April 14, 2021 - Jupiter has been producing information visualization solutions for40 years; specializing in video wall controllers based on hardware servers. The global growth of the content visualization market has triggered the market to shift the focus from hardware solutions to software. Driving change and innovation has always been Jupiter's mission and has developed our own software solution, Canvas, to meet the market demands.  

In traditional applications the hardware provides computing power and connection to other equipment through I/O cards, while all tasks for processing and routing signals are performed by the software side. All Jupiter's controllers come with state-of-the-art proprietary software, and now we offer our customers a complete software solution called Canvas. Canvas is able to work without being tied to a specific hardware part, providing ample opportunities for building distributed visualization systems called Smart Visualization. 

Canvas allows you to perform two main tasks  

1. Build a video wall based on a computer with a specific set of video cards that provide the required number of outputs.  
2. Collect various data sources, which not only can be physical inputs, but also IP streams, VNC streams, web pages, local applications running on the same PC and so on. Information from all sources is collected and displayed on the video wall in the desired layout. 

Jupiter has participated in the implementation of projects for a number of large oil and gas customers who have signed an agreement, for example, with Hewlett Packard, which supplies them with a full range of computer equipment, servers and components. With the help of our software solution, they created a video wall based on the existing hardware infrastructure; displaying the necessary information on it directly from the network. With this capability, factors such as authentication, form auto-completion, display and control of various VNC-streams, extraction of various information from it, and other software functions are already coming to the forefront. This is a smart and efficient alternative to the classic way of visualization where the hardware controller is connected to a regular computer. 

Jupiter's Canvas solution is built on a client-server architecture, which provides the broadest scalability and fault tolerance. Canvas allows you to manage multiple video walls and includes a wide range of customization options. In addition to basic tasks such as layer overlay as well as text and border editing with Canvas you can: 

• Individually control each video wall and each layout on it.  
• Create several presets on the desktop and launching them will switch all the necessary layouts on all video walls, on all Canvas clients.  

The software also has many unique functions. For example, two operators can collaborate with each other on some layout on their computers, preparing content for further displaying, using chat, annotations, and audio messages. An operator can manage a large visualization network: video walls, duplicate monitors, built-in OPS modules, remote computers. This is fundamentally different from the classic configuration of one controller - one video wall. Imagine a supermarket with many panels, each of which has an OPS module inserted and all of them are combined into a Digital Signage system. So, with the help of Canvas, you can separately control what kind of content will be displayed on which screen. That is elite functionality for an enterprise level solution. 

Other notable feature of Canvas include: 

1. The ability to integrate with Active Directory, SIP - telephony, Skype for Business. This allows an operator monitoring a situation in the event of a problem, for example, to make a call directly from the Canvas interface, which is not only convenient, but provides seamless communication. 
2. Canvas has client-server topology, which allows you to implement 100% fault tolerance, configure auto-recovery and replication. In addition, with most corporate customers having their own virtualization environment, this function will be very useful for them.  
3. Canvas is capable of handling authentication, which is used in every database of a corporate customer. Many corporate customers often use software that collects statistics and data, and each has its own forms and methods of authorization which are not always standard. With the help of Canvas, you can automate authentication so that you do not have to constantly enter data to access a particular resource. 

The capabilities of Canvas appeals to both end users and integrators. Customers get a unique opportunity to visualize information, including critical information, based on the existing infrastructure. Moreover, they will even be able to implement some simple projects on their own, using only their own technical expertise.  

In the end, Canvas provides a game-changing software technology that can transcend the way you visualize data and collaborate with others. Schedule a demo to learn what Canvas can do for you. 

By Alexander Barinov