, his understanding of complex video compression, processing, manipulation is unparalleled, and his focus is amazing.

EVE Media Player

Trinity Video Surveillance

The Networks Optix product set includes a multimedia client application named EVE for Extreme Video Environment (also named after Nathans year old daughter which is just darling), Trinity which is a "serverless" video surveillance system, and an upcoming client/server distributed video surveillance system. EVE was first announced in April last year and wowed users with its menuless, highly intuitive, user friendly, feature rich user interface.

Prior to ISC West in 2011 HauteSpot worked with Network Optix to port EVE onto our microNVR. Then we amazed show attendees with a demonstration of the microNVR running four 3 megapixel cameras and playing several dozen video files using the EVE media player. The video was in stunning 1080p High Definition and at full frame rate. The performance was excellent. ISC was a portend of things to come.

Much work has continued with HauteSpot updating the operating system build, driver set, and performance tuning the microNVR and Network Optix refining the performance of EVE, while also working on the development of Trinity and the new client server video processing architecture.

Nathan and I discussed our plans for product release and we agreed that we needed a demonstration system. So yesterday I drove down from San Luis Obispo to the Network Optix office in Burbank to set up our demonstration environment. I brought with me a HauteSpot WRAPSXC3E-N router and a microNVR.

Our plan was simple:

220 miles from Los Osos to Burbank

1. We have four cameras (Arecont, IQInvision, Axis, and Vivotek) all set up at our office in Los Osos (just outside San Luis Obispo). The cameras are connected to our WRAP wireless routers in a point to multipoint wireless network throughout and outside our office. The wireless camera network is connected to the Internet through a HauteSpot WRAPNXi router that supports VPN (Virtual Private Network) server and client capabilities. We also have a microNVR in Los Osos running Network Optix software for recording and transcoding.

WRAPSXC3E-N

2. In Burbank we set up the WRAPSXC3E-N router behind the SonicWall firewall router in the Network Optix office. The WRAPSXC3E-N automatically got a DHCP address from the SonicWall, it automatically configured itself for Internet connectivity, it automatically established a VPN tunnel connection to Los Osos, and the two networks (250 miles apart) were immediately connected as a layer 2 Ethernet network with a single IP broadcast domain. All by just plugging it into the network.

3. We set up the wireless interface of the WRAPSXC3E-N to be an access point for the new demonstration network. Then we also created a virtual access point (VAP) for local access to the Network Optix office network, replacing the low power-short range wireless that they were receiving from the SonicWall.

4. Everything was secured, end to end with AES-256 encryption, SHA-1 authentication, ssl certificates, and complex pass phrases. This is important when tunneling over public networks. However the set up of a remote client router really required no user intervention at all.

microNVR and EVE displaying a AV5105 camera over VPN tunnel

5. Then we connected a microNVR over wireless to the local network in Burbank running EVE. It automatically discovered and started to stream the live video from the Arecont and IQInvision cameras in Los Osos, as if they were local. The Axis and Vivotek cameras still needed some configuration modifications (you can't get everything right the first time :( )

6. Then we went one step further and set up dial in access to the WRAPSXC3E-N so that remote PCs could access the network over the VPN. This was a little more complicated and involved requesting and installing server certificates on the WRAP, setting up the VPN server, and port forwarding on the SonicWall. But this is something you would probably only need to do once at your central monitoring location, not at all of your remote sites.

In conclusion, our demonstration system went up without a hitch, it completely self configured itself, discovered all of the networks, established a secure VPN tunnel linking the two offices, discovered and self configured all of the cameras and was up and recording in minutes.

This model could be easily adopted for provisioning of remote monitoring sites by service provider. We are working on making it even easier and more cost effective. We are really excited about getting the finishing touches on this configuration so we can broadly deploy it. VPN tunneling is essential for remote service delivery and we have it nailed.

New Open System microNVR

Well, it has been two months since my last blog post. Time slips by so fast.

Over the last two months we have made some pretty significant progress on a lot of fronts.

microNVR Linux Version

The microNVR platform has received a couple of major upgrades. The first is a release of our first Linux OS build. This took a while as we spent a lot of time optimizing video drivers, wireless drivers, ethernet drivers, fixing ACPI, and getting the overall system tested and stable. The result is exceptional. The Linux OS has a similar look and feel to the MS Windows system build. The menus, the controls, the utilities available are all similar. Our hope was that customers who knew how to use MS Windows could easily learn how to use our Linux system.

Picking the Right Distribution
We tried to make the microNVR completely open and capable of supporting almost any application a customer wanted to use. In the surveillance market this is not what most vendors try to do. Most NVRs are closed and users are limited to the programs and functions that the manufacturer chooses to provide. On the HauteSpot microNVR the system is open and users can install whatever programs they wish. For this reason we wanted to be able to offer the widest possible selection of programs for installation, this means being able to install "packages" from a major Linux distribution like Fedora or Ubuntu.

The problem Fedora and Ubuntu distributions is that they are built for desktop systems and not targeted at performance on small systems. We decided to go with Ubuntu, which we believe has better end user design. Standard Ubuntu desktop uses a desktop manager (the program that provides the user interface) called Gnome. Gnome is very powerful and well supported, but it is a system resource hog. We replaced Gnome with a lighter weight product  that is faster and consumes fewer system resources, but still delivers all of the attractive and easy to use tools of Gnome.

The microNVR is able to access all of the programs from the Ubuntu Repository, which currently is more than 3000 applications. So if you are not happy with the applications that come pre-installed, you can always add your own. Although for most users, this will not be necessary.

Retaining Graphics Performance
In testing the video performance of the system we are able to decode and display 1920x1080 video at 30fps. At VGA resolution we can support over 300fps in decoding. So the microNVR is a very useful video client and, provided that the Video Management System (VMS) software can use the OpenGL drivers that route decode and encode functions to the Intel GMA 500 GPU, we can also handle transcoding and other functions needed for edge video processing. In most video surveillance applications you will just be piping the video stream right from the Ethernet port to disk and back out, without any need for transcoding, so we can handle under these conditions a lot of attached cameras.

Video Management Server Software
On top of this desktop and our optimized video and hardware drivers we wanted to run the best possible VMS software. In Linux there really are only two choices that we know of: Exacq Vision and ZoneMinder.

Fortunately, Exacq Vision is one of the best all around VMS solutions we have found, regardless of operating system, so we were very happy to run with that. We installed the Exacq Start server, which lets you run a single camera system for demonstration and test purposes. We also ran the Exacq Web Service which provides remote video management and control. The Exacq installation runs exceptionally well. In fact we think it runs better under Linux than Windows. The VMS can handle high demand cameras like Arecont AV8185 with no problem at all, and there is no problem remotely viewing the video using the Web Service.

For production systems you should purchase an appropriate camera license from Exacq. This can be from 1 to 12 cameras. While the microNVR can probably handle more cameras than this, provided no transcoding is involved, we don't recommend more than 12 cameras.

ZoneMinder is an open source VMS. It also runs well on the microNVR and provides a lot of features and functions, but is somewhat complex to configure and manage, when compared to Exacq. Also, as open source, there is no tech support department to call when you need help. Although the community support for ZoneMinder is pretty good.

To enable either of the VMS systems, all you need to do is log in and start the server processes using the Boot Up Manager GUI application. Can't be much easier than that.

Remote System Management
Since most installations of microNVRs are going to be in remote locations, where the microNVR will not be easily accessible, it has to have a very robust remote management capability. The first way to connect to the microNVR for management is using Virtual Network Computing (VNC). This gives you a full remote desktop as if you were locally attached with a monitor. This is very easy to use and gives you a nice GUI to configure everything with. But, VNC may not always work due to port forwarding restrictions or bandwidth limitations.

Both the Windows and Linux versions of the microNVR come with a Web Administrator interface. This powerful tool allows you to fully administrate the system from a web browser. The Web Administrator is easy to use and very fast. It even has an embedded Java VNC client so you can connect to the GUI desktop from within the Web Administrator if you like. From the web administrator you can install software, upgrade applications, start and stop system services, manage user accounts, transfer files and much more.

Connectivity Tools
Of course one of the most important aspects of the microNVR is its connectivity. Of course the microNVR comes with integrated 2.4GHz 802.11b/g/n MIMO and two 1Gbps Ethernet ports. But it also has 4 USB 2.0 ports which can be used for 3G and 4G modems. Users simply configure the modem using the graphic Network Manager application.

The microNVR Linux version comes pre-installed with a Dynamic DNS updater, a GUI firewall management application, and even full routing capabilities. It also has a DNS server, DHCP server, NTP server, OpenVPN client and server, StrongSWAN client and server and much more. All of the servers have simple to use GUI management applications or can be administered through the web administrator.

Capable Yet Simple
While this may all sound like a lot, the out of box experience with the microNVR Linux edition is very simple. We have learned a lot about customer experience, and making the microNVR easy to use is a top priority. Essentially the steps to configure the system are:

• Connect up the network
• Connect up the cameras
• Power on the system
• Log into the web administrator or use VNC 
• Enable the VMS system of your choice (Exacq or ZoneMinder)
• GO!!!

People who have not seen Linux recently should look at the microNVR Linux edition. It is really an excellent  solution that excels in many areas including performance, cost, reliability and remote management. 

Edge Video Processing

One of the biggest issues with distributed wireless video surveillance is bandwidth and scalability.

For the last 12 years, SentinelAVE has been developing scalable technology for Geo-spacial video data processing. Their flagship product is 3D Video Fusion, which I discussed in earlier blogs.

HauteSpot has been partnering with SentinelAVE to develop a new solution for in-vehicle mobile, nomadic, and remote location video. The idea is to create a system which records locally at full resolution from IP cameras that are attached to a microNVR. This video is evidence grade and provides full chain of evidence management including fragile digital watermarking for tamper proofing. At the same time streaming a highly bandwidth optimized stream to remote viewers for live situational awareness viewing.

SentinelAVE built a light version of their AVE server which is very efficient and runs extremely well on both the current microNVR v1 and prototype versions of the new microNVR version 2. The light version of AVE server can record and store locally on the microNVR host from up to 8 IP cameras, it can provide local display in a simple user interface, it can gather location, sensor, alarm, access control, SCADA, OPC and other related data, and is a good quality Video Management Server. More important, it can transmit in real time live or recorded streams using the SentinelAVE patent pending bandwidth optimized video protocol. Video can then be displayed in either a full Sentinel 3D or a lite 2D client.

How optimized is this stream? Last week we were back East at a customer site. We were connected using a tenuous 4G wireless connection. Download speed was fluctuating between 1 and 5 Mbps. We were displaying 5 cameras each in full VGA resolution using less than 2Mbps. When the network speed degraded to less than 2Mbps, we were still receiving images with slightly lower quality. In fact, usable video could be received down to less than 200kbps. Remember that we were recording all of the cameras at full frame rate and full resolution at the remote server end, so no evidence was lost.

We can capture GPS position, camera azimuth, camera tilt and camera velocity. This allows us to know exactly where the video is in 3 dimensional space, what it is looking at and where it is headed. Using this information, SentinelAVE can calibrate the image in real time to their 3D model background, allowing for  the model and the live video to be dynamically combined. Cameras can now roam the Earth and remote viewers will always have a context in which to comprehend the camera surroundings.

So how can this be used? For police, public safety, commercial central station monitoring and other mobile users, the microNVR with AVE is a low power, ultra compact, fully managed edge video processing platform that records and transmits over whatever available wireless network is available. Plus, you can display the video locally in the vehicle over 802.11 on any smartphone, PDA, tablet computer or laptop.

Put this solution on a bus or train and you have a location of the vehicle, the views of each camera inside and outside the vehicle, and a full context in which to view the video from the vehicle. You can also overlay data such as OMB 2 diagnostics, location, occupancy, etc. For school buses we can add RFID or badge readers, so at any time you can retrieve on screen the full passenger manifest of the bus. You can map entry and exit events of passengers to video. And you can relate surrounding buildings, streets, etc to video of a passenger as they leave or board the bus.

For dispatchers, incident commanders, central station monitoring stations the SentinelAVE 3D client presents camera displays in a the model so that they can see surrounding cameras, tie the cameras on the vehicle to cameras on poles near by. They can look ahead at traffic conditions. They can even control traffic signals, gates, valves, relays and other devices remotely.

Other solutions I have seen try to take video events and create text reports and alarms that can be combined with access control reports. SentinelAVE takes access control, alarms, SCADA and OPC and makes is visual, putting it right into the video display.

Look for product announcements soon regarding the new microNVR with SentinelAVE Lite Server.

Headed to ASIS

Today I am headed to the ASIS Conference in Orlando. In fact, I am at LAX waiting for my flight out as I write this. Business has been so busy this month and is forecasted to stay that way through the end of the month, that we really have had little time to prepare for this show.

On Thursday I was in LA working on formulating a RFP response for the LAPD Digital In-Car Video System. We have pulled together a great team of collaborators and expect to have an exciting, innovative, all IP solution for this project. As this project develops I will share what I can on the blog.

On Thursday afternoon I stopped in to see our team at SentinelAVE, our partner in developing 3D Live Video streaming. We have made great progress towards developing a new technical capability that will truly change the nature of remote video surveillance, particularly from mobile cameras. The team at Sentinel is amazing and they have added so many new features and made significant progress on our joint project. When we show you what we have built, you will be amazed.

Illuminar New IR Illuminator

Friday night I opened up two new microNVR systems, installed the latest versions of Exacq (4.7.11), ClearPix, and made sure all of the drivers, etc were current. Packed them in a box and stuck them in my suitcase, along with a ClearPix 180 camera, an Arecont AV8180 camera and an Arecont 1315 camera. Our plan is to set up one system at the Illiminar Booth 3610 with one of more of the cameras that we are bringing along, and to set up a second system in the Basler Booth 3253 using some of their cameras. Since we are arriving at the last minute, this is a good test of portability, configurability, and ease of use.

If you are in town for the ASIS show, please stop by either of the booths or give us a call so we can meet you.

On Wednesday I will be participating in the IPVideoMarket Info discussion that John Honovich is arranging in Orlando. This is the first time John has pulled together a meeting of industry folks to have a candid discussion about the surveillance market, trends, new products, etc. I am really looking forward to this innovative meeting and am expecting great things. I think the event is sold out, but you can check with John.

Global Emergency Resources at the Baltimore Grand Prix

First there was Hurricane Irene, and Global Emergency Resources (GER) and HauteSpot assisted first responders with evacuations by providing HC Standard patient tracking and the eWRAP mobile communications platform. "The systems just flat out work."

Baltimore Grand Prix Debuts With Muscle

Then came last week's Baltimore Grand Prix. GER deployed 6 eWRAPs along the race course. They powered them on at 7am on Friday morning and powered them off at 6pm on Sunday night. During the course of the event over 150 people received medical treatment and had their status tracked using HC Standard and the eWRAP. "Total success."

The story in the Baltimore Sun tells all about the event.  Suffice to say we were happy with the performance, particularly given the challenges of RF noise, changing reflection, heat and moisture. The eWRAP was a real trooper.

Havre de Grace Citizen’s Care Nursing Home Evacuated
Posted on September 8, 2011 by Adam Rybczynski

And now, over the past 3 days, Harford County MD had tremendous flooding, and GER was on the job again, with HC Standard and the eWRAP helping track the evacuation of 158 senior citizens from threatened nursing homes. Again, "everyone was ecstatic about the systems."

Over the past month, we have hundreds of hours of actual powered on use of the eWRAP and HC Standard in real disasters, with real lives at risk and real success.

We did learn a few things that we are now cooking into the eWRAP and HC Standard system. One of the most critical functions we added recently is central network health monitoring. Using a highly redundant  hosted server provider, we set up our HauteSpot Network Manager (HSNM) which monitors proactively every eWRAP system. We watch all facets of the system including CPU, IO, service status, connect time and more. Each eWRAP pushes log events to the HSNM server so we have a running record of all events on every device, so if there is a failure, we have a history to review.

HSNM also monitors each device by polling. Every eWRAP registers with the HSNM server and we have it's dynamic IP address being pushed, so we know when we last heard from each unit and what its condition was.

The next step for monitoring is to add carrier monitoring such as Verizon, ATT and Sprint, so we can get even more detail about system status.

We also ran some burn in tests. Connectivity Solutions Inc. in Sterling VA is our partner who builds the eWRAP into a rapid deployment kit. With the batteries that they provided in the kit, the eWRAP will run for 2 days (48 hours), without a recharge.

We also have been load testing the eWRAP with connections for hand held WiFi devices such as PDA, netbooks and the like. We have had over 100 active connections without any issues.

The eWRAP is a light weight, easy to deploy, weather proof, self contained communication platform. Just carry it to the scene, turn is on, and you are up.

With every incident we are improving the system performance, reliability, and management. The eWRAP is already the most reliable, most flexible, and easy to use communications platform there is.

Bob's Adventures in Wireless and Video: Saving Lives with GER and the eWRAP

Bob's Adventures in Wireless and Video: Saving Lives with GER and the eWRAP: Seniors in the path of Irene being evacuated, like those helped by GER. (Winston-Salem Journal)
Yesterday morning I received a phone...

Saving Lives with GER and the eWRAP

Seniors in the path of Irene being evacuated,
like those helped by GER.
(Winston-Salem Journal)

Yesterday morning I received a phone call from a very tired Stan Kuzia, the CEO of Global Emergency Resources. Stan and his team had been working all night long monitoring the evacuation of many seniors from nursing homes in the path of hurricane Irene.

Global Emergency Resources (www.ger911.com) delivers a complete solution for patient tracking and incident management for emergency first responders. Part of their solution is a router built by HauteSpot Networks known as an eWRAP (Emergency Wireless Routing Access Point).

Stan told me "The EMTs set up 6 eWRAPs around the nursing home where power had failed and land line communications were down. They flipped the battery power switch, and immediately they had a working wireless communication network." Stan continued, "The system worked flawlessly and we were able to track the movement of all of the patients using HC Standard. It was exactly the performance under fire we wanted to see."

Needless to say we are very pleased that the eWRAP was able to help GER deliver reliable communication as infrastructure for HC Standard, which in turn contributed to saving lives in the face of the coming flooding and storm damage.

Of course it is the bravery and dedication of the EMTs on scene who really are the ones to be credited, but if the eWRAP helped them better organize their response and data flow, then we are happy to have helped.

Time Flies When You are Busy

I could not let August slip away without at least one blog post. It has been busy, to say the least.

Fighting Crime the microNVR Way

The microNVR continues to be the focus of a lot of activity. Between law enforcement, home owner associations, and mobile broadcasters, we have seen a lot of interest. In fact, one investigator solved his first crime using the microNVR in a covert application. The microNVR was hidden in a plenum with pin hole cameras routed to an encoder. The cameras recorded at 30fps VGA using H.264. The microNVR recorded all of the "action" in the facility using record on motion. When certain high value merchandise went missing, the video files were reviewed remotely over the Ίnternet. Evidence was gathered and prosecutions are under way.

Mobile Wireless Video Streaming

We have recently seen a huge increase in mobile video applications. It is amazing to us that it took so long. We are now working with some partners on recording video on buses, trains, trolleys, police cars, and ambulance. Most of the projects involve local recording using the microNVR and other NVR systems. Then the video is either being viewed live using 3G/4G wireless through a HauteSpot WRAP router, or being transferred in batch once the vehicle arrives back in the maintenance yard. One system is even setting up an access point on the vehicle so that supervisors can roam up to the vehicle with a laptop and view the video from up to 1500 feet away combined with 5GHz MIMO to do very rapid file transfers in the yard.

We have been building mobile high speed wireless systems for video since 2005, and it is only now that we are seeing the market actually adopt this technology. With the advent of the microNVR, we now have a super compact solution that can be used in almost any mobile application. Just plug in an IP camera and away you go.

Always On Remote Control

One new feature that we are providing to a couple of customers is remote wireless power control. This allows a remote user to turn on and off electrical devices over a long range wireless link. This capability is useful for turning on or off higher power devices such as cameras, NVRs, switches, PTZ controllers, etc at sites or on vehicles that are concerned about constant power load (battery or solar). This feature can be implemented using our standard OFDM wireless which will consume about 400mA for always on service, or we can implement it as 802.15.4 or Zigbee which can run with as little as 100mA for always on service. A clean web interface, SNMP trap, or TCP API controls the relays remotely.

microNVR version 2

We are working on the next generation of microNVR, together with our partner SentinelAVE. This new product will be completely revolutionary. If the think the microNVR was cool, "gen 2" will knock your socks off. By combining an open video processing platform with state of the art wireless and wired networking capability into a super compact, super power efficient appliance, HauteSpot is allowing customers to distribute video processing and video data gathering at the edge. Literally you will have a full function server, wireless router, system health monitor, and video processing engine in a box that is smaller and draws less power than your car stereo (stock car stereo, not a ground shaker).

We might even have something to show at ASIS.

BTW, I will be going to ASIS, together with Mike Baron. If you would like to meet either of us and discuss projects, new products or whatever else, please send us an email. 

Flexibility versus support-ability

The microNVR has been out in the wild now for a couple of weeks. In general, the customers are very pleased. But we have a paradox to resolve.

The goal of the microNVR was to create a flexible platform for edge based video processing. That means that the microNVR needs to be able to support what our customers want to do with video. This can be anything such as:

• Record the video for surveillance or broadcast purposes
• Live stream video for surveillance or broadcast purposes
• Play video from recording or live stream
• Connect via 3G/4G or WiFi for backhaul
• Be fault tolerant for network failure and fail over
• Be easy to configure and use
• Be supportable and reliable

This is a tall order to fill. At first we created a configuration that we thought would meet 90% of the customer needs for routing, video processing, and connectivity. This set up the microNVR as a router with access point functions on the wireless, local record, and backhaul over one of the Ethernet ports. We were wrong.

Customers wanted to use the microNVR in almost any way except our pre-configured set up.

So we reworked the configuration into a dual boot system. At boot time the user can select "simple" or "advanced" configuration. Simple mode assumes that the customer doesn't need complex routing. Advanced mode is for applications where routing and fail-over is key.

Even with this change, we now have customers adding their own drivers and applications on top of our optimized Windows XP Pro build, some which work and some which require typical application support. So, by allowing customers the flexibility to build their own configuration, we create a support issue. We are selling the platform, but not necessarily the applications running on the platform. Customers are asking us to support the applications. Should we do this? Can we charge for this support? So far the customer reaction is: " You sold me the microNVR, you need to support it". Parenthetically they mean "even if I put software on it that you did not provide and which you have never seen before."

Should a hardware or platform vendor like Dell, HP, IBM or HauteSpot support every application a customer might put on their computer? If so, how do you pay for it? How much? Should the software vendors provide the support? Do you expect network computer manufacturers to support every application you load on their equipment?

It is an interesting paradox: Support vs Flexibility. We can lock it down and force customers to one configuration or we can open it up and let customers support themselves.

Your comments?

microNVR remoting through the iPhone

We just finished working with a key law enforcement customer on an application of the microNVR that I have to say is really cool. The microNVR, in case you don't know, is an ultra compact, super power efficient, highly capable Network Video Processing Platform for the edge.

This particular customer wanted a turnkey solution that could be used for covert surveillance. The idea is to attach an IP camera to the microNVR, then record and store locally motion events. The microNVR is then connected to the public Internet using either 3G, 4G, DSL or cable modem. The Internet connection allows live viewing as well as review recorded events. It needs to be plug and play simple.

So we set up exacqVision, together with a set of remote access tools that allowed the system to be remotely manageable via any web browser or an iPhone. The exacqVision Mobile 2  iPhone app makes viewing live video simple. When combined with the remote server management tools that we provide pre-installed on the microNVR, which also have iPhone apps, we delivered a complete, remote surveillance solution.

With the new microNVR we enable video to literally be recorded anywhere and then viewed and managed from anywhere. We tested the microNVR with MS Windows and Firefox, OSX and Safari on the Macintosh, and the iPhone with backhaul connections using DSL and 4G LTE using a Samsung "MiFi" device. In the case of DSL, we connected the microNVR via Ethernet. In the case of the MiFi, we connected using 802.11b/g/n. We swapped the links back and fourth to see how fail over worked.

In the end, we have made some pretty significant modifications to the configuration of the microNVR to support better ease of use. More important, we proved the use of the microNVR under a variety of connection options. I have to say that the microNVR kicks some serious A!*

Next week we will have our first production batch of systems ready for deployment. Are you ready to cut the wires?

Recap of NLE 2011

Two weeks ago the National Level Exercise 2011 concluded. For HauteSpot and Global Emergency Resources the results of the exercise were absolutely terrific. GER's HC Standard product provided reliable patient and resource tracking from various sites across multiple states to central management sites. HC Standard was embellished with live video streaming provided by the HauteSpot built eWRAP and microNVR.


Here is a short video sample showing HC Standard with live video being fed via 3G wireless over a eWRAP router.

http://www.hcvideo.biz/NLE2011_HSNGER.html 

In the case of Volk Field in Wisconsin we were 15 miles from the nearest Verizon tower. Despite this, for much of the exercise we were streaming VGA resolution video at 10fps back to the Internet. In the case of Meridian Mississippi, the cell tower was closer and we had a rock solid connection throughout the entire exercise.

The trick to reliable video from these remote sites was HauteSpots microNVR combined with the eWRAP. The microNVR provided on location recording of the video from a Moboix 3 megapixel camera at full resolution and frame rate. The microNVR also transcoded the video into a VGA resolution stream and then pushed it to a media server that HauteSpot set up for the exercise. The eWRAP provided a reliable connection back to the Internet that survived the "ups and downs" of the cellular network. The media server rebroadcast the video so that hundreds or even thousands of simultaneous viewers could watch the video.

What was really amazing was the trip home from Meridian MS. The GER team that was working at the Meridian site packed up at the end of the exercise to travel back to Augusta GA. They left the microNVR and eWRAP connected to the van power system while they drove.  The trip was over 400 miles and took over 7 hours.  Throughout the entire trip VGA resolution video streamed from the van over the 3G network at 10fps with no outages during the entire trip. Take a look (click to launch):

I recorded the video from the van throughout the entire trip home on my laptop computer in California over an cable Internet connection.

What does this all show? That even at 3G speeds of 50-150kbps, good quality VGA video is possible from moving vehicles if you architect your transmission application appropriately.

We are now looking at how to productize the media server architecture for reliable streaming. Watch for more soon.

National Level Exercise 2011 and HauteSpot

This week FEMA is conducting the 2011 National Level Exercise which will run across multiple states and simulate a major disaster, in this case an earthquake along the New Madrid fault line.

There are hundreds of agencies involved and being coordinated nationally.

Global Emergency Resources is providing their HC Standard system to run the exercise. HauteSpot is supporting GER with the eWRAP system which will provide live video feeds from locations in Mississippi and Wisconsin. This is also the first field test of the new microNVR which is recording and pushing the video from the remote sites. The video is integrated into the HC Standard application for reporting at the exercise command center.

There is a blog dedicated to the exercise which you can monitor the progress of the event. It is published by Tim Manning the Deputy Administrator for Protection and National Preparedness. Tim's job is to coordinate this and other preparedness exercises.

We are excited about this opportunity to prove the reliability of our equipment under extreme, real world conditions.

Stay tuned.

Bluetooth 3.0 - Might be something here

Bluetooth has been a low power short range solution for lower bandwidth connectivity between keyboards, mice, microphones and speakers. While operating on 2.4GHz it does not use the same protocol as 802.11 WiFi. Recent advancements in WiFi chipsets support Bluetooth coexistence so that interference between the two protocols is minimized. Bluetooth was made for short range, lower bandwidth applications.

What makes Bluetooth of interest for video is it's ease of use, low power consumption, and master-slave architecture.With the release of Bluetooth 2.0 bandwidth went up to 3Mbps. This was enough for limited video, but now with Bluetooth 3.0 the bandwidth goes up to 24Mbps.

Right now there are two very interesting products on the market which demonstrate where Bluetooth may go in the near future. One is the BT-1 camera. This camera costs $150, runs a respectable 4 hours on a charge, delivers 640x480 H.264 stream at 15fps and the reviews say that it has great image quality. The down side is that the range of the camera is only 30 feet and the only drivers that are available are for Macintosh. But for the price it seems to be a great deal. It even works with IPhone.

The other Bluetooth product that caught my attention is AirCable which claims to extend Bluetooth range up to 10km at very low power consumption. This solution is a low cost, low power, long range system of components that enables the creation of various wireless devices.

Their long range hub controller costs about $129 and they have a camera for $99. I did not like their camera specs very much as they had short run time, low resolution, and slow frame rate.

Assuming that the BT-1 camera generates about 256kbps of video stream, pre-compressed in H.264, then you could expect to be able to get 8 or more cameras per Bluetooth Aircable hub.

Now combine the two technologies into one and you get a good quality camera with VGA resolution, the ability to run 4 hours on a charge, a range of a thousand feet, point to multi point operation with support for up to 8 cameras per hub, a fast frame rate, small size, and really low cost. An entire system could be had for less than $300. Plug that into a netbook NVR or a smart phone and you have a very low cost long range wireless system.

All of the above is based on Bluetooth 2.0. Now just think about where this can go with Bluetooth 3.0 and the ability to have 24Mbps in bandwidth available.

Of course I am relying on the accuracy of the information on the vendors web sites. So there certainly could be something here that derails the usefulness of these products for surveillance, but they are very close to what the market is looking for.

I might buy these, kludge them together and see how they work.

April is Almost Over...Summer of Wireless Surveillance

April is almost over. Trade show season is winding down and we are all focusing back on work. This summer is going to be busy.

After the wonderful response that we saw to our product direction at ISC West, I made a decision to stop working on  MicroPower Technologies and focus full time on HauteSpot Networks. With our new microNVR, the recent orders that we received for the eWRAP emergency router platform, partnerships that we have now formed with military prime contractors, and general expansion of HauteSpot Networks success, there just was no time to work on MicroPower.


We have been working diligently with our partners to get a variety of different VMS software servers and clients running on the microNVR including exacqVision, Network Optix EVE and others. We have also been working on software for migration of video files from the internal disk drives or SSD to USB attached drives or wireless transfers. This is pretty easy to do, we just have to detect the presence of the target (ping it) and then zip up the files and do a batch transfer. This process can be completely automatic and scheduled in the microNVR.

The orders for the microNVR keep coming in and we are working to fulfill them as quickly as possible. Please be patient. Our backlog is about 3 weeks right now. We expect this to improve as we get forecasting and production in alignment.

Some of the applications that we expect to have closed, shipped and installed by the end of May will include:

Transportation - The microNVR is perfect for trains, buses, trucks, and other fleets. By combining an NVR with a full function router and supporting both Gigabit Ethernet, MIMO wireless (up to 80Mbps actual TCP throughput) AND 3/4G cellular, the microNVR locally records up to 8 2MP cameras at 8fps or faster, the microNVR replaces several separate devices with one ultra small unit. We have a fleet of buses at a major city evaluating the system for broad deployment. We have several commuter train systems looking at the system too.

Public Safety - The microNVR is perfect for pole cameras, covert remote surveillance and nomadic emergency applications. One major city police department is in the process of installing and testing several of the microNVRs in small enclosures mounted on poles, combined with PTZ megapixel cameras for narcotics and other investigations. We expect some other applications in the DOJ shortly.

This is a great time to install, since the weather is good and the economy is turning around.

HautSHOT microNVR at NAB Show 2011

Jim Jachetta at VidOvation is a busy guy. He arrived in Las Vegas on Friday so he could meet with HauteSpot, get some training on the new microNVR and set up his booth at the National Association of Broadcasters show.

Jim has been in the broadcast industry for a long time is one of the innovators in the industry. He has worked with Wes Simpson, our Directory of Business Development for many years. Jim is looking to bring more flexible technologies into the broadcast business, and HauteSpot is one of his partners.

Press Release On NAB, VidOvation and HauteSpot

The microNVR is a great product for broadcasters who want to gather content from remote locations. With it's ability to backhaul over pretty much any wireless technology (WiMAX, LTE, UMTS, EvDO, HauteSpot TLP, 802.11a/b/g/n, BGAN or whatever else you have available), its intelligence to determine what links are best to use, its large capacity internal storage, its integrated H.264 acceleration hardware, its small size, and its relatively low power consumption, it is a fully self contained remote edge content gathering platform.

We think broadcasters will want to use this for remote fixed cameras (traffic cameras, view cams, etc), live to air IP applications like web streaming of high school and college events, as a backup to large ENG operations, and who knows what else.

In an innovative application you could take up to 4 USB H.264 1080p web cameras, attach them to the microNVR and then start streaming back using the integrated web server or unicast push over 3/4g wireless. For less than $2000 you could have a complete ENG system in your pocket with 4 1080p 30fps camera heads. Yes, the optics are weak, but other than that, it is HD from a 4"x4"x1" box. Visit Jim at his booth #C7248 to see the microNVR.

ISC West Recap

We just got back from Las Vegas and this years ISC West show.

Before anything else, I have to first thank our team: Mike, Max, Charlotte P, Charlotte C, Crystal and Wes all did a great job at the show supporting both myself and our many customers. Great Job TEAM!!!

We had overwhelming positive reviews of both our new HauteShot microNVR. Among customer comments:

"HauteSpot Rocks!"
"You have to get up here to see this stuff, it is exactly what we need."
"It does all of that?"
"No way!"
 "That is the most amazing thing I have seen at the show."

We had one officer from LAPD travel all the way from LA to Vegas just to see the microNVR and then turn around and go back. After showing him the product and giving the demonstration I asked him if it was worth the trip, and he said that it was even better than he expected. "Definitely worth it."

To sum up the HauteShot microNVR:

• Its a full feature multi-protocol intelligent router
• Its a full feature video management server (choice of several server software options)
• Its a full feature network health manager
• It supports 3G, 4G, 802.11b/g/n, HauteSpot TLP, USB cameras, GPS, external USB storage
• It runs on 12VDC at only 8W
• It comes with either HDD or SSD
• It is only 4"x4"x1" and weighs less than a pound
• It has 1080p video out with H.264 hardware acceleration along with AES crypto off load

Cudos also go out to Ulrich Newman and Kelvin Chung for their presentation of Sentinel AVE 3D visualization software. Customers from several large security integrators had nothing but great things to say about Sentinel AVE.

It was a great show and a great showing by HauteSpot. Thanks everyone.

Recap on Autoclub Speedway

 Last Sunday I went to the races with Tom Zeeman from MicroPower. As chronicled in last weeks blog, we were there to get an idea of how to make wearable wireless video work in this challenging environment.

We walked the entire raceway from the pits, to the garage, to the grandstands. Throughout the walk through we recorded all of the wifi traffic and spectrum analysis.

What we found was that NASCAR is very dependent on wireless. There were 43 teams, each had some radios for voice communications, a backhaul data link to the trailer from the pit. Satellite downlinks and terrestrial rebroadcast to many monitoring stations was common. Wifi was used for cameras and telemetry, although surprisingly infrequently.

It is very noisy, both in the audible range and in the RF range. We found that most of the teams had given up on wireless video from wearable cameras. There were two teams that had something that worked, but pretty much everyone else had given up on it. We found over 150 SSIDs being broadcast from almost 280 APs. That was just the 2.4GHz band. Then go up to 5GHz and we found another 60 SSIDs.

The photo on the right is a great example of what you see in the pits. Look at all of those hot sticks with antennas on top of them. Every one has an AP.

The upshot of all of this is that wireless is a challenge. But we have a plan. Of course I cannot tell you here how we are going to overcome the noise and make the Mini-i work. Suffice to say we are expecting that within this race season you will see MicroPower cameras on one or more teams. Look for our stickers, hats and jackets coming soon...

MicroPower at AutoClub Speedway for Auto Club 400

Tomorrow I am leaving at 3am from San Luis Obispo to drive down to Fontana in order to be there by 9am. Why would I do this, you ask? For NASCAR.

MicroPower Technologies was asked by one of the race teams to outfit their pit crews with the MicroPower Mini-i camera. For those of you that haven't heard, the Mini-i is a ultra compact, wearable, always on IP camera that can stream VGA video at up to 30 fps for up to 14 hours without a charge.

So why do we need to go to the race before we install? "Discretion is the better part of valor." A couple of years ago HauteSpot provided wireless routers to Med Media who used them for emergency medical communications at the NASCAR race at the Poconos race track. We learned first hand that car racing is very, very high tech. There were radios on every conceivable frequency and there were a whole lot of them.

We saw radios used for Electronic News Gathering (sports broadcasting), video on the cars, video in the pits, audio between the pit crew chiefs and the drivers, audio to the cars, WiFi in the grandstands, telemetry to the cars, public safety radios, and who know what else. If there is one event that is fully saturated from an RF perspective, it is a modern NASCAR race.

So, we are going right into the center of the storm to check out the conditions. I am bringing with me a netbook loaded with analysis software, a WRAPDXCi-MN router that will be used for spectrum analysis and to act as a proxy for the MicroPower hub, a HauteSpot GPS device, a battery pack and miscellaneous parts. The idea is to check out the RF noise floor and make sure that we can come up with a plan to deploy the Mini-i cameras without being disrupted by the din of other devices and to make sure that the Mini-i does not disrupt some other critical service.

If all goes as we plan, we will have a complete characterization of the race event under real world conditions. Then we can plan for success, using an appropriate deployment strategy. Stay tuned. We will be crossing the finish line shortly.

HauteSpot Networks Invites you to meet at ISC West

HauteSpot Networks would like to invite you to visit our Hospitality Suite in the Palazzo hotel during the ISC West show. Throughout the show days (April 5th to 8th) HauteSpot will be offering a set schedule of product demonstrations and informational training programs. Space is limited at each presentation to 10 people. We are accepting attendees on a first come, first serve basis. Each session is led by a HauteSpot engineer. If your company would like a private discussion, just book one of the sessions for a group of 10, or send us an email to sales@hautespot.net .

The sessions we have scheduled are:


Introduction to HauteSpot Networks Wireless Site Survey and Design - This brief, but informative overview, teaches effective approaches to designing HauteSpot wireless projects or systems. We will discuss beneficial design tools and what important information to gather in order for a HauteSpot engineer to construct a bill of material specific to your project. Getting the information right the first time will save you time and money, as well as making you look like a star to your customers! Sign up to attend this presentation here: http://www.hautespot.net/index.php/news/events/iscwest/isc-west-2011-introduction-to-wireless-site-survey-and-design
 
Introduction to TDMA Wireless IP Video - Learn about the advantages of using Time Division Multiple Access Wireless for IP Video instead of 802.11 or mesh based collision protocols. Are you tired of wireless systems that make your awesome megapixel cameras look terrible. We will review what the actual performance of wireless for megapixel cameras are and give a brief demonstration using protocols which are specifically designed for streaming video. If high definition is your goal, then poor wireless performance should not be a road block to achieving this goal. Sign up to attend this presentation here: http://www.hautespot.net/index.php/news/events/iscwest/intrototdma
 
Introduction to and Demonstration of HauteSHOT microNVR - Be the first to see the future of video surveillance edge devices. We will demonstrate the capabilities of the HauteSHOT microNVR which combines a full feature wireless router with a full feature network video recorder into one compact, highly capable device. Put your applications at the edge of your network and reduce the costs and complexity of your systems. The microNVR puts application server and network router performance in a 4"x4"x1" micro box that can be placed anywhere. Sign up to attend this presentation here: http://www.hautespot.net/index.php/news/events/iscwest/micronvrdemo

 
Introduction to and Demonstration of HauteSpot MIMO Routers - MIMO technology is now ready for outdoor applications. MIMO takes advantage of reflection and refraction to improve range and throughput. While not a panacea, it does help in many situations. HauteSpot has packaged a reliable, cost effective solution that delivers amazing performance for megapixel streaming video. See a demonstration of HauteSpot MIMO routers and learn how, and when, to use this new technology effectively in video surveillance applications. Sign up to attend this presentation here: http://www.hautespot.net/index.php/news/events/iscwest/mimodemo


Introduction to and Demonstration of SentinelAVE Augmented Visual Earth - Change the way you look at surveillance video. Don't just watch a flat matrix of images, immerse yourself in a virtual world where you can tell exactly what you are looking at and where your intruder is. We will show you the amazing SentinelAVE system which overlays video cameras, sensor and control data directly onto 3D models creating a completely immersive video management environment for large campus or municipal environments. Think of it as Google Earth with live video embedded into it. A great application for central station video monitoring, campus and facility security, and much more. Sign up to attend this presentation here: http://www.hautespot.net/index.php/news/events/iscwest/avedemo


Wireless Project Design Lab - Do you have a really complex video surveillance deployment where you want to use wireless, but just are not sure how to do it? Do you have a project that requires wireless but you don't have any experience in designing wireless networks? Come let the HauteSpot wireless engineers help you design your project. During the lab, all of our engineers who are attending the show will be available to meet with you and review your projects making specific, actionable recommendations on your wireless network design for IP video surveillance.There is not cost for this, just a willingness to partner with HauteSpot to win business. To reserve a time in the Project Design Lab sign up here: http://www.hautespot.net/index.php/news/events/iscwest/designlab

Of course we would also be happy to schedule a face to face private meeting with you to discuss whatever topics you may wish. Just send us an email or call so we can work our a time that is agreeable for both of us.

We look forward to seeing you at ISC West.

ISC West 2011 Show

Next month, April 5-8, is the ISC West Show 2011 (International Security Conference) in Las Vegas at the Sands Convention Center. This year, like every year since HauteSpot Networks started in 2005, we will be attending. This year we are forgoing a booth in favor of a hospitality suite at the Palazzo hotel where we will have a complete test lab set up including various megapixel cameras, our wireless routers and our new microNVR wireless NVR.

Getting away from the show floor allows us to have more productive time with our customers where we can talk without the din of the crowds and where we can spread out to show our products in action. If you would like to get together to see our new products or discuss your project requirements, just send a note to sales@hautespot.net with times that you are available.

Live Wireless Demonstrations
We will be demonstrating our new TDMA Like Protocol (TLP) version 2 running on our WRAPSXC and WRAPDXC routers, proving interoperability with several megapixel cameras including the Arecont AV10005 10 megapixel and AV8180 multi imager MJPEG megapixel camera (both of which represent the most challenging wireless cameras to support in the industry), the new ClearPix line of megapixel cameras from DVR Distributors and more.

Cool New Products - microNVR
We will also be announcing and demonstrating the new microNVR wireless NVR. This amazing new device is only 4"x4"x1", runs on 12VDC, consumes only 10 watts, yet combines our full feature HauteRouterOS router capability, embedded high capacity storage (up to 500GB), and your choice of Windows or Linux operating systems with complete Video Management System (VMS). We built this product for law enforcement to install on motorcycles or to be worn. But the applications for it are immense.

By combining a complete wireless router (which is capable of bridging, routing, meshing, providing user authentication, monitoring system health, and much more) with a complete PC operating system platform we are delivering a solution that is unlike anything else in the industry. It is ideal for mobile and distributed edge applications. The system has an integrated 1080p capable video adapter so you can display your high resolution video on any high quality monitor.

We are in the process of testing the microNVR with a number of different megapixel cameras and Video Management software solutions. Many of these will be on display at ISC.

Cool New Products - H.264 Wireless VideoPhone Camera
We realized that the microNVR needed a wireless camera that could be paired with it. The new IPCamVGA is a compact, light weight, fully wireless H.264 camera with integrated SIP VoIP support. The camera runs from 12VDC and consumes only 2.5watts, making battery power practical. What is really unique about it is that it is a fully functional Voice Over IP device. So you can integrate it into VoIP phone switches. This is ideal for use by police, fire, ambulance and public transit agencies and can be directly integrated into VoIP dispatch systems or bridged to Land Mobile Radio systems.

Combining the microNVR with the IPCamVGA into a wireless video system allows you to create innovative and cost effective solutions for mobile, nomadic and small fixed wireless surveillance solutions. For example the microNVR can be mounted on a police motorcycle with the officer wearing a battery powered IPCamVGA and a couple of IP cameras or even USB Webcams mounted on the bike. The officer could roam away from the bike and still have live video recorded and backhauled to supervisors. When the officer returns to the police station, the HauteSpot high speed wireless would automatically transfer the day's video wirelessly from the bike to the station.

For public transit the microNVR and IPCamVGA could be quickly and easily installed on buses without any wiring. Same for small stores, homes, or almost anywhere.

Cool New Products - WRAP STATION LC 5N

Adding to the tremendous success of our WRAP STATION LC line of low cost, all in one (antenna and router) station routers for wireless video, we will be demonstrating the new 5GHz MIMO version. This solution delivers excellent performance when paired with one of our WRAPSXC or WRAPDXC base station routers. Ideal for megapixel camera networks and it uses our TLP protocol for reliable video performance.

Super-Cool New Products - SentinelAVE

We will also be demonstrating the SentinelAVE (Augmented Virtual Earth) 3D visualization product. This amazing tool allows live video and data to be overlaid onto 3 dimensional maps and models, creating a highly intuitive and fully immersive video information management interface. You have to see it to believe it.



Meet The HauteSpot Team
We are bringing several of our team members with us, so that our customers can meet our team in person. Mike Baron and Max Bateman from Technical Support, Charlotte Powell from Sales Operations, Charlotte Chang from Marketing, and Wes Simpson from Business Development will all be there. We invite our customers to arrange for meetings with any one of our team members. Come up to the suite and relax. It is just a short walk from the show floor and we will have refreshments and snacks too. Again, if you would like to get together to see our new products or discuss your project requirements, just send a note to sales@hautespot.net with times that you are available.

We hope to see you at ISC West. Please let us know if we can meet you there.