Tag: ZistosHD

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ZistosHD Under Door Camera System

The ZistosHD Under Door Camera System (HDTS-5AR-ZDV) is designed to help operators conduct both visual and audio (which can be disabled) surveillance into a room, through the space under a door, during a tactical mission. The system includes a specially designed, hand held pole mounted camera that is approximately .25” thick and can be inserted into the space between the floor and a closed door. The pole camera transmits encrypted, low-latency (delay), Wi-Fi video images that are viewed on a rugged 5” display. The system also supports wired operation in situations where wireless operation is not feasible.

This special dual view camera has 2 cameras recessed within its tongue. One looks forward into the room for a subject and the other looks up to check for booby traps or barricades on the back of the door. The two images generated by the forward and upward looking cameras can be toggled on the display with the push of a button. This camera has IR illumination to covertly light up a room without being visible to the human eye. If the door doesn’t have the necessary quarter inch of door to floor clearance, an air jack is provided in the system to lift the door enough to slip the camera underneath.

The specially designed, dedicated 8’ telescoping pole with universal joint for this system facilitates horizontal panning of a room while the operator remains out of the fatal funnel of the doorway. For long term surveillance operations a drop cable can be used, allowing the operator to set the camera and view the image from a safer location.

The 5” display included in this system features a rugged, industrial design, excellent screen brightness and resolution. The tablet features a removable battery that is hot-swappable. This negates the need to take the display out of service if its battery gets low. The display can be worn on the wrist, chest, neck or can be pole mounted at the user’s preference.  It also has a removable SD card that can be removed to archive captured images and video clips.

The ZistosHD wireless bridge accessory allows the system to interface to a standard cell-modem, (a product that is offered by most major cellular carriers). This allows transmission of real-time video from anywhere that has cell coverage – to anywhere that has internet access!

This tool is excellent to support jobs that involve a barricaded subject, hostage situations or to help minimize collateral damage when explosive breaching techniques are utilized. 

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ZistosHD Pipe and Vault Inspection System

UPDATED: The ZistosHD Pipe & Vault Inspection System is designed to perform safe, visual inspections from the street level of vaults, pipes and manholes for maintenance conditions, cracks, corrosion, hot-spots & blockages – without the need for the inspector to make a confined space entry.

This system has been engineered to support true 1080P HD video for highly detailed images. The wireless inspection tool features a submersible, self-illuminating 30X zoom camera, mounted on a telescoping pole with remote motorized articulation. This camera has optical zoom capabilities, allowing for zooming without the loss of resolution associated with digital zoom cameras. The 30X Zoom camera can be fitted with optional side lights, if more light is required.

The system is designed to be field configurable and other optional cameras are available that can add additional capability. This includes the ZistosHD Dual Mode Thermal camera. This camera is ideally suited for use in an underground electrical vault to search for hot-spots from overheating cable splices and the camera’s audio capability can be used to listen for the sounds of electrical arcing. This can all be accomplished with the worker outside of the confined space and safely above ground.

The Pipe & Vault system is secured with an adjustable pole support rod which allows for the height of the camera to be adapted to the inspection environment. It also removes the weight of the system off of the operator and protects the camera head. On top of the height adjustment of the support rod, the telescoping, motorized articulating pole can be extended up to 16 feet (larger and smaller pole lengths available) for additional reach, if required. Camera articulation is accomplished with the use of the push buttons on the handle or on-screen touch controls.

Images are viewed on a rugged, specially configured 5” display, preloaded with our proprietary viewing application, that can be chest, pole or wrist-mounted, and transmitted via wired or wireless methods. The display has a removable SD card for easy image archiving, but images can also be uploaded to cloud storage, if desired.

This easily transportable system can be used to maximize the safety and efficiency of personnel engaged in maintenance operations in underground vaults, as well as many other industrial inspection operations.

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ZistosHD Vehicle Search System

UPDATED: The ZistosHD All-Surface Vehicle Search System can be used to inspect all areas of a commercial or passenger vehicle. The ZistosHD Vehicle Search System offers the user visual access into many areas of a vehicle that are typically used to smuggle weapons, explosives, illegal currency, narcotics, or any contraband. Using a single multi-purpose high resolution video inspection tool that can be used in a wired or wireless mode. The system can be configured to transmit video images, in real time to remote observers not at the location. Vehicle locations such as areas under the vehicle, the engine compartment and trunk, under the seats and dash, around the wheels and inside bumper voids, and the cargo areas of a commercial vehicle can be inspected safely and effectively with a single camera tool.

Looking under the seats and dash of a vehicle can also be difficult. They require an inspector to lean into the vehicle in order to perform a visual search using a flashlight. It is often difficult to see well in these areas. Inspecting these locations orients the inspector in a position that compromises his situational awareness of surrounding people and conditions. In addition, it also places the inspectors head and face on or near the floor of the vehicle. These locations can be unsanitary and unpleasant and they can pose health risks. Climbing into cargo areas of a trailer or looking into the bed of a construction vehicle can also present physical challenges to an inspector.

The system consists of a telescoping pole camera and separate display unit. The pole camera is held by the operator by the systems control handle. The handle holds the rechargeable battery and the systems electronics and controls. The other end of the pole connects to a self-illuminating camera. The camera is mounted in a sled assembly that can be inserted under the vehicle. The hardened steel sled assembly is designed to glide on any surface.  The sled mounted camera can peer up into the void spaces in the under vehicle. The sled assembly is designed so it can be replaced in the field when worn.

We recently upgraded the camera that comes with this system. We changed the right angle color camera to have a wide angle lens. We took the Field of View from 90 degrees to 140 degrees. This change allows the operator to see from one wheel well to another when inspecting underneath the vehicle.

The same lightweight carbon fiber pole camera can then be elevated to look high or inserted into other areas. The camera can be used to inspect for clues of vehicle tampering or other suspicious indicators in other locations of the vehicle that may be of interest.

The high definition video images are viewed on a wireless battery powered video display. The display can be viewed while mounted on the pole, worn on the operator’s wrist, worn on a vest, or positioned for viewing on the operator’s chest with a hands-free neck mount. The system allows the operator to capture still images of the video or video clips. These still images and video clips are stored locally on a removable SD memory card in the display. When the camera WiFi network is shut off, after the pole camera is powered down, the display can be configured to link to a different, secondary, local WiFi network, one that has internet access. The system can then be programmed to automatically push all of the previously stored images and video clips onto a secure cloud storage resource on the internet. Once this information is stored in the cloud, it can be viewed by anyone, anywhere.

If required, the system can also be configured for wired operation, without the need to use the internal WiFi transmitter in the pole camera. The pole camera and the display utilize long-life rechargeable batteries. These batteries can power the system from 6 to 12 hours depending on use. Each system comes equipped with 2 batteries for the camera and 2 batteries for the display, as well as their charging stations.

If you operate a secure facility and thorough vehicle screening is an important part of your security protocol then the new ZistosHD Vehicle Search System may be the right tool for you. Please email or call us today if you have and questions or if you would like to set up an on-site or a virtual product demonstration of the new ZistosHD Vehicle Search System.

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ZistosHD Optical Zoom Cameras

A valuable feature of any remote video inspection system is the ability to zoom in and get a close-up of a point of interest without having the operator be in close physically proximity. In some instances, getting close to the point of interest is not possible because it is either impossible to access, or getting into a close inspection position is dangerous to the inspector.

The ZistosHD systems offer a true optical zoom feature that can magnify the image to many times its true size. Optical zoom uses a series of adjustable lenses that are controlled by the operator to magnify an image. Digital zoom cameras magnify an image by artificially increasing the number of pixels to make an object appear larger. Digital zoom cameras reduce the resolution of an image when they magnify its size. Optical cameras maintain the highest image resolution, even when they are at maximum magnification. The ZistosHD zoom cameras utilize optical zoom and maintain full resolution at maximum zoom settings.

Zistos’ zoom cameras are available in 10X (WPC-2.5Z-HD) and 30X (WPC-3.5Z-HD) optical magnification options. These cameras are housed in rugged, waterproof housings. Both have audio listening capabilities, self-illuminating LEDs, and provide high definition 1080p images and video. Our 10X camera has both white light and IR (WPC-2.5ZIR-HD) illumination options. The cameras can be fixed with additional side illuminators.  The systems can also be equipped with a talkback speaker box for full duplex audio. This allows the operator to listen and communicate back with others who may be in the inspection location. These zoom cameras are compatible with all ZistosHD systems.

The ZistosHD wireless bridge accessory allows the system to interface to a standard cell-modem, (a product that is offered by most major cellular carriers). This allows transmission of real-time video from anywhere that has cell coverage – to anywhere that has internet access!

We would welcome the opportunity to set up a virtual product demonstration so you and your team can see the ZistosHD Portable Pole Camera System with our optical zoom camera in operation. These sessions can take as little as 15 minutes and can be scheduled at your convenience.

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Google Cloud Integration with ZistosHD Pole Camera Systems

One of the design objectives for the new ZistosHD Pole Camera System was to provide a simple way to remotely share recorded images and videos. Traditionally this was accomplished by offloading images and videos onto a computer by either removing the system’s SD memory card or using a USB cable to transfer files. While the files reside on the computer, they can be emailed to the specific individuals for review. This process works, but we were hoping to come up with a mechanism that would provide faster access to the files for those who may be situated in remote locations.

To achieve this desired result, we utilized Google Cloud services along with the ZistosHD Pole Camera System’s dedicated imaging application. A Google Cloud account needs to be set up in advance. The ZistosHD tablet normally connects to a dedicated network created by the system’s handle. Following the Google account creation, the ZistosHD tablet can be configured to access a secondary network with internet access. This network can be a local WiFi network used in an office, facility, or even a WiFi based cell modem. Once setup is complete, all that needs to be done to upload images and videos to your Google account is simply turning off the ZistosHD pole camera with the tablet still powered on.

When the pole camera is turned off, the tablet will automatically connect to the local secondary network. It will then begin syncing the images and videos to your Google account. Once the sync is complete, just turn the handle back on and you are instantaneously ready to continue using the system to inspect, surveil, or search. The time for this process to complete will vary and depends on the amount of data, along with the bandwidth of the network connection.

With this process, anyone with access – and only those with access – to your secure Google account can access your photos and videos anywhere with an internet connection. This Google Cloud account can also act as an archive for your collection of videos and images that can be accessed from anywhere.

The ZistosHD products can now share and archive images and videos anywhere in the world where there is an internet connection by just connecting a Google account to our system tablet. This solution facilitates image sharing with anyone/anywhere, and it is accomplished with a single push of a button.

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