Tech Spotlight: Rounding Up Security Systems for Cannabis Operations

Deep Sentinel

This progressive, AI-based video solution is not just a camera system and it’s not just a surveillance system, according to Pleasanton, CA-based Deep Sentinel. “What you’re buying from us is proactive crime prevention,” says U.S. channel sales manager Garrett Stone. “You have a live guard viewing the cameras in real time with two-way audio loudspeakers on each camera that can interact, intervene and deter the bad guys.”

Deep Sentinel can save money for cannabis operations that employ onsite security staff, according to Stone. The onsite system and remote monitoring service provides customers with “the equivalent of a live guard posted on every camera that’s motion-triggered,” he says, billing the multi-layered security framework as “more effective than a single live guard but for a fraction of the cost.”

Stone describes how it all works: “When our system determines there’s an intruder, our security center notifies the police within 30 seconds. Our solution doesn’t just record something occurring outside of your facility. It’s designed to stop anything from happening in the first place.” www.deepsentinel.com

Cloudastructure

Cloudastructure takes a different approach to video surveillance, using powerful AI analytics to rapidly organize and search your retained video archive. The Palo Alto, CA-based company claims to deliver 10x faster search than traditional systems with its indexing and tagging. Part of its secret sauce is facial recognition to accelerate the response time in identifying people of interest as well as ID marker capabilities that can identify distinct objects like backpacks. Accelerated search capabilities help for investigations of security breaches that have already occurred but can also assist during incidents in progress, according to Cloudastructure.

“With our system, we can intelligently search through all your video footage and find exactly who it is that you need to catch,” Cloudastructure’s George Bulvas says. GCT viewed a demo of the AI-based solution at MJBizCon in Las Vegas last November. The demo featured an intruder trying on different occasions to break into a Lake Tahoe, CA dispensary protected by Cloudastructure. The upshot: Cloudastructure’s camera captured the intruder’s face on the first attempt and was able to identify him via facial recognition when he tried to break in at a later time, triggering an alert to authorities and the dispensary that the bad guy was back. www.cloudastructure.com

March Networks

Ottawa, Canada-based March Networks delivers a traditional, well-established video surveillance solution with an extensive, all-in-one product stack including recorders, cameras, video encoders, application software and services. The company can serve as a central station partner for cannabis operations on all points of the distribution chain, providing seed-to-sale compliance with video monitoring regulations (including tracking plant movement).

A key March Networks capability is its robust mobile monitoring and management tool, which sends real-time notifications to mobile devices and can command actions in IoT-connected systems like smart lighting. If a motion alarm is triggered after hours, March Networks can alert you via an instant message, complete with an image of the situation. This allows you to quickly determine whether it’s a valid event (e.g., the cleaning crew), or something suspicious that requires immediate attention. www.marchnetworks.com

All Together Now

These three systems can be utilized as standalone point products or they can be mixed and matched to take advantage of the unique capabilities each provides. To wit: The March Networks hardware stack is the most robust and its mobile alert system is useful, while Cloudastructure offers the best search functionality and Deep Sentinel provides remote human security support which in some cases may be a cost-effective replacement for on premise security guards.

In addition to helping cannabis businesses achieve regulatory compliance, these solutions are built to assist you materially in each stage of security: detection, prevention, investigation and remediation.