New from Bosch Security Systems is AVIOTEC, a fire detection product. Building upon Bosch cameras and the multi-national’s Intelligent Video Analysis (IVA), video-based fire detection can supplement fire detection and enable early detection of smoke and flames where these cannot offer satisfactory reaction times such as buildings with high ceilings or dusty and humid areas, the firm says. AVIOTEC can also secure sites where no other solutions exist, such as saw mills or paper factories, hangars or large monitored areas, the company says.
Using intelligent algorithms in surveillance cameras, AVIOTEC can identify smoke and flames as soon as they come into the range of the camera instead of having to wait for smoke to migrate to smoke detectors. By detecting fires at the source rather than the ceiling, cameras can issue an alarm within seconds while for point detectors it can take minutes, it is claimed, to detect an alarm condition. The product is based on intelligent algorithms to distinguish between real fires and disturbance values like reflections, movements or backlights. According to the makers the product offers detection reliability in all test fires (TF1 through TF8) as specified in EN54.
The video-based fire detection system scales from a single camera to a networked system of distributed cameras with a central console and management system. Using Bosch’s Dynamic Transcoding it can relay alarms to a fire alarm panel or transmit them via Ethernet to a monitoring centre or even a mobile device such as an iPad. Receiving HD quality video images in real time gives the firefighters a sight of what they are facing before they arrive on the scene.
The use of PoE cameras (Power over Ethernet) can eliminate the need for individual power supplies and power cables, the makers say. The product can also be used for very small and distributed facilities such as power stations and signal boxes where the benefit does not justify the installation of fire panels, it’s claimed.
