September 10, 2012, Philadelphia—Jupiter Systems, the industry leader in visualization and collaboration solutions for display walls and networked PCs, introduced the revolutionary new Canvas visualization and collaboration solution to leading security professionals from around the world today. Canvas allows users in the control room, across campus, and around the world to see, share, annotate and collaborate on video and desktop streams. Canvas also provides object-level security for all sources, eliminating inadvertent disclosure of restricted content.

 

Today’s dispersed teams and global workforces require flexible tools that support a truly interactive work environment. Canvas allows users to share video streams and captured desktop streams over an enterprise network. The Canvas client-server software is secure, easy to configure, and simple to administer. Canvas is the solution for any enterprise employing video streams in the conduct of its mission and a distributed team, such as traffic management centers, public transportation agencies, electrical and water utilities, private and public security, law enforcement, emergency operations centers, telecom and data NOCs, petroleum producers and refiners, and manufacturing operations, among others.

 

“The release of Canvas is critically important for Jupiter Systems, our customers and the industry,” said Brady O. Bruce, Vice President of Marketing and Strategic Alliances at Jupiter. “Traditionally, video display walls have been isolated and limited to one location. At the traditional display wall, operators, managers and others can review and analyze information together and determine what action to take, but they must all be in the same room at the same time. Canvas moves beyond those limits on participation while providing unmatched security.

 

“Canvas allows authorized users to see, share and collaborate across the enterprise no matter where they are located,” added Bruce. “Users can access content wherever and whenever it is needed. For many years Jupiter has provided Windows-based processors that make any display wall into a PC desktop. With Canvas, every PC desktop can now be a display wall. The ability to visualize display wall content and collaborate from a remote PC or mobile device is essential in the enterprise and it will become the new industry standard,” said Bruce.

 

At the heart of the new system is a “canvas”—a sharable collage of visual objects. A canvas can include a source viewer for video and desktop streams, a grid for organizing objects, a label that can have dynamic properties and display data from network sources, and a frame that can include a title. A toolkit allows other widgets to be custom made by Jupiter, integrators, or the end user.

 

Sharing a common operating picture across the enterprise is essential but insufficient by itself. Effective management of emerging situations depends on collaboration. Canvas brings a rich set of familiar tools for collaboration and allows them to be used in ways that no other system can. For the first time, managers at multiple locations can annotate directly on moving video. Where other products require users to capture a still image of a screen for annotation, Canvas enables its users to draw with a mouse, finger or stylus on the video itself. Areas of interest can be circled, labeled, called out, or annotated freehand. Rectangles and other shapes can be dragged from the toolbar on to any area in the video where they can be resized, colored, and titled. Text can be typed directly on the video. Whiteboards can be created for brainstorming.

 

With appropriate security permissions, users can employ Canvas Remote Desktop Mimic or Canvas Remote Cursor to visualize and control remote desktops and applications.

 

Canvas provides essential security unmatched in the industry. Employing a superior security design, Canvas provides object-level security for all sources, eliminating inadvertent disclosure of restricted content. For example, if a canvas of video sources is shared with a remote user, only those sources the remote user has permission to view are displayed. Source windows for which the user lacks appropriate permissions will be blank.

 

System access requires user authentication by the customer’s own Active Directory. Secure login is accomplished using the standard user name and password combination established by the customer’s IT department. Windows Single Sign-On (SSO) is supported.

 

User permissions, including access to specific sources, operations on canvases, and access to remote keyboard and mouse operation, are assigned and managed by the system administrator. The role-based security architecture makes management of large numbers of users and permissions easy and flexible, according privileges to cadres of users sharing a common role in the enterprise.

 

The design of the Canvas user interface is driven by the principles of good consumer product design. Just because it’s built for the enterprise doesn’t mean it shouldn’t be as satisfying as a well-designed browser or music player. Every aspect of the GUI—the icons, the menu structure, the ergonomics of the workflow scheme—are aimed to provide a great user experience.

 

The Canvas interface is also designed to be universal. The GUI is identical on the display wall and the PC, its features equally useful in both environments. A user who typically works with Canvas on a PC in his office will be able to use the system running on the largest control room display wall without retraining.

 

Canvas is established as a client-server application. Customers choose the number of Canvas Clients desired for Windows devices and add the Canvas Server software to networked server hardware. Canvas Encoders can be added for any remote PCs that will serve as Canvas sources.

 

Pricing a Canvas system is straightforward and transparent. There are no complex pricing schemes with essential features offered as added cost “options.” Every Canvas system is fully featured.