just might resell
By L. Samuel Pfeifle, editor
BELLEVUE, Wash.—Of the six finalists in the American Security Challenge (see story on page 10), just one is likely to be resold by your typical commercial-focused security integrator. Emza, an Israeli company with U.S. offices based here, makes outdoor-appropriate wireless cameras with on-board analytics that company officials say are more than competitive with the algorithms used by the top-sell-ing analytics companies.
chief operating officer at Armed Response Team, an Albuquerque, N.M., integrator that also provides response services by former police officers. With a vested interest in verifying alarms to determine whether response is necessary, Meurer said the Emza solution “eliminates most of the
It’s a “purpose-built application for the smaller outdoor application,” said Mark Premo,
Emza’s U.S. manager. “It’s one small unit, it’s easily replace-able,” and it’s designed to filter out the false positives that plague motion-detection-based solutions for protecting outdoor assets and perimeters.
Mark Premo
false positives” right out of the box, but “the nice part about it is that if we’re seeing a new environmental issue, like a flapping piece of plastic that wasn’t there before, it’s easy for us to modify that sensor or a whole suite of sensors to not be affected by that problem. It learns on its own, but we can take it to the next level as well.”
a third-par
“The algorithms that we run on the low-cost processor, that’s the secret sauce,” said Premo. “We can detect a car at 300-to-500 feet, a person at 300 feet. And with IR illumination, we can find someone at night at 150 feet.” The camera does need 12 volts of power, though, so is not truly wireless.
With 32 employees, ART uses ty central station that receives the video from the cameras in the field. As of yet, the feed has not been integrated into the major central station software packages.
However, “they don’t have any problem with dispatches,” Meurer said.
“We’re very impressed by it and installing it on a regular basis,” said Dave Meurer,
Premo said he’s looking for many more companies like ART. “We have to get to the channel,” he said, “because that’s the way to get to the small business market, get them to understand that it’s possible to prevent crime.” SSN
to $2,140,000. GVI also issued a warrant to Galvin and his partner to purchase 200,000 shares at $.75, along with 60,000 shares of restricted common stock, subject to achievement of certain sales goals.
Walin said it was important to buy this technology outright, rather than have another company OEM it for GVI. “It’s controlling your own destiny,” he said. “It’s being able to be unique in the marketplace for ourselves and our channel partners.” He said GVI might be interested in tailoring the VMS to certain verticals, for example. Further, with OEM
GVI
Continued from page 34
strategy you have “margin stacking,” he said, and having the technology in-house will allow GVI to make the VMS more price-competitive and profitable at the same time.
The VMS, which will be open to integration with a wide variety of other manufacturers’ cameras, will be ready for sale within a “couple months,” Walin said, and it will be designed so that it’s appropriate for the distribution channel as well as direct sale to integrators. He called it “plug and play.”
It will be launched properly at ASIS in September, and there will be a road show of the major cities following that so GVI can introduce the product to its channel partners, Walin said. SSN
applications that go beyond its traditional military roots. “We’re seeing wider adoption in protecting infrastructure of all kinds,” he said, “commercial shipping, gas tankers, ports of entry, be they harbors or airports ... It’s definitely increasing and expanding beyond the traditional military applications.”
Axsys does roughly $250 million in yearly revenue, but grew by some 18 percent in the most recent reporting quarter. It reported an operating margin of 16. 6 percent and had $25 million in cash on hand. The company employs about 1,000, is based here in Rocky Hill, Conn., and has facilities in Alabama, California, Michigan, and New Hampshire. SSN
Axsys
Continued from page 1
affected employees with extended notice, severance pay, outplacement, and counseling services,” Meyer said in the statement. “As we go through these difficult changes, I appreciate the support and understanding of the entire company and the energy and effort of our Global Sales Operations team while they continue to build on Pelco’s reputation as the global industry leader in customer service.”
These efforts are part of a continuing streamlining of operations effected since the acquisition of Pelco by Schneider Electric in 2007. Pelco’s private jet and 19 “non-factory” staff at Pelco headquarters here were eliminated in December, and the size of the Orangeburg, N. Y., Pelco facility has been reduced. SSN
Pelco
Continued from page 34
By L. Samuel Pfeifle, editor
CAMDEN, N.J.—Schneider Electric Ventures, a venture capital firm sponsored by Pelco owner Schneider Electric Group, has led a Series B funding round for Agilence, a maker of video analytics solutions aimed primarily at the retail sector.
Terms were not released, but the round also included additional funding from Granite Ventures and Next Stage Capital, who invested in Agilence in the fall of last year.
Rob Adams, managing partner at Next Stage, called Schneider’s investment “strategic,” “given what they’re doing in the video surveillance space. Now they’re looking at the integration of point-of-sale systems and video surveillance.”
Agilence’s solution not only tracks and correlates what happens in real life with what’s recorded in the point-of-sale system, but end users can also, for
second video investment
a monthly fee, employ the company’s analysts who will identify likely fraud and theft instances.
Adams said, “this was not a required financing,” but should be seen as Schneider seeing value in the company. “Taking in capital is always a plus,” Adams said, “to have that cushion, but this is more about positioning Agilence to participate in the Pelco value chain.”
Adams said Agilence is “making great progress. There are new accounts coming online at a pretty regular pace. There are folks who are embracing the technology a little more frequently than you’ve had in the past. The value of the technology is really born out in some of the more aggressive users, the folks who are the early adopters. You’re going to see a trend.”
Schneider Electric Ventures partner Benoit Toulouse will join the Agilence board of directors in an observer role. SSN
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