ECAMSECURE pairs cameras and radar

GARDENA, Calif.—ECAMSECURE, a video surveillance company based here, is taking a new approach to its camera units—pairing radar with video surveillance for better event tracking.

“We have equipped our mobile surveillance with a radar with the ability … to point the camera to where the intrusion is, or where the movement is,” Lem Blanco, company president, told Security Systems News. The company is planning on officially rolling out the new radar-equipped units at the beginning of the year.

Blanco said that this setup will allow ECAMSECURE “to cover a large area with a minimum number of units.” For example, a utility substation, which typically needs five or six units to secure, could now require one, he said. The company is working to fully release the new units in the beginning of 2017.

“We could now reduce the number of guards, and have one camera patrolling a large area using … a virtual guard,” Blanco said. The system isn't looking to replace guards, according to Blanco, but instead complement them.

ECAMSECURE assembles and installs monitored camera units, some of which utilize analytics. The company has units that are solar powered, hooked to generators or plugged in.

A radar-equipped surveillance unit would fit a construction site, Blanco said, adding that the company is also looking at possibilities in shopping centers. He said that using radar will reduce the number of nuisance alarms.

Blanco explained that incorporating radar into the surveillance units required a lot of R&D and testing. Finding the right radar was also a challenge, he noted. “We had to find a radar that is low consumption, that is able to run off the grid.”

ECAMSECURE operates its own UL-listed, CSAA Five Diamond central station. The company monitors between 500 and 600 video accounts and 1,000 burglary accounts.

About 80 percent of the company's business is in building and renting the units, according to Blanco, and 20 percent is in selling them to businesses. In terms of overall revenue, monitoring comprises about 20 percent, he said.