29 March 2019

Spectral Edge

Ask the expert: Spectral Edge

Christopher Cytera, Chief Operating Officer at Spectral Edge discusses how to deliver surveillance colour accuracy detail, capable of improving facial, object and action recognition in even the most challenging lighting conditions. What is Spectral Edge’s secret of achieving colour accuracy and detail in very low light conditions? Spectral Edge Fusion achieves colour accuracy thanks to our patented algorithm for image fusion which dynamically weights visual information from visible (RGB) and Near Infrared (NIR) light, pixel-by pixel, before combining the two for best results, all without taking any information away and all in real-time. The detail and texture information comes from fusing the NIR with visible light intelligently. How did you get into light fusion work originally and what problems did you solve (in other markets/applications)? Spectral Edge was born out of the University of East Anglia’s Colour Lab. We gained funding to spin out from there and commercialise our expertise by finding applications for RGB and NIR light fusion. After some commercial success in the broadcast television world we decided to focus on the surveillance market as we spotted the need for our technology to support the next generation of video analytics software. What future challenge(s) does the professional security market still face? There is a clear need for improvements in people, object and action recognition as well as positive identification in poor lighting conditions. In such conditions, too many false positives are being sent through to control rooms and images are often not of evidential quality in terms of positive identification in a court of law. There is also a need to lower the cost of high-performance of high quality cameras so they can be installed more widely to prevent crime and send timely, relevant and actionable alerts. Build costs must be reduced without loss of quality, and without opening surveillance systems up to cyber-attacks. What are the benefits of intelligently-mixing RGB and NIR light in low or mixed lighting conditions in the surveillance market? Spectral Edge Fusion is capable of making person and object recognition and identification much more accurate because colours are preserved. So, an intruder after dark with a head torch on can still be positively identified using our technology. Facial features and colour of clothing can be gathered even in very low light levels – all from a single camera and lens. This enables high-end day/night camera manufacturers to reduce build costs considerably as they will no longer need several cameras, lenses, IR-cut filters etc, to deliver usable images. Spectral Edge Fusion can also deliver more evidentially-sound images because no RGB or NIR light has been thrown away. Therefore, in low light conditions, no artificial colour will be injected into the image – we only make use of real colour information that is there. What mistakes do you see in competitor technologies designed for delivering usable images in low light or foggy conditions? Many day/night cameras today employ more than one sensor (RGB and IR) and IR-cut filters so essentially they switch from RGB to IR as light levels are depleted. So, in RGB mode they discard the NIR information which could work to add texture, depth and detail to the image; whilst in low light/IR mode they fail to collect any visible light at all, even if there is enough to detect colours. Some artificially inject colours into low light images which can create unreal images which sometimes cause video analytics applications to fail. Another option is expensive multi-camera set-ups which make it difficult to cover all sensitive areas effectively. Is Spectral Edge Fusion technology likely to be embedded into home surveillance systems over time (or is this for high-end airports/transport hubs/perimeter protection of sensitive sites only)? This will happen over time. We anticipate that Spectral Edge Fusion will be deployed in high-end day/night cameras initially. However, within as little as two years it could be deployed through mid-range cameras and so on through to entry-level, and finally home surveillance cameras. Just like the electric car window, eventually its value is seen throughout the market and is ubiquitously applied. What type of sensors, lens and IR lighting is required to get the most out of Spectral Edge Fusion? You need to use sensors with both RGB and IR pixels. The good news is that RGB+IR sensors are fairly widely available now and do not cost any more to manufacture than RGB-only sensors. The lens ideally has a dual band pass (notch) filter instead of an IR-cut filter and is IR-corrected to focus IR in the same manner as the visible light. The only other consideration is selecting the right quality and power of IR illuminator appropriate to the distance it is throwing light over. Remember that at dusk our technology can make use of ambient IR light from the sun. Why should those specifying new security equipment consider demanding your technology now? If they are looking for more accurate facial recognition, object or action recognition in poor light conditions then they should look at Spectral Edge Fusion. In addition, if they have failed to secure prosecutions as relevant recorded images have failed to positively identify individuals; or colours in images captured at dusk have been rendered so poorly that the courts have questioned the credibility of the images; then it’s definitely worth exploring the potential of RGB & NIR light fusion. What sort of feedback are you getting from camera and/or silicon manufacturers right now? The camera manufacturers are asking for a chip to be made available to them for some of their day/night models. High-end and military grade camera manufacturers have requested Spectral Edge Fusion to be made available on a FPGA chip. We’ve now conducted image quality evaluations for several major chip manufacturers in which they’ve sent us RAW video data and we’ve sent back significantly improved images with more detail and colours rendered. They are now asking for gate counts with a view to adding our technology onto their sensor boards in a highly compact way synthesisable for ASIC. Why

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Ask the expert: Spectral Edge

Christopher Cytera, Chief Operating Officer at Spectral Edge discusses how to deliver surveillance colour accuracy detail, capable of improving facial, object and action recognition in even the most challenging lighting conditions. What is Spectral Edge’s secret of achieving colour accuracy and detail in very low light conditions? Spectral Edge Fusion achieves colour accuracy thanks to our patented algorithm for image fusion which dynamically weights visual information from visible (RGB) and Near Infrared (NIR) light, pixel-by pixel, before combining the two for best results, all without taking any information away and all in real-time. The detail and texture information comes from fusing the NIR with visible light intelligently. How did you get into light fusion work originally and what problems did you solve (in other markets/applications)? Spectral Edge was born out of the University of East Anglia’s Colour Lab. We gained funding to spin out from there and commercialise our expertise by finding applications for RGB and NIR light fusion. After some commercial success in the broadcast television world we decided to focus on the surveillance market as we spotted the need for our technology to support the next generation of video analytics software. What future challenge(s) does the professional security market still face? There is a clear need for improvements in people, object and action recognition as well as positive identification in poor lighting conditions. In such conditions, too many false positives are being sent through to control rooms and images are often not of evidential quality in terms of positive identification in a court of law. There is also a need to lower the cost of high-performance of high quality cameras so they can be installed more widely to prevent crime and send timely, relevant and actionable alerts. Build costs must be reduced without loss of quality, and without opening surveillance systems up to cyber-attacks. What are the benefits of intelligently-mixing RGB and NIR light in low or mixed lighting conditions in the surveillance market? Spectral Edge Fusion is capable of making person and object recognition and identification much more accurate because colours are preserved. So, an intruder after dark with a head torch on can still be positively identified using our technology. Facial features and colour of clothing can be gathered even in very low light levels – all from a single camera and lens. This enables high-end day/night camera manufacturers to reduce build costs considerably as they will no longer need several cameras, lenses, IR-cut filters etc, to deliver usable images. Spectral Edge Fusion can also deliver more evidentially-sound images because no RGB or NIR light has been thrown away. Therefore, in low light conditions, no artificial colour will be injected into the image – we only make use of real colour information that is there. What mistakes do you see in competitor technologies designed for delivering usable images in low light or foggy conditions? Many day/night cameras today employ more than one sensor (RGB and IR) and IR-cut filters so essentially they switch from RGB to IR as light levels are depleted. So, in RGB mode they discard the NIR information which could work to add texture, depth and detail to the image; whilst in low light/IR mode they fail to collect any visible light at all, even if there is enough to detect colours. Some artificially inject colours into low light images which can create unreal images which sometimes cause video analytics applications to fail. Another option is expensive multi-camera set-ups which make it difficult to cover all sensitive areas effectively. Is Spectral Edge Fusion technology likely to be embedded into home surveillance systems over time (or is this for high-end airports/transport hubs/perimeter protection of sensitive sites only)? This will happen over time. We anticipate that Spectral Edge Fusion will be deployed in high-end day/night cameras initially. However, within as little as two years it could be deployed through mid-range cameras and so on through to entry-level, and finally home surveillance cameras. Just like the electric car window, eventually its value is seen throughout the market and is ubiquitously applied. What type of sensors, lens and IR lighting is required to get the most out of Spectral Edge Fusion? You need to use sensors with both RGB and IR pixels. The good news is that RGB+IR sensors are fairly widely available now and do not cost any more to manufacture than RGB-only sensors. The lens ideally has a dual band pass (notch) filter instead of an IR-cut filter and is IR-corrected to focus IR in the same manner as the visible light. The only other consideration is selecting the right quality and power of IR illuminator appropriate to the distance it is throwing light over. Remember that at dusk our technology can make use of ambient IR light from the sun. Why should those specifying new security equipment consider demanding your technology now? If they are looking for more accurate facial recognition, object or action recognition in poor light conditions then they should look at Spectral Edge Fusion. In addition, if they have failed to secure prosecutions as relevant recorded images have failed to positively identify individuals; or colours in images captured at dusk have been rendered so poorly that the courts have questioned the credibility of the images; then it’s definitely worth exploring the potential of RGB & NIR light fusion. What sort of feedback are you getting from camera and/or silicon manufacturers right now? The camera manufacturers are asking for a chip to be made available to them for some of their day/night models. High-end and military grade camera manufacturers have requested Spectral Edge Fusion to be made available on a FPGA chip. We’ve now conducted image quality evaluations for several major chip manufacturers in which they’ve sent us RAW video data and we’ve sent back significantly improved images with more detail and colours rendered. They are now asking for gate counts with a view to adding our technology onto their sensor boards in a highly compact way synthesisable for ASIC. Why

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Amthal steps up security at Lancasterian Primary school

Lancasterian Primary School has partnered with Amthal Fire and Security to maintain its intruder alarm systems for the safety and security of staff, pupils and visitors. The school had an established high-profile intruder alarm system on site and consulted with Amthal to create a maintenance programme that could operate with no disruption to learning timetables. Sam Judge, Lancasterian Primary School’s Assistant Site Manager said: “We see a careful balance to ensure our focus on creation of a welcoming and nurturing school for pupils and the local community is not overwhelmed.” Mark Golding, Amthal Account Manager added: “Ensuring that pupils, buildings and equipment are protected requires an effective school building security alarm system for which users are fully trained and alarm systems that are regularly maintained.”

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Co-op launches SmartWater fog cannons to combat crime

Co-op’s commitment to colleague and community safety has seen the ‘launch’ SmartWater fog cannons. The forensic first is designed to deter crime by deploying a dence fog to obscure vision while linking criminals and stolen goods back to the scene of a crime. Co-op is working with SmartWater and security fog specialists PROTECT to roll-out the new forensic deterrent in its food stores in towns, cities and villages across the UK.   The move forms part of the retailer’s investment in innovative technology to keep its colleagues safe, and follows the launch of its “Safer Colleagues, Safer Communities” campaign. The roll-out comes against a backdrop of rising retail crime, with the latest figures from the British Retail Consortium (BRC) showing the direct costs of crime rising to over £700 million. The fog cannons are particularly effective in the kiosk area – a target for criminal behaviour due to the sale of age restricted products. Once activated, the fog obscures an intruder’s vision and covers the criminal in a spray containing SmartWater’s unique forensic signature. Increasing the risk to criminals of stolen goods being tracked by Police and helping to secure convictions. An amount of SmartWater spray equivalent in size to a speck of dust can help Police with identification. It is guaranteed to last at least five years. Florian Mattinson, Managing Director of SmartWater Technology Limited, said: “With hundreds of criminal convictions to date and a 100% conviction rate in court, criminals are aware of SmartWater’s ability to place them at the scene of a crime. This crime-beating innovation is the result of a joint venture between the market leaders in forensic and fogging technology. “This fog represents a further significant step in retail security in communities, one which combines deterrence, vision-obscuring fog and traceability.” The move forms part of the Co-op’s multi-million-pound investment in innovative technology to keep its colleagues safe, with the retailer’s “Safer Colleagues, Safer Communities” campaign addressing violence and crime against colleagues and the communities in which they live.

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