Let’s be brief
It all started in Room 79 in the Computer Science Department at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Professor Shmuel Peleg, a renowned computer vision researcher, developed the groundbreaking patented technology of VIDEO SYNOPSIS – the simultaneous presentation of events that enables the review of hours of video footage in just minutes.
When the technology was seen by a US Department of Defense delegation, the potential and benefit of the VIDEO SYNOPSIS innovation was identified and subsequently licensed exclusively to BriefCam® for commercialization.
Ending the year with a new beginning
In the midst of the 2007 holiday season, BriefCam was co-founded by Professor Peleg and successful serial entrepreneur Gideon Ben-Zvi. A year later, the company already had partnerships with big players, starting with OnSSi and Milestone Systems, and followed by Genetec and Nice Systems (now Qognify). The VIDEO SYNOPSIS innovation rapidly created a buzz in the industry, particularly after winning several prestigious industry awards. Things were getting busy!
2010 is when I come in. I joined the excitement as BriefCam’s President and CEO when our sales started in earnest and we established a US-based company, BriefCam, Inc. Our technology was quickly adopted by the security, law enforcement, safe city, and transportation sectors as the de facto standard for rapid video review.
The technology also starred in successful deployments, ranging from the Statue of Liberty to Chicago’s McCormick Place Convention Center and the New Taipei Safe City project in Taiwan. The VIDEO SYNOPSIS technology was also used to expedite the investigations of the mass murderer Anders Behring Breivik, as well as the Boston Marathon bombing.
From buzz to business
2013 was the year we launched BriefCam Syndex®, our flagship product that offers users the ability to not only review hours of video in minutes, but to also refine video metadata by parameters such as color, direction, size, speed and more. Yes, a real search engine for video!
Why is this such a big deal (or business) Because every day, tens of petabytes of video data are being recorded; and more and more organizations are investing petabytes of dollars on video managements systems, surveillance cameras, DVRs, storage, etc. But all they’re left with are huge quantities of video data that simply goes to waste.
Our approach to video data: A paradigm shift is needed
I must confess. Paradigm shifts can be somewhat bothersome… Here I am, adrift in the chaos of video analytics, video summary and video data – you name it – with the following challenges:
So, where to now?
All this has just been a prelude to the journey ahead. Sounds interesting? Follow our weekly posts to explore the What, Where and How of VIDEO SYNOPSIS tool, related industry trends and intriguing technology innovations.