Verkada's Security Ecosystem Expands With AC12 Controller, Live Face Blur Tech, and More

We founded Verkada in 2016 to modernize enterprise-grade video security—but now we do much more than video security alone. Verkada’s security ecosystem is designed to make the job of protecting people and property as easy and effective as possible. To us, protection covers everything from badging into work to monitoring the air people breathe while they're there.

As we make progress toward delivering the operating system of the modern commercial building, we’re excited to announce our product updates across the platform, including AC12 one-door access controller, new air quality sensor readings, and our updated intercom Desk Station.  We’re deepening our integration across our six product lines with updated features like the Alerts page, which allows admins to notify their users based on different event triggers. And we’re reinforcing our commitment to privacy with powerful tools like Live Face Blur and Verkada Verify, a new video authentication feature that enables anyone to double-check whether Verkada footage has been tampered with.

Read on for a high-level look at all of today's announcements.

Improved security and protection

AC12

The AC12 makes it easier than ever to deploy a Verkada Access Control solution. The AC12 is a one-door controller that enables you to electronically secure standalone doors that would otherwise be hard to secure. Powered by a single PoE cable and designed to be installed above high-visibility building entrances, within drop ceilings, or in locations where larger controllers are a nonstarter.

Like all of our access controllers, the AC12 seamlessly integrates with Verkada Command. The AC12 supports native in/out badging and features onboard compute capabilities to guarantee functionality even if it loses power or internet. The AC12 is also our first device to include PoE passthrough so you can reduce cabling cost while providing power and data to an additional connected device (such as a Verkada camera, horn, or alarm keypad).

The AC12's compact design makes it perfect for single-entry retail, historic buildings, and other such spaces where wiring can be cost-prohibitive.

PM 10 and PM 4 detection

Particulate matter can create serious issues for employees and visitors. Our sensors have been designed to measure PM 2.5 pollution, and today, we’re expanding our capabilities to detect PM 4 and PM 10 as well. Now, the SV series can detect and alert on soot, smoke, dust, pollen and more. 

With more (and more granular) data, you'll be able to better monitor your environment and determine how best to address any issues, whether that's at a construction site, in an office, or in an environment like a hospital with rigorous air quality needs.

Privacy and integrity

Face Blur

Privacy is central to our mission, and we’re constantly iterating and extending functionality to meet our customers’ evolving requirements. We've recently taken another major step in this effort with Live Face Blur. Live Face Blur enables you to blur people's faces while watching live camera streams via Verkada Command, balancing the need for security with people's right to privacy, especially in sensitive settings like hospitals and schools.

The use of Live Face Blur will not impact investigation, and faces are still captured in saved footage and visible in a camera's motion, history, and people tabs. (Face Blur was previously only available when archiving footage). Administrators can toggle Live Face Blur for all cameras, or enable others to toggle Live Face Blur on a case-by-case basis without affecting other viewers. And of course you can disable Live Face Blur instantaneously in the event of an emergency or during an investigation.

Live Face Blur will be released in beta and start rolling out to customers on November 15th. For more info on system requirements, click here. We’ll continue iterating on this feature to improve accuracy and expand functionality in the future. 

Verkada Verify

To combat issues around footage manipulation and mistrust, we’re introducing Verkada Verify, a new way to confirm the authenticity of footage downloaded from Command. 

Anyone in possession of the video can then visit our verification page, upload the video, and ensure it hasn't been tampered with. Changing the file name or copying it won’t impact the review. Unlike most competitors, we don't limit our verification page to people with a Verkada account or require specialized software. Anyone with a web browser can verify Verkada security footage, whether that's someone on your security team or a third party (e.g. law enforcement).

Streamlined processing and reporting

Incident Management

Incident Management is a new feature arriving in Command to help you more easily document an event, add notes and relevant security footage, and generate a report that packages it all up for future reference. 

With Incident Management, there is no need to dig through archives or spend hours putting a report together by hand. Everything is right in one place in Command, telling the story of an incident from start-to-finish in a way that's simple for anyone to understand. Incident Management simplifies the gathering, organizing, and sharing of your findings, so you can spend less time on paperwork and more time on actual investigations and keeping people safe. 

Faster response times

Fine-tuning Enterprise Bandwidth Manager

Back in June we launched Enterprise Bandwidth Manager (EBM). Verkada's networked approach to security makes it easy to monitor systems while offsite, review security alerts, and more. Verkada is already bandwidth-efficient by design, but EBM gives customers more precise control to keep operations running smoothly in bandwidth-constrained environments like remote locations and sites with high camera density.

Until now, once EBM reached the bandwidth limit, any new streams were automatically blocked. There was no way to distinguish between an urgent request and something more routine.

With this latest update, EBM now allows Admins to easily see which camera feeds are being accessed at any given time, and selectively terminate video streams to free up bandwidth at a site, so you can get to crucial information as fast as possible. 

Integrated security

Further design changes have also come to our alert and notifications systems to improve the overall experience and make Verkada as easy to use as possible. First, we’ve redesigned the Alerts page in Verkada Command to consolidate notifications for cameras, alarms, air quality sensors, and access control. Now all of the alerts for these devices can be set up and configured from a single location, so nothing gets lost in the shuffle or left unmonitored. Next, we've integrated Person of Interest Alerts (PoI) with Intercom to keep everyone on the same page. PoI notifications now appear alongside the call interface in Verkada Command and Verkada Desk Station, alerting call receivers to a potential problem or frequent guest within seconds.

We’ve also refreshed Verkada Desk Station's user interface to make it more functional and responsive. Admins can monitor badge information, view real-time call status, or—in the event of an emergency—trigger a lockdown to instantly secure the building, all from their Verkada Desk Station. 

People can already answer intercom calls on the devices they use every day, like phones or existing telephone systems. We’re extending this convenience with support for more of the tools your organization already uses, adding the ability to receive intercom calls in Microsoft Teams. 

This is just a selection of the many updates across Verkada coming this month. For more of the latest from Intercom, Command and more, be sure to check out additional posts from the team.