Genetec, a pioneer in the physical security industry and a provider of unified IP security solutions, announces the availability of its newest version of Plan Manager, the interactive map-based command and control feature of its unified security platform, Security Center. This latest Plan Manager offering is supported by Genetec's latest version of Security Center 5 and comes with a variety of new improvements including the addition of an advanced 3-D map technology called Immersive Maps. Plan Manager helps improve operator efficiency when monitoring and handling real-time events and changes in the status of the security system. This is achieved via an intuitive interface based on a dynamic graphical representation of the system, visual cues to identify changes to the security environment, single-click actions available within a map, and a higher level of automation.
Some key enhancements in Plan Manager include viewing video directly within a map, visually tracking a PTZ camera's field of view, automatically centering maps on active alarms, quick searches for entities, arming and disarming zones, and much more. Access control functionalities include tracking door status, locking and unlock doors, and monitoring designated access control areas directly from the map.
As part of Genetec's Security Center, Plan Manager offers the same open architecture benefits. This allows our partners to further develop and fully customize Plan Manager's map interface according to their customers' requirements. Additional configuration and development options include adding custom icons, colors, and states, adding additional objects or entities on the map, and adding more functional characteristics like tracking mobile objects or people in real time.
With Plan Manager, users can also jump from CAD-based maps of private buildings to GIS public maps within the same interface. Other map sources supported by Plan Manager include CAD files in vector PDF, Microsoft Bing maps, Esri ArcGIS, any WMS compliant GIS Server (Open Geospatial Consortium), and 3-D Immersive maps.
The introduction of a 3-D view through Immersive Maps in Plan Manager lets operators experience every dimension of a building as though they were walking through it themselves. However, unlike traditional 3-D maps based on artificially designed interpretations of a building and created by 3-D graphic designers, the immersive view is created from actual pictures of the environment. Standard digital images are grouped together making a real-life 3-D representation of the entire building. The process of developing Security Center's immersive view requires a fraction of the time and a fraction of the costs in comparison to artificially recreating traditional 3-D synthetic maps.
"It is much easier for operators or first responders to orient themselves in a 3-D map that is based on actual images of a building than on a map," says Jonathan Doyon, director of Product Technologies at Genetec. "Immersive Maps in Plan Manager is a cost-effective and highly efficient option for those who require more than a standard 2D layout."
A short demo video on Immersive Maps can be found on Genetec's YouTube Channel.
