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No. 6/2021 (Feb. 8, 2021)
Microsoft to make talking with the deceased possible.
Microsoft has patented a controversial concept of a technology that allows you to create a virtual deceased person in such a way that you can "talk" to them. It is called a chatbot, and is an AI-driven computer program that can take over a person's traits. According to the patent, the data from social media, including all posts, likes or text conversations (including e-mail and messages), will be used to create a personality outline. The chatbot can process all that information and, based on it, build a virtual form having the characteristics (style of expression, interests, opinions, reactions, behavior, tone of voice, etc.) of a real person. Moreover, virtual contact will not be limited to writing only. The patent mentions creating a visualization and voice model of a person based on images, video and sound recordings to make the imitation even more credible.
The chatbot is to bring comfort to people who experience hard times after the death of a loved one. You will not need to be limited to viewing your stored photo or message archive, but you can have a conversation and even see the deceased. However, according to the patent description, such an imitation could use the identity of anyone, whether alive or not. Moreover, it may be a fictional identity, e.g. a character from a book. However, there have been many ethical and legal controversies around this project, as well as questions regarding identity protection or the very technical possibility of faithfully recreating a person based on the data available. There are also doubts about the idea itself, since the technology can also be used to steal identity or create your own bots. The patent "Creating a conversational chatbot of a specific person" was filed a long time ago, in 2017, but only in December 2020 was it approved by the American patent office. Microsoft has no plans yet for a specific product that could use the patent.
CCTV image distortion correction.
The fact that camera lens is not a perfect geometric body and the glass it is made of is not a monolith leads to image distortions. Note also that a lens consists of many lenses and the light passing through them is distorted. The selection of lenses and the distance between them affects the visibility of objects in the scene and determines the relative position of individual points in the image. Cameras with a focal length of 2.8 mm watch a wide image frame with a viewing angle of about 100o. Image from a camera with such a large viewing angle will most often be arched outwards, it is the so-called “barrel distortion". Such a distortion is acceptable in most cases, but it can be corrected by software. This function is available e.g. in Hikvision 4-line design cameras. The results are shown below.
"Distortion correction" function in Hikvision camera.
The horizontal viewing angle of the camera is 110o.
The horizontal viewing angle of the camera is 110o.
OTDR measurements: installers' doubts when measuring the optical path length.
One of the more interesting advantages of a reflectometer is the ability to determine the length of the optical path or the distance from the person measuring the selected events (e.g. cable break). However, it happens that installers have doubts in the interpretation of the reflectometer indications, and even suggest its failure. The longer the optical fibers are measured, the greater the discrepancy between the distance measurement results and expectations may be.Appropriate configuration of the reflectometer by specifying the refractive index IOR, suitable for a given fiber, is important here. More on this subject in one of our Weekly Reviews. It is equally important to understand the actual distance from the reflectometer. The figure below shows 3 definitions of distance/length that should be taken into account when performing OTDR measurements:
- physical distance between two objects (e.g. building - building, building - pole, building - telecommunications cabinet, etc.) measured at ground level in a straight line,
- the actual length of cable connecting two objects - usually larger due to the fact that the cable route is not in a straight line, and that the cable has some slack; that length can be read from the markers placed on the outer sheath of the cable,
- optical length - the length of the optical fiber placed in the cable; that length is determined by the reflectometer.
| A - distance between buildings B - cable length C - optical length measured by a reflectometer (fiber length including all elements in the track) | |
Since the fibers are placed in the cable with some excess length in order to minimize the potentially dangerous effects of stress on the fiber, the distance measured by the installer will always be greater than expected (cable length). The excess fiber depends on the structure of the cable and can usually amount to 1% - 2%, or even up to 5% (the greatest excess is found in multi-tube cables in which the tubes are twisted around a centrally arranged core). Note that the light pulse of the reflectometer passes through all the components of the optical path, such as pigtails, patchcords or fiber excess placed in sleeves or switches. If there are many of such elements, it can significantly impact the measurement results.
Understanding the above relationships is particularly important when determining the location of a fiber failure. There is no problem if the cable is damaged as a result of human action (e.g. the cable is broken with an excavator bucket). The problem begins when the cable is bitten by rats or damaged without any apparent external action. With proper determination of the failure location, enormous excavation works (sometimes it may be the demolition of part of the road lane or other elements on the surface) can be avoided.
Calculation of the archiving time and bandwidth required.
Storage and Network Calculator is Hikvision brand software that allows you to select the appropriate hard disk capacity for the recorder depending on the required archiving time. It also calculates the required bandwidth for the selected number of cameras. CIF (352x288 p) to 12 MP (4000x3000 p) resolutions and H.265+, H.265, H.264+, H.264 compression methods are supported.
An example of using the Storage and Network Calculator. For the selected number of cameras and encoding parameters, a 6 TB hard drive is required to store the recordings for 14 days.
The software is very user-friendly and intuitive. First, select the "PAL" or "NTSC" color system. Then, in the "Channel Number" field, specify the number of cameras that will be added to the recorder along with such parameters as encoding, resolution, fps, and the degree of scene composition. After selecting the encoding parameters, the calculator will automatically set a suggested bitrate. After adding the cameras, the three tabs are available: "Space Given", "Time Given" and "Bandwidth". In the Space Given tab, after entering the capacity of the hard drives and selecting the backup time per day, the information will be given for how many days the recordings will be stored. In the Time Given tab, you can enter the number of days for which the recordings are to be stored in order to receive information on the required disk capacity. In the Bandwidth tab, information on the band generated by the selected cameras is provided.
TerRA headend – a comprehensive solution for hotels.
Headends converting satellite programs from DVB-S/S2 to DVB-T COFDM signal are still the most popular solutions used in many hotels. Satellite channels can be an addition to the terrestrial television programs or be the only part of the package offered. No need to use more receivers (e.g. satellite receivers) for TVs, which makes this solution particularly attractive for hotels, guesthouses, apartments and hospitals. Modular design of the TERRA headend enables the transmodulation of a wide range of source signals (DVB-S/S2, DVB-T/T2, IP, HDMI) and meeting one or more DVB-T/DVB-C/IP standards at the output, as required by the facility owner.
Sample diagram of TERRA headend for the reception of programs from two satellite positions. Connecting any TERRA multiswitch output of the MR-908L R70808 series to each of the TERRA headend modules allows you to select any satellite transponder for one of the 4 polarization/band pairs for each of the two satellite positions (Hotbird 13.0E, Astra - 19.2E). To select any satellite transponder from the entire satellite band, it is recommended to use dSCR/Unicable multiswitches by TERRA for each of the two satellite positions. The TDX-420C R81619 module allows the entry of two coded channels from two satellite transponders, while the TDX-440 TDX-4168 module enables the reception of FTA programs from up to 8 satellite transponders. This solution eliminates the need to use satellite receivers with each TV set.
Popular switch for monitoring.
The PoE ULTIPOWER PRO0064afat N299781 switch is a desktop type device that ensures smooth network transmission. in 10 and 100 Mbps networks. It has 6 RJ45 ports supporting automatic connection speed negotiation. 4 of them support the Power over Ethernet (PoE). The switch automatically detects PD devices compliant with IEEE 802.3af or IEEE 802.3at and supplies them. This makes it possible to extend the range of the network to locations with no access to power lines or outlets, and where access points, IP cameras, IP phones, etc. have to be located. The maximum total power of the devices supplied must not exceed 65 W.Key features:
- 6 10/100 Mbps ports,
- 4 PoE ports, data transfer and device power supply using one cable,
- No installation or configuration of the device required,
- A single PoE port transfers power up to 30 W,
- Maximum total power of the supplied devices is 65 W,
- Support for PoE powered devices, operating in accordance with the IEEE802.3af/at standard,
- Support for auto-learning and auto-aging of MAC addresses (1K size table),
- Extended function that allows powering devices connected with a twisted pair up to 250 m,
- PoE Auto Check function automatically performs a restart of the connected device in case of hanging.
Sample diagram of the N299781 switch application – four IP cameras connected, uplink ports used to connect the NVR and router
 | IIyama ProLite X3291HS-B1 M3032 is a 32-inch IPS screen that offers natural and accurate color reproduction and wide viewing angles (178°/178°). It has three signal inputs (HDMI, DVI and VGA), speakers and a blue light reduction function to minimize eye strain. Thanks to the compatibility with the VESA standard, the monitor can be hung on the wall using a suitable holder. The panel is also equipped with two stereo speakers (2 x 3 W). | |
 | MikroTik LHG 4G kit RBLHGR&R11e-4G access point N24118 is a complete CPE Customer Premises Equipment) equipped with an LTE modem. Designed to support the LTE band (450, 800, 1800, 2500, 2600, 3500, 3700 MHz). It is equipped with an antenna with 21 dBi gain. | |
 | IP Hikvision ceiling camera DS-2CD1323G0E-I K00131 is provided with a quality image sensor that allows to obtain an image with a resolution of 4 MP (2560 x 1440) and a refresh rate of 25 fps (50 fps for 1920 x 1080, 1280 x 960, 1280 x 720). There are three independent streams and several compression methods available: H.265+ / H.265 / H.264+ / H.264 / MJPEG. The camera supports the day/night mode, which allows for correct reproduction of colors in case of good lighting (day) and the maximum use of the camera's sensitivity in low light conditions (night). It has an IR illuminator with a range of up to 100 m and a Smart IR function to avoid overexposure of the image. | |
Latest news
DIPOL launches winter and spring training for professionals. Installers interested in updating their knowledge of the latest trends and the selection and configuration of devices in TV/SAT, CCTV, LAN, GSM/LTE and optical systems are invited to the second series of Webinars prepared by DIPOL Technical Department. As in the autumn, the courses will be available in two variants:
- theoretical training with elements of practical presentation operation and configuration of devices,
- practical training, in which the participant will be able to work with the assigned equipment, as if he sitting in a real training room (strictly limited number of participants).
Worth reading
ImagePerfect in Seagate SkyHawk hard drives, a technology that ensures the integrity of recordings. The use "ordinary" hard drives in a surveillance system involves the risk of data loss. This is because hard drives used for monitoring purposes operate in different environments than those used in PCs. Data is stored here continuously and accounts for over 90% of the disk load. The need to simultaneously handle multiple data streams generated by individual cameras is also a challenge...>>>more
The algorithm of collecting data in the cache and writing to disk after buffer filling
TERRA dSCR multiswitches with auto gain control
