IC Realtime, surveillance and security experts, know the importance of balancing functionality without intruding visually. Read on to find out the top four solutions for doing just that in both residential and commercial surveillance environments.
Professionals, like high-end AV integrators, architects, or interior designers can struggle with keeping design aesthetics sleek while trying to fit in functional security requirements.Security cameras are essential devices that sometimes intrude on their observed environment to achieve their function. But today, utilizing new camera designs and finish-matching capabilities can control that level of visual intrusion to range from stealthy to nearly invisible. Here's how...
1 - Pinholes & Peepholes Cameras
Nearly invisible at any distance, pinhole cameras completely disappear on anything but a flat, plain surface. The tiny hole these devices require for operation is indistinguishable from a random spot or old picture hook location. While their small aperture limits their range and scope, these cameras can completely conceal their presence when correctly installed and still provide practical observation.In a commercial setting, they can be installed inside vending machines or coin-operated game devices. For upscale luxury environments, installation inside cabinets or architectural features can render them undetectable.
Most pinhole cameras consist of a lens & video chip sensor module attached by a cable to the camera electronics and power system in a cigarette-pack-sized interface box. The cable extension provides extraordinary concealment and camera placement possibilities.
2 - Cameras in Disguise
When checking for surveillance, criminals tend to look for the familiar bullet or dome shape cameras and look past the unexpected. Using a disguised under-cover camera that looks like a smoke detector, an alarm motion sensor, blank light switch plates, or even fire sprinkler heads can do the job.
Such unexpected objects are ideal for a concealed camera, especially when a camera needs to be located away from a wall or ceiling. Unlike the pinhole camera noted above, these devices are premade with the camera inside for quicker installation, usually identical to the devices they mimic. That is, except for the fire sprinkler head; it's a dummy, so no water supply line is required of course!
3 - Just Blending In
Visual Impact Reduction is the principle of breaking up the visual outline of a 3D object against its background so that the eye cannot recognize it.
Recent advances in surface-matching technology have made this effect a viable new option for security cameras. The IC Realtime Designer Line uses this exact visual surface pattern & texture-matching to take the concept of seamless integration to a whole new level.
Useful in commercial or institutional environments like museums, memorial centers, or even houses of worship where visible cameras would seem intrusive, this technology will blend right into the fine wood, marble, or stone finishes. This security camera finish is also an ideal way to combat structure that prevents recessed camera mounting or highly sophisticated environments where architectural details & interior design considerations are primary, like grand entryways, dining rooms, or living rooms.
Since the finish-matching process results in coatings that are UV resistant and protective by nature, it can also be useful for outdoor cameras. Eave-mounted exterior cameras no longer have to visually interrupt the sweep of a natural wood finish or stand out against a meticulously chosen trim color. Large estates with wooded acreage that need more remote solutions can use the camouflage coating on our cameras or NEMA enclosure—allowing them to be discreet on a tree trunk or utility poles.These same finishes can be applied to any other exposed component surface to match or complement the desired finish as a bonus. Switchplates, control panel and display bezels, and pretty much any other hard surface can also be finished to match.
4 - Hidden in Plain Sight
A new technology made by HTA Supporting Brand Wall-Smart is also making this level of visual minimalism even easier. This system uses a smooth mount baffle and recesses the camera base into a wall or ceiling, so only the camera's acrylic dome “bubble” protrudes for a clean, customized installation.
The system’s smooth circular baffle fits tightly into the recessed mount base when secured, resulting in only the camera's dome remaining on the surface surrounded by a thin, nearly invisible surface plate, resulting in an ultra-clean installation. When painted or finished to match, even the circular plate virtually disappears.
The aesthetic vs. technical balance can be challenging. Camera installation professionals, such as HTA Certified integrators, use their artisanal skills to achieve the final goal of a clean, unobtrusive installation. These products and visual impact reduction methods add new capabilities that can ensure architects, interior designers, and technology integrators achieve their shared goal: happy clients that stand amazed, mouth open in awe by the finished project beauty.
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