Plextek unveils Sentinel wireless camera system

The battery-powered integrated system combines a high-performance digital sensor and zoom optics, intelligent real-time image processing and 3G connectivity.

It is claimed to provide excellent video resolution for important scene areas, matched to the variable bit rate of cellular networks.

Sentinel automatically detects moving objects to determine the image areas for high-quality transmission and to trigger alarms, delivering an easy-to-use system for both portable and vehicle use.

In addition, an operator may select static image areas for high-quality transmission.

Plextek said Sentinel is ideally suited to defence and security applications such as public order monitoring, special operations and crime scenes requiring fast set-up, as well as allowing flexible and cost-effective monitoring of multiple locations.

Sentinel identifies areas of interest in the image and intelligently assigns different amounts of image compression to each one.

Video quality can therefore be maintained for important image areas while reducing it in others.

This allows optimised image resolution to be sent over wireless links having bandwidths limited to cellular speeds.

Together with real-time motion and target tracking to identify important elements of the scene, the system can adapt dynamically as the link quality varies, allowing users freedom to concentrate on the important aspects of a scene.

The system offers a full 360-degree pan and a battery life of 24 hours in a typical scenario, together with all-weather monitoring and resolution that can allow person identification at distances in excess of 600m.

The modular system architecture also allows the standard 3G wireless modem to be substituted with alternative wireless link transceivers according to requirements.