Skip to Content

ATD smiles at camera with new funds

ATD smiles at camera with new funds

PRINCETON, N.J.--As the run-up to product release nears, Automated Threat Detection banked $1.6 million in a second round of financing last month. Individual investors provided the money that will be used for sales and marketing efforts. Previously, the company raised an undisclosed amount of funding from individuals and the New Jersey Economic Development Authority in its first round. The company expects to release a video surveillance package, comprised of cameras, and behavioral analysis and object tracking software, by the first quarter of next year. The company designed the products for use in outdoor surroundings. ATD has focused on developing surveillance products since it was founded in October 2003. These hardware and software products are designed to work in environments such as airports and seaports that require monitoring of long distances and wide-open spaces. By early next year, the company expects to shift gears from research and development and begin work with the reseller chain, according to Richard Patti, vice president of marketing at ATD. "We will be following that same method, working with distributors and integrators," Patti said. There are no plans at this time to target end users directly, he added. There are a number of companies already positioned in this segment of the security market, including Cernium, ObjectVideo, iOmniscient, IntelliVid, Vidient and VistaScape Security Systems. However, Patti said, ATD's products satisfy a need for intelligent surveillance application in the market and could lead to partnerships with existing players. Although, no such relationships have been announced as of press time. Joseph Freeman, principal at J.P. Freeman Co., expects the intelligent camera and software market to grow at a strong pace over the next two years. Driving this growth will be the emergence of interest from corporate and government users, as well as additional product offerings from existing technology providers that include Intel and Texas Instruments. "There's little question that there is a fairly small market for the players involved (at this time)," said Freeman. "What we expect, while the market is small, it will develop quite quickly." "We do believe the space supports a number of vendors in this market," he said. "We're working on the hardware side to specifically work in the outdoor space that could be complimentary to others in the space." John Romanowich, a video surveillance veteran, leads the company's management team as president and chief executive officer. Earlier in his career, he was executive director of Pyramid Vision Technologies, a developer of video security products and a research and development unit of Sarnoff Corp. that L-3 Communications acquired in December 2004.

Comments

To comment on this post, please log in to your account or set up an account now.