If the last few months of unprecedented upheavals in the global economy have taught us anything, it should be the folly of making predictions. As the world grows more complex year by year, our ability to foresee future trends diminishes at an equal pace. The ideas presented here are not so much predictions as they are a window into trends that are already taking place, and are likely to grow in the coming months and years.
Systems integration
Just as it was one year ago, the need for integration is high, but the availability is low. Transit customers can benefit greatly from the ability to share information and resources across multiple vehicle systems, such as the transmission of DVR images using existing CAD/AVL data links, for example.
Wireless infrastructure
Wireless networking involves much more than simply putting a Wi-Fi transmitter or cellular modem in a vehicle and an access point in the office. Transit properties will benefit from suppliers who understand the unique requirements of mobile wireless and offer the appropriate solutions. Consumer Wi-Fi offered on the market today is just not designed or built for the unique challenges of mobile environments, and as such, transit customers need to source industrial grades solutions. Wi-Fi products need to have automatic roaming capabilities; they needs to be designed for all weather installations, and they must be expandable as your needs change.
More efficient video compression
The need for more efficient video compression goes hand-in-hand with wireless transmission. Newer standards such as H.264 will allow higher quality video to be transmitted over a given bandwidth. Better compression also allows more storage time for a given media capacity, or higher frame rates, or both.
Variable video compression
The advent of variable compression rates means that systems can offer both high resolution/high frame rate recordings for local storage as well as reduced resolution versions simultaneously. The reduced resolution can allow real-time video access even over limited bandwidth wireless channels such as GPRS.
Automation of video uploading
The key to having a truly useful system is the integration of features like automatic uploading (only achievable if you have a robust Wi-Fi network in place) into a software suite that is both reliable and user-friendly.
Support
As the demands placed on transit customers increase, the importance of partnering with vendors that can truly support and invest in new product solutions, as well as provide easy access to qualified and knowledge support when you need it, is paramount to successful product implementation.
Summary
The field of security and video surveillance will continue to evolve at a rapid pace, and leading suppliers will continue to enhance and adapt new technologies for the benefit of transit users worldwide.
BIOGRAPHY
Ian Radziejewski is the president of Seon Design Inc., which he co-founded in 1999. An electronics engineer by training, Ian has more than 20 years in the electronic communications and surveillance industries. With the support of a dynamic team, Ian has lead Seon to become the world’s leading supplier of video surveillance equipment for the bus and coach industries.
