IREX
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Investigate a case

An IREX  instance might be as big as several hundred or even thousands of cameras (and other sensors) in size. Taken together, those sensors produce an enormous array of events, stored in the archive together with snapshots and videos in full. Typically, of those events only a few are relevant to the post-incident analysis task the user is currently busy with.

IREX strictly keeps to the data minimization and purpose limitation principles of GDPR (and the respective CJIS clauses too), so any user's access to events is limited on the “by design” level. Specifically, a user can only find the events spotted on the cameras available to him or her. The IREX Admins should have a well-founded user vs camera availability matrix in order to stay compliant with ethical and legal regulations.

So, the problem arises of finding those relevant events in the archive among irrelevant ones and comprehensively presenting them on the screen. The solution comes as Searchveillance™ - the patented technology to find people, vehicles, and scenes in the Archive. Searchveillance™ saves man-days of labor-intensive video analysis during law enforcement operations and investigations.

Using Searchveillance™ in any way requires a Case ID to be provided.

Click Events on the main menu - the event screen opens, which looks like:

  • This, if over 24 hours have passed since the last event search had been run.
  • Empty Events screen with the message Event search results will be displayed here and a Search button

  • This,  if less.
  • Events screen with the Back to Previous Results button below the option to start a new search

Click Back to Previous Results to return to the results of the latest previous event search.

Asynchronous event search 

IREX implements the asynchronous processing scheme of search (filtration) queries for events to lower the workload on the server in big clusters. This means that such queries from multiple clients are accumulated on the server into an ordered queue, to be then executed strictly in chronological order. Execution of a query may take quite a while.

Basic principles and limitations

  • Event search (filtration) queries from multiple clients are accumulated on the server into an ordered queue to be then executed strictly in chronological order. 
  • Every single client may have only one query waiting to be responded to at a time; the next query can only be sent after the previous one has been responded or canceled.
  • A query not responded yet can be canceled.
  • While a query is waiting for a response, all the system functionalities stay active, except for those for making more queries. If the user is currently on a different web page of the website or app, query execution notification will be shown.
  • Last query results stay on the screen for 1 hour.
  • A user can be logged in on multiple devices or in multiple windows, but still only one query can be sent at a time from all devices (windows) taken together; the same query results will show on all devices (in all windows).

Asynchronous query routine step-by-step

  1. Go to the Events screen.
  2. The screen is empty on the first visit within the past 24 hours; otherwise, the last query results show.

    By default, Date and Time = Today is active and it will stay such until it is explicitly switched off.

  3. Switch on other query filters (e.g. Appearance - Gender = Male).
  4. Press Apply on the filter pane.
  5. Pressing the Apply does not send the query.

  6. Press Search on top of the screen.
  7. As soon as this is done:

    The query goes to the server to be currently the last in the queue.
    Filters and text boxes on the page get disabled.
    The notification shows in which the Cancel search button gets enabled.

  8. Use the functionalities on the other pages of the application according to need; while on another page (except for those in the User Menu) the indicator is shown.
  9. Search icon with an orange dot indicating a query is pending
  10. As soon as the query is executed, the indicator gets green; if it is a failure - red.
  11. After the query is executed successfully, 24 event cards will be shown; click Show more to show next 24 ones. However, the total limit is 24x15 events.
  12. Click Reset on top of the window to clear the filters or simply add/remove new search criteria to go to the next search. Anyway, a message shows as a reminder to press Search again.

Searchveillance™ event filters

Searchveillance™ powers a rich set of filters offered on the Events screen to filter events meeting user-defined criteria.

Events screen Search criteria panel with Cameras checked and Locations, Tags, Sensors, and Priorities available

Filter group Effect Comments and references
Camera Events on a camera selected on the camera list
Location
Events at a user-defined location Use it to find events on a street, in a state, etc.
Tags
Events on a camera with a user-defined tag
Sensors
Events detected on a sensor of a type A sensor might be a fixed or PTZ camera, an uploaded video, etc.
Priority Events of a user-defined priority
Date and Time Events in a user-defined time period in the past

Following the accountability principle of GDPR and CJIS, all searches are logged in every detail, such as who searched for what, when, etc.

Search subject filter

On the dropdown on the left-hand side, select what to look for:

Search subject dropdown open, listing All, People, Vehicles, and Additional Events

Find events on a camera

A search like this answers the question “What events did the camera “XXXXXX” see”? The search returns a consolidated array of events generated by the video analytics module activated on XXXXXX camera.

The “XXXXXX” stands for the camera name/IP/ID or tag, or it can be selected on the camera list.

Only the cameras that the current user's User Groups have access to can be used.
Learn more about access to cameras.

By camera name/ID/IP

Type its name, id or IP-address as shown and click Apply; then click Search.

Advanced search panel with Name or IP and Source ID fields under Camera, and an Event ID field

By camera tag

Select a camera tag on the list under the Tags; then click Apply and then click Search.

Tags filter panel with a list of camera tags including Colombia, Guatemala, Oceanside, SBT, and Test

Select camera on the list

To query for events on a camera selected from the list of existing cameras, select it under the Cameras as described here, then click Apply and then click Search

Filter events by date and time

To find all events that occurred anywhere within IREX instance range within a predefined time period in the past, select the time limits under the Date and Time, then click Apply and then click Search.  

Date and Time filter panel with preset ranges, a two-month calendar, and a time period selector

Find events in a building/on a plan

A search like this returns all events seen in “City Plaza”. “3rd floor Head Office”, etc., provided those objects were created in a dedicated user layer.

Select a building or plan under the Cameras as described here, then click Apply and then click Search.   

Only the venues that the current user's User Groups have access to can be used.
Learn more about access to venues.

Find events by location

A search like this returns all events that took place at a street or square, in a county. state, etc.

Learn more about location hierarchy in IREX.

Select a relevant location (e.g. “Broward County”) under the Locations, then click Apply and then click Search.    

Locations filter panel with the County tab selected and Broward County checked in the results list

Only a location assigned to one of the current user's user groups can be selected.
Learn more about access to locations.

Find events by priority

When managing video analytics, Admin assigns priorities to the configured events (e.g. like this or like that), one of:

Priority dropdown listing Critical, High, Normal, and Low, with Low selected

To leave displayed only the events of a predefined priority (-es), checkmark them under the Priorities. Then click Apply and then click Search.     

Search criteria combination rules

  • Search criteria under different filters are logically multiplied (“AND” operator).
  • For instance, if Date and Time = "Yesterday” while Location = "Broward County”, the events will be returned that occurred there AND then, and only those.

  • Multiple options under the same filter are logically summarized (“OR” operator).
  • E.g. If both “Critical” and “High” are checkmarked under Priorities, the events will be returned that have any of these priorities.