Overview:

All security systems perform the same fundamental task – sort through everyday events to identify the exceptions to this that pose a risk to safety and security, then call attention to them. This editing process has traditionally taken place manually. Human operators observe events as they unfold through “live” monitoring and/or by watching recordings of these events. A fundamental factor in the success or failure of this approach is the limits of human attention.

Typically, long periods of uneventful monitoring are punctuated by the occasional false alarm. This presses beyond the limits of the human capacity for maintaining attention. Even the most dedicated, best trained security professional loses focus after less than an hour on duty.

To counter this, effective security systems must provide automated solutions to assist in this sifting process to make best use of human attention. The arrival of end to end digital IP based systems offers a fundamental advance in the development of event based recording techniques through intelligent analysis capabilities. However, the implementation of such solutions has been hampered by an inefficient workflow dictated by legacy system architecture. Mimicking age old human security organizations, these systems consolidate intelligence on the back end. This creates workflow bottlenecks that limit capabilities, drive up costs, and create systems that continue to press beyond the limits of human attention.

Sony’s Distributed Enhanced Processing Architecture (DEPA) is a fundamental advance in system design that divides up processing tasks by placing analysis capabilities in 1st generation network cameras matched with back end processing capabilities. This workflow innovation enables a new generation of systems that are inherently more efficient and effective and that better respect the boundaries of human attention. The arrival of DEPA marks a new stage in the development of security systems akin to the shift from centralised mainframe based corporate computing to today’s de centralised, networked PC environment