Add-ons for Milestone XProtect video protection systems notes - Add-ons for MXP … · Add-ons for Milestone XProtect video protection systems Reference NOTE16.04.002.CSA IPARTNER

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Add-ons for Milestone XProtect

video protection systems

Technical notes Reference : NOTE 16.04.002.CSA

Add-ons for Milestone XProtect video protection systems

Reference NOTE16.04.002.CSA



Table of contents

1. IPARTNER ADDITIONAL PLUGINS ............................................................................................................................................1

1.1 IPARTNER IN A FEW WORDS .........................................................................................................................................................1 1.2 MILESTONE XPROTECT IS THE CONTAINER .........................................................................................................................................1

2. DATA CONNECTOR PLUGIN .....................................................................................................................................................2

2.1 MAKE MILESTONE XPROTECT HYPER-CONNECTED ..............................................................................................................................2

3. EVENTS PLUGIN ......................................................................................................................................................................4

4. GRAPHICS PLUGIN ..................................................................................................................................................................5

5. WALL PLUGIN .........................................................................................................................................................................8

6. DUTY LOG PLUGIN ..................................................................................................................................................................9

6.1 DESIGN YOUR OWN PROCESS ..........................................................................................................................................................9 6.2 SIMPLE AND SECURE ...................................................................................................................................................................10 6.3 OPERATOR GUIDELINES TABLE MANAGEMENT ..................................................................................................................................11 6.4 STATISTICAL EXPLOITATION OF DATA ..............................................................................................................................................12

6.4.1 Basics .............................................................................................................................................................................12 6.4.2 Risk mapping .................................................................................................................................................................13 6.4.3 Automated viewing and positioning of cameras...........................................................................................................13 6.4.4 The DUTY LOG as a maintenance management tool ....................................................................................................13

7. VIDEO-BASED TICKETING PLUGIN ......................................................................................................................................... 14

7.1 PROCESS ..................................................................................................................................................................................14 7.2 RESOURCES ...............................................................................................................................................................................15 7.3 BENEFITS ..................................................................................................................................................................................15

8. PARTNER GATEWAY SOLUTION ............................................................................................................................................ 16

9. MILESTONE COMPLIANCE ..................................................................................................................................................... 18





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1. IPARTNER addit ional plugins

1.1 IPARTNER in a few words

IPARTNER is a French company, mainly involved in Operations Centres equipment for safety/security in Cities, in any critical industrial or military site, and in transportation (urban transport, airports, ports, railway & stations, road & traffic).

As a software expert, IPARTNER chose Milestone XProtect platform as the core component of its safety/security monitoring solutions. Milestone is the world leader in VMS. The platform opening facilitated add-ons development dedicated to our customers’ businesses and made Milestone a strategic partner.

Our 20-years experience in safety/security software market in France and Southern Europe inspired these notes.

1.2 Mi lestone XProtect is the container

To meet the specific requirements expressed in customers’ specifications, it is often necessary to expand the functional coverage of XProtect with additional software components. These include providing the VMS with business functions such as the DUTY LOG, ergonomic user functions such as freehand lasso function or real-time display of cameras viewing cone (which allows the operator to locate the video quickly on operational theatre). More advanced functions like image analysis, urban devices monitoring (Variable Display Panel, retractable bollard, geolocation of vehicles, emergency calls from the merchants, etc.), and the possibility to share and/or to provide national authorities with the city’s videos are current concerns of a security system.

To integrate these systems and implement these functions, the XProtect standard provision is boosted by specific plugins (additional software modules) and solutions, developed by IPARTNER such as:

The DATA CONNECTOR plugin and its graphical functions

The EVENTS plugin

The GRAPHICS plugin

The WALL plugin

The DUTY LOG plugin

The VIDEO-BASED TICKETING plugin

The PARTNER GATEWAY solution

We will activate advanced features of XProtect, such as ONVIF Bridge, or the use of the Push module, which allows a citizen or a police officer to take a video, from his smartphone and to distribute it to the Operations Centre (OC) for recording and display on operators' monitors.





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2. DATA CONNECTOR plugin

2.1 Make Mi lestone XProtect hyper -connected

The aim of this software module is to expand the XProtect VMS in order to provide it with business functions and complementary applications that make it perfectly in compliance with your requirements.

The DATA CONNECTOR plugin is a software service that runs next to the XProtect management server and supports the collection of data that are not managed by XProtect. For example, these include communication drivers for third-party systems, location information (Pan, tilt, Zoom) of motorized domes or specific commands for managing an image wall other than the Milestone SmartWall.

The DATA CONNECTOR plugin has a multitude of drivers. Like XProtect, with the issue of video heterogeneity, it works as a multi-protocol converter. It communicates with XProtect in a compliant way (MIP SDK, generic events) and standardizes the exchanges between the VMS and the field equipment.

This opening feature joins and extends the one advocated by Milestone and its XProtect solution. This gives your system greater flexibility over hardware evolutions and choice of solutions that might appear after the first installation.

The DATA CONNECTOR plugin has an extensive library of drivers and protocols for third-party systems. It uses most of the transmission means: serial port (RS232, RS422, RS485), IP port, industrial field bus.

In addition to the OPC, Modbus and SIA protocols, the DATA CONNECTOR plugin includes drivers for a large product range:

Advantech (ADAM, PCI, PCL),

Ugis,

ICP automaton,

access control (Nedap, Alcea, Evolynx, Chubb, Siemens, continuum TAC),

KEY FEATURES

• Multi-protocols gateway

• A unique link with XProtect

• Web-based administration

• Configuration tools

• Redundancy management

3-t

ier

arc

hitectu

re

Field equipment

Services

Clients

DATA CONNECTOR Service

Smart Client

Sensors, actuators and third-party systems : • video, access control, intrusion detection, automation, • CTMS (Centralised Technical Management System),

• BMS (Building Management System), etc

Specific protocols and drivers,modbus,profibus, SNMP,

RS232, RS422, IP, etc

Web server

http://...

Milestone Xprotect server





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intrusion detection (Sorhea, Honeywell, GE Master, Gunnebo ...),

image processing (Digital Barrier, Foxstream, ...),

SREI displays,

intercom (Commend, Stentofon),

fire panel (DEF),

PTI,

etc.

Modbus communication allows interfacing with third-party systems such as PCVIEW, PANORAMA or PRYSM.

All of these drivers constitute an important basis for retrieving field data and providing, according to an established business model, a uniform user interface whatever the equipment used.

The DATA CONNECTOR plugin meets the integration requirements of several subsystems within the federating interface of the video management system.





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3. EVENTS plugin

As its name suggests, the EVENTS plugin provides an advanced events management:

Digital input,

Timers, counters,

Sensor status : ON, OFF, inhibit, enable, disable, in maintenance, in repair,

Measurements,

Alarms: “mother” alarm, “daughter” alarm, alarm synthesis, operating alarm, technical alarm

Inference engine based on production rules (conditions/actions), evaluating initiating events and triggering, when applicable, status change instructions.

This tool allows, through a configuration interface (DATA MANAGER), to define the connected field devices, events, alarms and management rules. The rules can make several sub-systems interact: video surveillance, intrusion detection, image analysis, urban access control…

The DATA CONNECTOR filters the alarms effectively returned to operators, by correlating the various alarm sources according to operating rules.





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4. GRAPHICS plugin

The GRAPHICS service publishes its data toward graphical components. The operations manager designs its own GUI, gathering graphical components and enabling among other things:

Display a map with a hierarchy of plans, for a smooth and effective navigation,

Display an alarm manager to be processed by the operators (alarms are saved in the database),

Dispose of ergonomic functions of multiple selection (freehand lasso function, map attraction),

Display on the map, the projection of the viewing cone of cameras,

Mix various video sources on GUI: cameras, recorders, http streams (websites), DVI output of remote computers.

The SmartClient integrates the Web pages that strengthen the user interface created from the various modules. The supervision environment remains unique and centralized, based on the XProtect application.

The following figures illustrate examples of interfaces made available to operators and built by assembling the graphic modules of the GRAPHICS plugin.

Interface compositions examples, based on GRAPHICS components





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Maps are structured and ranked to give a quick access and allow intuitive navigation from one map to another. The list of cameras is structured to present to the operator a merging by zone of the accessible devices.

To facilitate the selection and display of several cameras “in a single action”, the interface offers a freehand lasso function. The selection includes the cameras within the lasso area.

When the motorized cameras communicate their position feedback (PTZ), the map displays their viewing cones in real time. The system updates the viewing cones at regular intervals without disrupting the use of the joystick.

The “map attraction” function allows the first n cameras of the selected map to be displayed on the screens surrounding the map. The operator immediately has the video context attached to the displayed map.

The viewing system allows displaying several types of streams including http streams (for example, the official site of the road traffic around your site) or the video output (DVI output) of a remote computer (for example, the video output of the patrols geolocation workstation).





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Direct visualization of the website presenting in real time the state of road traffic.

This feature allows access to any authorized Web site.

Note : The access rights and the network settings (VPN, firewall) must be decided and validated by the IT system management.

The GRAPHICS plugin provides operator with interactive mapping functions, telemetry information (PTZ, GPS), as well as new user-friendly tools for fast selection and displaying of the video sources.





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5. WALL plugin

The IPARTNER toolbox also offers software, called WALL, dedicated to image walls management. Any current Video Management System is able to integrate WALL, featuring http protocol. WALL displays XProtect video streams, ONVIF video streams, VNC streams (remote desktop from a remote PC) as well as web feeds.

To control the image wall appearance, the operator uses a panel that displays an avatar representation of the real image wall. The operator simply selects a video source and places it on a virtual monitor with a single click.

By a simple “drag & drop”, the operator selects, from the list or directly on the map, the camera he wishes to switch on to a monitor of the image wall. In a single click, he’s able to save and restore complete display configurations

The WALL plugin meets the requirements of an enhanced image wall management: displaying of video sources, remote PC video output, web content served by a third party information system.





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6. DUTY LOG plugin

6.1 Design your own process

The DUTY LOG is an essential business function and a key element of the Operations Centre (OC). It ensures the monitoring of events that took place in the service: intervention, telephone calls, alarms, incoming / outgoing mail, etc.

Reports and statistics (filtered by district, street, date, stakeholder, type of event, etc.) use the events stored in a database and organized by types.

The types of events managed by this tool must be adapted to the context in which the system is used and to the work habits of the operators. It is logical to assume that the events managed by the urban Operations Centre of a municipal police force will differ significantly from those managed by the OC of an industrial site. It seems impossible to propose a universal tool capable of meeting the expectations of all the potential users of the DUTY LOG. Based on this observation, the DUTY LOG design allows taking account of the users adjustments in order to obtain the desired tool:

Provision of a data meta-model,

Defining event types handled by the DUTY LOG,

Graphic editor of forms associated with event types and parameterization of the information contained in these forms.

In operation, when a new event occurs, the operator creates a new form by selecting one of the predefined event types. Your web browser displays a copy of the corresponding reference form with its pre-filled fields (date, time, operator name, type of event).

When completed, the form is saved in the database so that it can be reprocessed for statistical analysis (search by author, date, type of events).

This generic and open principle of dynamic creation of event types (road offense, patrol intervention, consignment of a personnel at the OC, telephone call, etc) and their association with a relevant form, offers a professional and operational solution.

The DUTY LOG has the main following functions:

User Authentication: Each operator has an account (login and password) and belongs to a user group (Consultation, Event Editing, Administration),

Editing guidelines for one or more operators,

Dynamic creation of forms from an intuitive graphical editor: creation, positioning and sizing of fields,

Associating a form with one or more event types,

Input, printing and editing of an event,

Event search based on date, event type, and full text extract of one or more data fields,

Statistics in the form of graphs, evolution (curve) or proportion (pie chart). Filters generate relevant data to display as graphic files (.png format) or as .csv files compliant to your favorite spreadsheet.

The current DUTY LOG is based on a Web architecture and on a database management system (SQL Server). Microsoft IIS (Internet Information Server) serves the web pages.





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6.2 Simple and secure

Authentication, guidelines input and form display

Event types management





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Event input

Search form

6.3 Operator gu ide l ines table management

In addition to instant messaging service, the message system is equipped with operator guidelines. The aim of these dated messages is to give each operator, for example when the shift begins, his roadmap and the recommendations necessary for the smooth running of his watch. The guidelines follow the same broadcast rules as instant messaging. All or part of the operators, filtered according to a group membership, receive the guidelines. If necessary





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guidelines have an expiry date. In all cases, the addressee operator must acknowledge each read order to ensure that he has considered it.

The writer decides the sending policy of the guidelines: automatic displaying when operator shift begins and/or during operations.

6.4 Stat is t ica l exploi tat ion of data

6.4.1 Basics

This operation begins with the production of a summary table available in the risk management tool. This summary table transcribes the information entered in the DUTY LOG with configurable variants:

Date range,

Set of equipment or specific equipment,

Set of risk or specific risk,

Selective schedule: day, hour, quarter of an hour.

The output of the summary table constitutes views resulting from the application of a set of filtering rules. Operator may export the summary table in csv files or generate graphic representations.

Basic statistics





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6.4.2 Risk mapping

Based on logged events analysis (location, time range, frequency and types of events), the system is able to produce a mapping of the various risks encountered on your site. Comparing several successive risk mappings, you can observe the evolution of the risks (frequency, displacement), measure the efficiency of your security policy and consider the improvements needed to counter the emerging risks.

6.4.3 Automated viewing and positioning of cameras

How to optimize the display of the cameras on the image wall monitors? What to watch? When to watch? Based on risk mapping, the system is able to deduce and propose automated surveillance scenarios to focus on the most sensitive areas by prioritizing the display of the most relevant cameras.

6.4.4 DUTY LOG as a maintenance management tool

Consider DUTY LOG and its information system as an integrated maintenance management tool! By creating dedicated forms related to maintenance requests and actions undertaken, you will trace the various maintenance events. The statistical function will help you generate and present the annual reports to evaluate your security infrastructure health and to forecast the needed investments.





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7. VIDEO-BASED TICKETING plugin

7.1 Process

Using the means of the video surveillance device of the public roads, the objective of this module, if necessary, to fine the offenders against parking and traffic road rules. While complying with local information system, VIDEO-BASED TICKETING improves the “fines processing” workflow:

Sworn video surveillance officers of the OC, observe and monitor displayed images on their image wall,

They shoot pictures focused on the public road as evidence,

They fill and record a pre-defined form (e-fine) within the DUTY LOG containing at least agent id, date and time, location, plate number, infraction type, dated photos of the offense,

After validating by chief supervisor, the “fines service” receives the e-fine, identifies the vehicle owner, establishes the contravention and send it to his postal address.

Observing 1

Shooting 2

Filling form 3

Validating e-fine 4

Remote transmission of e-fin e 5

Surveillance Image processing Sensors

Telemetry control Recording and archiving Shooting time range

Offence characterization Recording form in DUTY LOG

Editing e-fine E-fine validation workflow

E-mailing e-fine to Nation al Process Centre





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7.2 Resources

VIDEO-BASED TICKETING is an extension of the DUTY LOG module.

SmartClient hosts the module which accesses to and shares existing resources of the safety/security infrastructure:

Live cameras for shooting pictures,

Telemetry control for cameras positioning,

Image wall for observing,

Recorders for evidence retrieving in case of post-processing,

DUTY LOG for recording e-fines,

Mailbox for e-fines emailing.

7.3 Benef i ts

Municipal Police benefits from VIDEO-BASED TICKETING plugin in various ways:

Smoothing traffic flow and eliminating bottlenecks as soon as possible,

Increasing parking control rate,

Increasing ticketing rate,

Increasing recovery rate,

Reducing transcription errors, delay and administrative burdens concerning fines processing,

Reducing disputes,

Optimizing personnel and field equipment resources.





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8. PARTNER GATEWAY solution

Interconnecting public or private video protection systems, installed on a large territory, gives the federative authority, in charge of its overall security, undeniable benefits:

Financial: pooling of existing resources,

Organizational: fluidity of exchanges between different levels of authority,

Operational: increase in surveillance coverage, reduction of response times and precise assessment of crisis situation.

However, several difficulties must be overcome before this exchange of images can be achieved between a federating site and one or more partner sites:

Heterogeneity of partner systems: partner systems are independent of one another. The federative site cannot impose any technical architecture to the partners. It must adapt to the existing ones. Nevertheless, the format for exchanging images must be common to the partner and federative systems.

Autonomy of the partner sites: the partners’ video protection systems wish to preserve their independence regarding the authority site, particularly in the case of topological or technological evolutions: number of cameras, network architecture, new models of cameras, manufacturers diversity, new VMS.

Right of access to images: in the respect of privacy, partners and the authority must conclude a partnership agreement, specifying in particular the partner cameras authorized to broadcast, in real time or on a deferred basis, the pre-emption rights of the authority over the partners' video materials and the access to the images. After the transfer to the back-end site, authority's agents operate the images of the partner cameras: display, recording, control or in-depth analysis. This back-end site can itself become an image server for a higher authority or a specialized functional service (e.g. image analysis). Within a command organization (hierarchical, functional or networked), each node, each partner, can be client and / or image server with regard to another node (within the limits of the stipulated authorizations in the agreement).

Cost of sharing images: the federative site does not always need to access, at any time, all images of the partner sites. It must be able to select the relevant partner cameras according to its needs and means (areas of interest, bandwidth available on the existing network, cost of software licenses). In order to limit the cost of this gateway, while preserving its operating profit, an adapted economic model such as "Pay as you use" would be appreciated.

The PARTNER GATEWAY integrates all these specific features:

Based on Milestone ONVIF Bridge, the gateway offers a standard and scalable exchange format. It benefits from the opening of the platform (more than 5000 compatible cameras and more than 100 supported suppliers),

Installed on the partner site, the gateway only requires a connection to the network. PARTNER GATEWAY has a small footprint (minimum bandwidth "as you use", latency <1s).

The image switching function, integrated in the gateway, allows for partner systems of any size to be taken into account. The budget allocated to PARTNER GATEWAY does not depend on the number of cameras installed on the partner site. The software license is based on the maximum number of simultaneous output streams desired from the gateway.

During commissioning or upgrading, the gateway is set via a web-based configuration interface: declaration of the partner cameras authorized for broadcasting, definition of the telemetry proxy, setting of network security, authentication of the gateway with regard to partner systems.





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Principle of exchanges between partners and authority sites

Ce

ntra

l net

wor

k

Rtsp://…/1…Rtsp://…/4…

NVR

Par

tne

r net

wor

k

Encoders

IP cameras

Partner VMS

Analog cameras

PARTNER GATEWAY

Central VMS

Image wall

OC

WA

N

ONVIF data stream

Data exchange ONVIF Proxy

Digital video streamAnalog video stream

ONVIF video stream





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9. Milestone compliance

IPARTNER’s add-ons and solutions are compliant with the whole range of Milestone’s XProtect VMS products:

XProtect Essential+

XProtect Express et Express+

XProtect Professional et Professional+

XProtect Expert

XProtect Corporate

Documents

Add-ons for Milestone XProtect video protection systems notes - Add-ons for MXP … · Add-ons for Milestone XProtect video protection systems Reference NOTE16.04.002.CSA IPARTNER