Voices of Our Partners Partner interview

What does Video Technica do? Proposing high-end security systems that use video

Video Technica designs and integrates high-end security systems and sells the equipment, wholesaling them as complete systems. We provide large-scale and highly complex security systems in a way that is simpler, easier to use, and less expensive. Not only in security but across a wide range of industries, we use video to propose solutions to our customers’ problems. Users who face serious operational challenges in particular value our work highly.

Why did you choose amnimo products? (1) “Hard to break and long-lasting”

The biggest problem is that hardware has a limited life and eventually breaks. amnimo products rarely fail, and because they have measures in place in case they do break, a failure is unlikely to turn into a major problem. Machines that are hard to break and that have built-in measures for when they do break are not common, so I think they are very valuable.
In addition, failures can be handled remotely, which minimizes the number of times staff must be sent to the site and keeps down the labor costs of maintenance and operation. We see a real benefit in reducing labor costs, which make up a large part of operating costs.

Why did you choose amnimo products? (2) “High-quality design that does not become obsolete”

Products are designed with the technology available at the time of design, so if a product is used for a long time, the hardware may not keep up as technology advances. That is why high quality, and especially a high-performance, highly reliable CPU, is so important. It means the product can comfortably handle new functions added long after release. amnimo products are designed well from this point of view. Their peak is not the moment they go on sale; they are designed not to become obsolete even as technology advances 5 to 10 years after release. As a result, product life is naturally longer, and when you consider the cost of replacement and similar expenses, I think this leads to cost savings in the long run.

How do you use amnimo products? Long-term use outdoors

Our main target is places that require high environmental durability, in other words, outdoors. We once developed a similar outdoor product in-house, but it did not go well. That is why we have high expectations for amnimo products. We plan to use them for long periods outdoors in mission-critical systems, where their high durability and reliability really count.
When equipment is used outdoors, cables, that is, wiring, are a very big issue, and the installation work often costs more than the products themselves. In such cases, being able to send data wirelessly is very convenient. In addition, given the communication technology amnimo has built up, I feel we can use features such as SIM card support with confidence.

What is amnimo’s greatest strength? (1) “The technical skill of the development team”

I have known Mr. Kojima, a director of amnimo, since 2016, and since then I have thought very highly of the technical skill of the development team, including Mr. Kojima. I was especially impressed by the design philosophy behind their products.
They have also responded flexibly to requests and feedback from us and from our customers. I hope they will continue to make full use of their technical skill and reflect feedback from partners and customers in product development.

What is amnimo’s greatest strength? (2) “Collaboration with Yokogawa Electric”

We also have high hopes for amnimo’s collaboration with its parent company, Yokogawa Electric. Technology advances every day, and it is very important to keep up with it. With Yokogawa’s support, I hope amnimo will not only maintain product quality but keep developing without pause and stay at the forefront. Technology will keep advancing, so I hope they will use new technologies in new products and product improvements, including to reflect feedback from partners and users.

Looking ahead: image analysis and AI

Until now, surveillance camera systems for security have basically been “passive”: when an incident or accident occurs, you check past video afterward. From now on, however, images will be analyzed by AI, and we will enter an “active” and “proactive” world in which you know immediately when something happens, or even before it happens. In the world of video, it will become essential to incorporate image analysis functions. For example, Nx Witness*, which Video Technica handles, has a very open API for such image analysis and can be linked easily. I hear that amnimo is also developing edge gateways that can be equipped with an AI chip. Through this, we hope to differentiate ourselves from other companies and raise our presence in the market together.

*Nx Witness: A type of VMS, a system for storing and managing video taken by surveillance cameras, developed by Network Optix.