i-PRO announces latest version of its Active Guard plug-in

i-PRO has announced the latest version of its Active Guard plug-in, with the AI-based technology looking to turn video management systems (VMS) into more advanced search engines that are capable of real-time searches or deep forensic analysis.

Already supported by leading VMS such as Genetec Security Center and Milestone Systems, the Active Guard plug-in for XProtect was revealed and showcased at the MIPS Summit in Dubai.

The plug-in features the industry's largest number of search attributes, includes new UI enhancements and adds support for leading VMS.

"With the addition of Milestone XProtect, i-PRO Active Guard is now available to the major leaders in the global VMS market and will revolutionise how Security Officers conduct real time and post event searches," says Norio Hitsuishi, Global Head of Product Management at i-PRO. 

"These enhancements combined with the extension of our AI-capable camera line-up are creating a powerful end-to-end AI security ecosystem that allows businesses to take their security infrastructure to the next level. This latest announcement underscores i-PROs mission as a trusted next-generation partner to make AI the new standard in the security industry."

The company says i-PRO Active Guard creates a more efficient and accurate AI-powered system without compromising image quality or network performance. The plug-in integrates into the existing UI of the VMS, appearing as just another function tab. 

It allows users to manage the AI analytics from multiple i-PRO cameras while also having the ability to set up sophisticated search parameters based on the industry's largest number of search attributes. This includes categories such as gender, age, clothing colour, facial characteristics, vehicle colour and direction, and more.

With the new development, i-PRO says Security Officers no longer have to spend time looking at multiple screens for persons or vehicles of interest or watch hours of recorded video to search for important events. 

Operators can register specific characteristics in their watch lists (for instance a male wearing a red shirt and blue pants), and the VMS will send them a real-time alarm whenever a match is identified. The same process can be set up for fast data mining of events during forensic investigations.

The metadata is captured and analysed by i-PRO AI network cameras at the edge. These cameras use the powerful Ambarella SoC, reducing bandwidth and eliminating the need for expensive servers. 

i-PRO Active Guard is a light-load and unique in the industry in that the edge-processed AI data results are sent to the Active Guard server eliminating the requirement for additional on-premises servers. The metadata is then searched and presented in the Active Guard plug-in on the client.