Panasonic Wins Industrial Design Award for Color Dome Camera

Secaucus, NJ (July 13, 2006) – This year's most innovative designs, trendsetting concepts and coolest creations were winners of the 2006 Industrial Design Excellence Award (IDEA) competition, a celebration of the best product designs of the year and one of the world’s most prestigious design competitions. The IDEA award, co-sponsored by the Industrial Designers Society of America and BusinessWeek, celebrates the impact of good design on the bottom line.

The WV-CS954 Unitized Day/Night Color Dome Camera from Panasonic Security Systems, a division of Panasonic System Solutions Company (PSSA), received a Silver IDEA Award, BusinessWeek announced today. In their write-up of the award-winning camera, BusinessWeek wrote that the WV-CS954 “turns protection into a design element, and lends dignity to an icon that is usually visually invasive."

"We are pleased to have been recognized for the sleek, contemporary design and intelligent functionality of this camera," said Frank DeFina, President, Panasonic System Solutions Company. "For companies needing advanced, reliable video surveillance systems, this award-winning camera offers a simple, unobtrusive form that blends into its environment – yet is immediately recognizable as an advanced security device."

The BusinessWeek IDEA report, with an in-depth analysis of the winners, reached newsstands June 30. IDSA’s quarterly magazine, Innovation, will publish information on the winners in its annual Yearbook this fall. Panasonic was the top winner from the corporate world, with six awards. “With the rapid changes occurring in technology, commerce and society, it takes real leadership to define meaningful new products and services and deliver them to the market,” said Jury Chair Chris Conley, IDSA, co-founder and director of Chicago-based consulting firm Gravity Tank. “The 2006 IDEA winners represent the best of global product design and the best people and firms working to realize design's potential in everyday life.”

“In April 2002, Panasonic integrated and revitalized its design management activities, which had previously been carried out in individual division and affiliate companies," said Mr. Toyoyuki Uematsu, President of Panasonic Design Company, a division company of Matsushita Electric Industrial. "This was part of our effort to promote Panasonic brand awareness and elevate trust in the reliability of Panasonic products. Through its design, which emphasizes innovative technologies, universal design and consideration for harmony with the environment, Panasonic aims to help people realize a better quality life.”

Panasonic’s WV-CS954 Unitized Day/Night Color Dome Camera sports a sleek new design that Panasonic is implementing across its wide range of video surveillance products. In addition to the device’s extraordinary design, it incorporates Panasonic’s unparalleled Super Dynamic III (SDIII) technology which provides unique imaging capabilities including: 128x dynamic range; pixel-based digital contrast correction; Auto Image Stabilizer to minimize effects of vibration and wind; Auto Focus to maintain image detail and clarity across its extensive zoom range; Auto Tracking to follow an individual’s movements within the camera’s field of view; Scene Change Detection to alert if the camera has been tampered with; 30X optical zoom (300X electronically); Adaptive Digital Noise Reduction to minimize image streaking when viewing moving images; 540 lines of color resolution; and extreme low light sensitivity in color (0.5 lux) and BW (0.06 lux).

Additional features of the WV-CS954 include; Day/Night operation; privacy zone masking; built-in digital motion detection; digital-flip for automatic 180ÅŸ turning; 360ÅŸ endless fine panning at a max speed of 400ÅŸ/second; RS-485 communications; alarm inputs/outputs; VD2 internal synchronization; and 256 presets. It is the most feature-rich video surveillance dome camera available.