Axis launches new chipset, places emphasis on smart city deployments at ISC West 2019

Axis Communications, one of the pioneers of IP video surveillance, has in recent years diversified its product portfolio beyond cameras to include a wide range of solutions, including access control, perimeter intrusion radar and network audio. These solutions were designed to help security integrators take advantage of emerging tech opportunities in product categories that had traditionally not been IP-enabled.

At ISC West on April 10, the company returned to its roots, launching a chipset – the ARTPEC 7 – which promises to serve as the backbone for Axis’ next generation of video surveillance products.

In a press conference on Wednesday, Fredrik Nilsson, Vice President of the Americas for Axis Communications, said that the ARTPEC chips, the first generation of which made their debut 20 years ago, gives the company the ability to build in a variety of new capabilities in their surveillance products moving forward, such as enhanced intelligence/analytics and improved compression and image quality.

“This is really a big deal for us,” Nilsson says. “We haven’t really talked about our chipset too much in the past but we figured in this day and age, it is important to show what the difference is when you control your own technology.”

Among some of the improved image quality features that will be automatically enabled through the use of the new chipset include:

• Lightfinder 2.0 ­– delivers more saturated and realistic colors than was previously capable in low-light scenes using Lightfinder 1.0, along with sharper images of moving objects even in the darkest areas.
• Forensic WDR - provides clearer images of moving objects as well as enhanced detail in backlit scenes, or scenes with big differences between the lightest and darkest areas.
• Increased sensitivity to light - significantly extends the range of illumination for Axis cameras with IR. 

“I think this is a major step in the evolution of security cameras because, in particular in smart cities, most of the incidents do happen when it’s dark and that’s when you really need that ability to see,” Martin Gren, the co- founder of Axis says.

Gren adds that they also built more room into the chipset to accommodate machine learning technology.

“We can actually run a lot of analytic applications already on the ARTPEC 7. This is opened up for our partners and about half of the chip area is dedicated for machine learning, so there are quite a few interesting possibilities,” he explains.   

Additionally, ARTPEC 7 will also help improve the cybersecurity of Axis products as it provides for “signed firmware,” meaning that only secure, authorized firmware from the company can be installed on any product using it, as well as “secure boot,” which according to Gren, prevents someone from inserting a phony image into a camera. 

According to Nilsson, two of the company’s newest cameras – the P1375 and P5655-E PTZ – are currently using the ARTPEC 7. “Over the next couple of months and next year, we’re going to introduce many more products based on the ARTPEC 7 chipset that really furthers the industry overall,” Nilsson adds.

Smart Cities in Focus

In addition to launching ARTPEC, both Nilsson and Gren discussed the trend towards building smarter and safer cities in the U.S. and abroad and some of the innovative uses that municipalities have found for the company’s products.

While cameras are paramount for any safe city project, Gren says they are not the only technologies that should be used by cities to make them safer and cited how products like loudspeakers and emergency phones can also be important tools in preventing and mitigating crime.

In New Orleans, for example, the city has leveraged the company’s network radar detector to catch those who illegally dump trash. Another southern U.S. city, Atlanta, is using an intelligent traffic management solution by Citilog, a company acquired by Axis in 2016, to ease congestion along its North Avenue corridor.

Nilsson says these examples point back to the “livability” of a city, which he says is impact by six things, including:

• Efficiency of services;
• Mobility;
• Safety and security;
• Economic growth and city image;
• Reputation; and
• Sustainability.

As such, he explains that the security industry should be focused on delivering solutions that help improve livability.

“There are many different aspects of that. I dare to say the most important thing you may not think about is to feel secure and safe,” he says.

About the Author: 

Joel Griffin is the Editor of SecurityInfoWatch.com and a veteran security journalist. You can reach him at [email protected].