ObjectVideo wins R&D work

ObjectVideo Inc. won two contracts worth up to $3.2 million over the next three year to develop next-generation capabilities for intelligent video surveillance systems.

The contracts were awarded by the Homeland Security Advanced Research Project Agency, said officials from the Reston, Va., company. HSARPA is the research arm of the Homeland Security Department.

The agency invests in programs offering the potential for revolutionary changes in technologies promoting homeland security. ObjectVideo won two of four contracts available to study "Automated Scene Understanding," company officials said.

Both the public and private sector have deployed sophisticated security networks that use closed circuit television, specialized video and infrared cameras, radars, and other sensors to provide physical security and general awareness.

These systems, said ObjectVideo officials, have created an explosion of data that outstrips the capacity for human operators to monitor, increasing the chances of systems being ignored, mismanaged or rendered ineffective.

HSARPA has hired ObjectVideo to address this problem. Solutions include automated threat awareness and dynamic adaptability.

Instead of monitoring a specific area on a continual basis, this system recognizes specific mobile assets, understands what rules apply to them, and automatically adjusts to protect them, no matter where they appear. It does all of this without a systems operator intervening.

"HSARPA is seeking to amplify the effectiveness of vital security systems by taking a key component of those systems ? intelligent video surveillance?to the next level," said Alan Lipton, chief technology officer of ObjectVideo.