Today, we wrap up our six-part series celebrating the 2025 Security Solutions Awards winners with this year’s honoree for excellence in video surveillance.
In previous editions, we’ve celebrated Telguard, who earned the nod for fire and life safety, Resideo, who took home the honors in the home controls category, System Surveyor, which was honored for its excellence in security apps, Haivision, this year’s winner for security monitoring, and Ai-RGUS, which won in the specialty category.
The annual Security Solutions Awards program, of course, celebrates manufacturers and vendors whose electronic security solutions have been proven in the field to meet security, safety or other organizational needs for end users.
Who Won the 2025 Security Solutions Award for Video Surveillance?
Here’s the story behind how and why Axis Communications earned the 2025 Security Solutions Award for video surveillance:
Windsor Port Authority, one of just 17 national ports created by the 1999 Canada Marine Act, serves as the passageway between Lake Huron and Lake Erie, helping 6,000 to 9,000 cargo vessels navigate the channel each year.
With so many vessels passing through, Windsor Port Authority realized that it needed better visibility into activities along its jurisdiction on the Detroit River to be able to keep the waterway functioning safely and smoothly.
It was critical that the Harbor Master stationed at Windsor Port maintained an in-depth and up-to-date understanding of all maritime traffic navigating through the passageway. Without this comprehensive awareness, the likelihood of serious incidents – including personal injuries or even fatal accidents – increases due to the complex and often unpredictable nature of port operations.
For years, Windsor Port had relied on a smart radar surveillance network with multiple radars and AIS from Accipiter Radar Technologies Inc. to monitor activity along the river. The smart surveillance network was helpful in detecting the presence of large commercial ships, smaller recreational boats and even floating debris.
However, radar alone is unable to provide any visual details to the Harbor Master. As a result, there was no clear way to actually see what an object was, who might be on board, or whether it posed any kind of danger to safety or navigation.
In addition to improving visibility and safety on the water, Windsor Port also had the critical goal of supporting local law enforcement by monitoring and reporting suspicious and illegal activity occurring along the U.S.-Canada border.
Before Accipiter’s smart surveillance network, this task was largely dependent on the Harbor Master physically patrolling the waterfront, making it difficult to detect and accurately identify vessels smuggling guns, drugs, and people across its large Port.
Accipiter has addressed these challenges for Windsor Port head-on by integrating three Axis bispectral cameras into the existing surveillance network including advanced radar slew-to-cue technology that automatically places these cameras on targets of interest. This created a more proactive, consistent and effective monitoring system that has enhanced safety on the water and strengthened national security.
Inside the Installation
The AXIS Q8752-E Mk II offers reliable thermal detection and visual verification in one bispectral camera. It features a 360-degree infinite pan for fast repositioning and continuous tracking of objects and is equipped with Electronic Image Stabilization (EIS) on both channels.
Forensic WDR and Lightfinder 2.0 guarantees images with saturated colors and sharp details of moving objects, even in challenging light or near darkness. Plus, built on a powerful analytics platform, Windsor Port’s smart surveillance network can easily add camera analytics.
The AXIS Q8752-E Mk II has significantly enhanced visibility and safety across the port. Now when a radar or AIS tracks a target, an Axis camera can visually confirm the target for the Harbor Master to enable faster incident detection and response.
One example of this in action is when the U.S. Coast Guard notified the port that they’d spotted a boat stopped in the middle of the river. The vessel had caught fire, dropped anchor and was dead in the water.
The thermal camera and radar technology allowed for continuous monitoring of the fire onboard the ship – helping authorities determine that it was contained to the engine room – while enabling the port to send out a navigational warning to other vessels on the river.
While the darkness of the hour prevented authorities from seeing anything from the shore, the combined technologies provided thermal visuals to monitor activity on the bridge and deck in real-time and everyone was safely evacuated.
In another instance during the construction of a new bridge, the port was concerned about potential disruptions to river traffic. However, the Axis cameras and integrated radars allowed them to effectively manage vessels passing underneath the site and minimize congestion.
As it pertains to border safety, the combined camera and radar system was used to identify suspicious activity from a boat that regularly sailed from Windsor to Detroit. The port turned the data and video over to the Canadian and U.S. authorities to investigate—ultimately leading to the arrest of two individuals who were involved in running a human smuggling operation.
The initial success of the Axis camera integrations has prompted Windsor Port to enhance its surveillance capabilities even further with the addition of Accipiter’s drone detection technology; and a 3D slew-to-cue capability will be introduced this summer by Accipiter to enable Axis cameras to seamlessly transition from monitoring the river to tracking aerial targets using radar technology.
