Axis Unveils Body-Worn Camera During Virtual Press Conference
Designed and engineered in-house, the new Axis solution is geared for use by law enforcement and private security personnel.
The new Axis body worn camera system features three main hardware components: the camera itself; the camera docking station (8-bay or 1-bay); and the system controller.
For the past several years, Axis Communications has hosted an elaborate press breakfast during ISC West to spotlight new products and technologies as well as explore industry trends and challenges. The postponement of this year’s big show until July 20-22 may have derailed the company’s onsite marketing plans, but the show must go on. So, instead, this morning executives hosted a virtual presentation with Co-Founder Martin Gren, Vice President of the Americas Fredrik Nilsson and Global Product Manager Fredrik Andersson.
The executives — Nilsson moderated from his home in the U.S. while his two colleagues joined the webcast from Sweden — focused their presentation almost exclusively on the manufacturer’s entrance into the body camera market.
Designed and engineered in-house, the solution is geared for use by law enforcement and private security personnel. It includes a mobile camera unit, docking station and system controller. An open system architecture is said to allow for integration with a broad range of video management systems (VMS) and evidence management systems (EMS).
The solution is well-suited to be adopted by systems integrators into their portfolio of product and service offerings, Andersson explained, even if they are new to body-worn cameras.
“The body-worn solution has an administration tool of it’s own. This reduces the complexity in integration with VMS’s and EMS’s,” he said. “The integration API is based on open standards ensuring that you don’t need special skills [to deploy the solution].
The company explains additional feature sets and advantages in a press release:
Axis body camera solution
The benefits of body worn cameras in capturing evidence, deterring criminal behavior and training of officers and security personnel, are well-understood in the law enforcement sector and increasingly recognized in the private security industry. As both a pioneer and leader in video surveillance technology, with more than 30 years of experience in developing solutions for almost every imaginable scenario, the move by Axis to create a body worn solution is a logical one.
The Axis body worn camera solution is the result of extensive research and development, including the methodological approach Axis takes to the creation of new solutions refined over decades of experience, and numerous interviews with law enforcement and private security organizations. One critical aspect of the solution that was highlighted by potential customers was the need to maximize their existing investments in VMS and EMS software, hence the open architecture. The Axis body worn solution can be used with a third-party VMS and EMS, on-premise or in the cloud, allowing for integration with other video surveillance data. It can also be delivered as an end-to-end solution, using AXIS Camera Station, the company’s own VMS software.
Fredrik Andersson, Global Product Manager, New Solutions Initiative at Axis Communications, explains: “When we’re in the process of developing a new solution, we’re always committed to deliver the best possible quality of video and audio within the constraints of the specific form factor. For the body worn camera, obvious challenges relate to finding the optimum combination of size, weight, the need for robustness and maximizing battery life. To get all these elements right, our research and iterative design process included numerous conversations with customers, multiple product prototypes and a number of early-stage pilot projects.”
“The same level of thoroughness has been applied throughout the solution, not just the camera unit. We took a holistic view of the customer requirement, from video capture in the field to presentation of evidence in the courtroom. This is where the openness became imperative – customers didn’t want to be forced into a specific VMS and EMS – and also drove key aspects related to security and ensuring the integrity of evidence.”
The new Axis body worn camera system features three main hardware components: the camera itself; the camera docking station (8-bay or 1-bay); and the system controller.
The camera captures video up to 1080p @30fps and audio through dual microphones for noise suppression capabilities. Wide dynamic range technology is employed to guarantee image quality in even the most challenging light conditions, while Axis Zipstream for body worn reduces the demands for storage. Battery power is designed to cover a ‘full shift’, with 12 hours of normal usage and the capability for charging in-car or from a power bank.
The docking station and the system controller are separate units. The system is easy scalable for large and cost-efficient body worn systems. The system controller provides a single integration and management point, and allows for fast and reliable video offloading (100Mbit per camera). All data is encrypted both at rest and in transfer using AES256 and TLS. In addition, video data can be fully end-to-end encrypted with specific integrations.
The camera also features built-in:
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- GPS/GNSS receiver for location tracking
- Bluetooth Low Energy 4.1
- IEEE 802.11b/g/n
- 6-axis gyro and accelerometer
The AXIS Body Worn Assistant mobile application allows users to review footage and add categories, descriptions and notes.
As Andersson explains, ease of use has been a focus throughout the solution design: “It’s essential that body worn cameras are simple to use in the field by officers and security personnel who may be in stressful situations, poor weather conditions or badly-lit areas. But we were keen that the same ease of use was evident throughout the solution, for operators responsible for the offloading, storage and analysis of the video captured.”
The bodycam solution will be available through Axis distribution channels in Q2 2020.
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About the Author
Rodney Bosch, Senior Editor
Although Bosch’s name is quite familiar to those in the security industry, his previous experience has been in daily newspaper journalism. Prior to joining SECURITY SALES & INTEGRATION in 2006, he spent 15 years with the Los Angeles Times, where he performed a wide assortment of editorial responsibilities, including feature and metro department assignments as well as content producing for latimes.com. Bosch is a graduate of California State University, Fresno with a degree in Mass Communication & Journalism. In 2007, he successfully completed the National Burglar and Fire Alarm Association’s National Training School coursework to become a Certified Level I Alarm Technician.
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