Coquitlam, BC, Canada-based Seon Design Inc., a supplier of mobile video surveillance for the bus and coach industry, was recently recognized for its leadership in the mobile surveillance market and is helping transit operators handle fleet operational issues more quickly and efficiently with their fleet management and mobile surveillance solutions, which include industrial-strength hardware; enterprise-level software; high-performance wireless systems; and Web-based access to live, real-time vehicle data.

In a comprehensive report published by independent UK-based firm IMS Research, Seon was ranked #1 worldwide for sales in mobile surveillance solutions. The report, entitled “The World of Mobile Video Surveillance Equipment,” is published every two years.
Beginnings

The company was started in 1999, supplying cameras and recorders for school bus applications. Over the last six years as technology has evolved, Seon started making multi-camera systems and DVRs, and then, branched out from the school bus market and into transit in 2005, Peter Simmons, director of marketing, said.

More recently as systems have become more complex, Seon has begun offering a range of hardware products, including cameras and DVRs, and its vMax software suite which includes vMax Commander, a video management solution and vMax View, video viewing, archiving and retrieval software. vMax Commander allows for automatic wireless downloading and management of video and vehicle data from DVRs on every bus in an operator’s fleet.

vMax Commander eliminates the guesswork and the footwork of retrieving hard drives, Lori Jetha, marketing communications manager for Seon, said.

Combined with the Smart-Reach Wireless solution, operators can automatically download and archive video for viewing right from their offices. This helps with one of the biggest challenges that transit systems with large fleets face when dealing with incidents: locating the bus in question, pulling video footage and managing associated resources.

“The traditional way of retrieving video would be to send a technician out to remove the hard drive from the DVR, but they first have to find the bus in the yard,” Jetha said. “If you have 1,000 buses or 11 yards spread out across a large area that can be time-consuming, and it costs money to have someone retrieve it. There’s also a chance the hard drive could get damaged in transit or isn’t put back in the bus again.”

vMax Commander also performs routine system health checks. The operator can see graphical icons that indicate problems with the hard drive or with a particular DVR, and can determine if it’s a recurring problem.

“It gives you greater visibility than a technician testing it every once in a while,” Jetha said. ”On a daily basis you can see what’s going on automatically, right from your desktop.”

vMax Commander also lets transit operators see the status of surveillance cameras, the history of the health of the camera system, and search for and manage archives.

The supplier also works with many ITS providers to integrate alarm and event information, system health data and other vehicle metadata. Seon can share the existing WLAN, cellular or GPS data resources already in use by the transit operator to reduce redundant investment.

Tech support
Along with its mobile surveillance offerings Seon also provides a technical support program which includes field service.

“One of the qualities our customers tell us they appreciate is our service,” Jetha said. “If a customer has a problem, we don’t just sell them a product and walk away. We work with them to develop a solution that is customized to them and then we support it for the long-term. We have a number of customers that have been [with us] for many, many years.”                                                                                                          
New technology Seon has recently introduced includes vMax Live Plus, a new live GPS automatic vehicle location system primarily designed for smaller transit fleets.