COLLEGE PARK, Md. — A hidden electrical wire shorts
in an art gallery. Smoke smolders and a fire erupts under the
brushstrokes of Monet and Manet. Before the smoke can reach the vaulted
ceiling to signal the smoke detectors, countless sensitive,
irreplaceable works are destroyed.
This is the fate of many buildings where smoke
detectors fail to sense a fire and notify the fire department before
significant damage occurs. axonX LLC, a Sparks, Md.-based company, plans
to put an end to ravaging fires by teaming with the University of
Maryland to validate its intelligent video-camera system, which can spot
a small fire in less than five seconds.
axonX’s SigniFire™ system can detect fire, smoke and
intrusion in structures such as warehouses, energy plants, art galleries
and homes. The camera assesses minute pixel changes within its three
dimensional field of view—occasionally using reflections to get around
large objects blocking the line of sight—to detect fire faster and more
accurately than any currently available commercial product.
"It’s the only video detection system that recognizes
the big three dangers: smoke, fire and intrusion," said George Privalov,
chief technology officer and founder. "It eliminates most nuisance
alarms because it actually sees the fireball and corona of a blaze. The
camera knows it’s a fire rather than a light or hot surface."
The company came to the University of Maryland to
work with Jim Milke, associate chair and professor of the department of
fire protection engineering, through a Maryland Industrial Partnerships
(MIPS) project. This collaboration will help axonX get classified as a
life-saving device by Underwriters Laboratories, as well as by Factory
Mutual, an insurance company that tests fire protection equipment.
Milke will prove the camera system’s versatility and
precise algorithms through tests in simulated dorm rooms, as well as a
possible test in the Cole Field House, which seats 12,125.
"This is a leading edge technology and a significant
advancement in fire detection," said Milke. "They developed the device,
and we will help them prove its capabilities."
The camera’s feeds can be sent to any remote location
that has installed axonX’s SpyderGuard™ software, most likely a security
company such as ADT, who—when a fire occurs—will get a notification of
the fire as well as a structural plan of the building.
The National Fire Protection Association recently
approved video surveillance systems as an effective way to detect fire,
marking a significant change to its detector code.
Although axonX has yet to be approved by UL and FM,
various customers are already installing SigniFire™’s general
eight-camera system, which costs around $20,000—half as much as some of
their competitors. The system is scalable to fit any size and/or shape
of building.
The U.S. Navy tested SigniFire™ with other video
image and spot-type detection systems to find that axonX’s technology
was far more accurate.
According to the concluding report from the Naval
Research Laboratory’s Advanced Damage Countermeasures Volume Sensor
Project, SigniFire™ responded faster and to more fires than all of the
other video or spot-type detection systems.
"We hope the U.S. Navy installs SigniFire™ on its new
destroyers, and Great Britain’s Royal Navy is testing our product right
now," said Lynch.
axonX recently won a Technology Innovation Award in
the Security (Facilities) category from the Wall Street Journal. The
company was selected from over 600 applicants.
axonX is also collaborating with: Cameco, a uranium
processing plant; a Family Fun Center in Aberdeen, Md.; the Maryland
Golf and Country Club; and Chicago’s Children’s Hospital.
The company has received funding from Johnson
Controls, TEDCO, and angel investors.
The A. James Clark School of Engineering’s department
of fire protection engineering is the only accredited undergraduate
program, and one of only two graduate programs of its kind in the
country. The department celebrates its 50th anniversary in
October.
About axonX (www.axonX.com)
Founded in 2002 by George Privalov, axonX LLC is the leading developer
of innovative, vision-based technologies for Early Warning fire
detection. Using image analysis, artificial intelligence, and patented
signal processing technologies, axonX converts ordinary video
surveillance set-ups into advanced safety and fire protection systems.
The SigniFire™ solution is ideal for larger volume structures with high
value assets to include warehouses, hangars, industrial facilities, data
centers, museums, and utilities.
