Clipsal Signs On to Distribute Digilant®

7 April 2006

Clipsal Signs On to Distribute Digilant®

Moreton Bay Systems signs Clipsal Australia to distribute its New Intelligent Portable Digital Security Camera in Australia and New Zealand

Auckland, New Zealand – Moreton Bay Systems today announced the signing of electrical accessories giant, Clipsal, as a major distributor in New Zealand and Australia for its new Digilant® security camera technology.
Digilant® is the first intelligent portable security camera designed to connect directly to existing alarm systems, providing a low cost digital security system for very clear still images of intruders.

Its unique ultra low power video processing technology also enables it to operate as a battery powered surveillance camera for up to nine weeks on one small internal battery. This opens up thousands of different applications across many fields.

The Clipsal distribution deal is exclusive to the electrical wholesale industry as well as their System Integrator Network.

David Hill, founder of Moreton Bay Systems, said “Our goal is to revolutionise the home and small business security market by offering a low cost upgrade for alarm systems and this agreement with Clipsal is a gratifying endorsement of our new Digilant® technology.

“Home automation is the new technology frontier and Clipsal is a world leader in this market. By blending our digital camera technology with Clipsal’s C-Bus automation systems, consumers finally gain access to affordable video security for greater peace of mind.”
Don Brooks, Digilant® product manager at Clipsal, said: “This is an exciting opportunity to grow our security offering with a unique Australian technology–there’s nothing that really comes near it.

“Digilant® offers an up-sell opportunity to our channel of electrical wholesalers and contractors, as well as Clipsal System Integrators who deliver building automation.”

“The camera is great for commercial or domestic use,” Don said. “We’ve been bouncing it off integrators and they’ve been coming up with some great ideas for applications.

“For instance, because of its portability and cost effective ‘no wires’ installation, businesses such as large retailers can use the product to complement their existing CCTV by shadowing high risk goods on the move.

“High resolution JPEG images from the camera mean that retailers get very distinct still images of perpetrators, which are better for getting convictions.

“So Digilant® suits areas where you have a high risk for a short period”, said Don. “One of our integrators is trialling Digilant® with builders during construction phase. The camera can be left on site during the fitting out stage to capture clear images of any thieves or vandals.

“It is also a boon for the home security market which demands low cost and flexibility. Up until now, the cost of recorded CCTV has put security video out of reach of the average householder. Now our Installers can offer low cost video technology to more homes, to capture digital still images of intruders. Digilant® can easily and affordably be installed in just one area, moved from room to room by the home owner to follow high risk items, or have it connected to one of our Homesafe security panels. It can also be used to protect boats, caravans, rental properties and sheds.”

Digilant® is available today from all electrical wholesalers. To find your closest Clipsal supplier, visit www.clipsal.co.nz website or call 08 8345 9500.

Digilant® comes in a range of models and pricing starts at under NZ$500 per camera and there are packs available with different accessories.

Digilant® is also available in New Zealand from Indepth Forensics on 07 838 2265 or visit www.digilant.co.nz.

For more information about Digilant®, visit www.digilant.com.au.
Customer Comments

Digilant® has been tested in the marketplace for the last 12 months. Here are some of those applications.

Applications in Mines and Hotels

Gary Sorensen runs a security solutions company and has been trialling Digilant® with great success in the mining and hotel industry.

“We’d been looking at setting up video surveillance for my mining clients to monitor gate access,” Gary said. “This was going to be pretty expensive to do.

“I ditched that video idea as soon as I saw the Digilant® cameras,” Sorensen said. “I could see the use for them and bought them basically on the spot because they were much cheaper and easier to operate as a standalone item and we can leave them there for weeks at a time.

“The Digilant® cameras take up to 65,000 photos triggered by a motion detection sensor and they’re dead easy to disguise.”

Sorensen now has 12 cameras in use at mining sites and in the hospitality industry.

“We’ve put them on the gates to monitor access to the various mine sites. This works both for when gates are accidentally left open or to detect and gather legally admissible evidence if people are doing things they shouldn’t be doing, such as taking items off site illegally.

“Some of my mining clients are also using the cameras to monitor wildlife activity at waterways and dams to fulfil their environmental duties, make sure that birds and other wildlife are returning to the areas and also detect pests such as wild pigs or goats so that appropriate action can be taken.

“In hotels and pubs, we’re using the cameras to monitor ATMs, gaming machines and high risk stock such as alcohol. The photos we get are all date and time stamped and digitally encoded so it is admissible evidence in court if someone is caught doing the wrong thing, or if there is a violent incident in the venue.

“So for example, one of my clients had a complaint from someone using the ATM that it had swallowed $500. Using the Digilant® photo sequence we can now see if this actually happened or if the person is trying to scam the hotel.”

Peace of Mind to Vandalism Victims

Digilant® has brought peace of mind to landscape architect Anne*.

Anne and her husband have been victims of a vicious vandalism campaign for the last twelve months and installed Digilant® cameras at their private residence, which has a 40 metre long driveway and is in a quiet, remote area.

“We’ve had sump oil thrown all over our new concrete driveway, had intruders on the property slashing our tyres and had bottles thrown over the fence on numerous occasions,” she said.

“We just weren’t game to go anywhere because of these incidents, and certainly didn’t feel we could go away on a holiday.”

With Digilant® in place they are able to get clear photos of intruders on the property to show to police if any damage is done.

“Now we feel more confident that we can see people coming to the house when we’re not there and even when we are there, we’ve got photographic evidence”, she said. “We’ve now been able to go away for two weeks and the camera batteries lasted the whole time, recording anybody coming onto the property. It was great for our peace of mind.”

* Full name not available for reasons of security.

About Moreton Bay Systems

Moreton Bay Systems was established in Brisbane in 2001 by former Motorola Semiconductors General Manager David Hill, to develop advanced, low power wireless digital-camera technologies (WDCT) for the security and home automation markets.

The R&D has been funded by its sister company TE Australia, which for 17 years has been a major Australian distributor for semiconductor manufacturers such as Toshiba and Epson.

This relationship has kept Moreton Bay Systems at the forefront of technology and it now has international patents pending in Australia, U.S., Europe and other countries based on their unique ultra low power digital camera technology.
About Clipsal

The world famous Clipsal brand is Australia and Asia’s number one brand of electrical accessories. Established in 1920, Clipsal is also a market leader in data communications, industrial and home automation markets. Comprising over 20,000 different lines, Clipsal’s vast product range is manufactured at its head office in Bowden, South Australia as well as regional satellite factories in SA, NSW and Vic. Clipsal employs over 2300 people Australia wide.

In late 2003, the Clipsal brand joined Schneider Electric to become Clipsal Australia. With the backing of the world’s biggest electrical company, Clipsal is now poised to be a major player in global markets and aims to be the number one ultra terminal brand name in the world within five years. Clipsal is well known as the naming rights sponsor of the hugely successful Clipsal Adelaide 500 V8 Supercar Race, often referred to as “The Clipsal”.

ENDS

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