Axis Communications is celebrating 25 years since the debut of the network camera. This year marks a significant milestone for Axis Communications. It’s been 25 years since the business created and released the first network camera, the “NetEye” AXIS 200 Network Camera.
“It all started while I was on a business trip to Tokyo,” Martin Gren, the co-founder of Axis explains. “I was there to meet potential clients, one of whom had analogue cameras in stock that he was battling to sell. He knew that Axis had experimented with technology that made networks smarter and asked if it was possible to attach them to a network.” Martin saw the potential in combining the two technologies, leading to the creation of the first network camera.
The network camera developed by Axis became the industry standard, leaving competitors rushing to produce similar devices. Network cameras are now the cornerstone of surveillance systems that are found all over the world. This sort of creativity is essential to Axis’ culture. The firm draws inspiration from different sectors, integrates goods to build smart solutions, and leverages current technology in novel ways to generate possibilities. Axis defines innovation as the more efficient use of available resources.
Axis’ offering has grown since the camera’s introduction in 1996. The Axis Real Time Picture Encoding Chip (ARTPEC) was created in 1999, enabling the camera business to grow rapidly since the cameras were now ready for real-time, dependable video surveillance. In 2011, the game-changing Lightfinder technology was introduced, allowing security cameras to shoot in colour at night for the first time. Zipstream was introduced in 2015, and it solved the industry’s data storage and transport difficulties. The compression technology decreases bitrates by up to 95% while identifying critical forensic information, ensuring that video is recorded and sent in full quality and at full frame rate.
“Axis has always been at the cutting edge of industry innovation, launching new products and technologies that have helped reshape and reimagine the industry. In everything we do, we are committed to helping organisations and governments build a smarter, safer world,” says Ettiene van der Watt, Regional Director, Axis Communications Middle East & Africa.
The first network camera is the cornerstone of today’s smarter and safer society made possible by network solutions. After 25 years, these solutions have evolved to incorporate network video surveillance, data analytics, access control, and audio systems. Looking ahead 25 years, Axis is hopeful about how these breakthroughs will continue to transform the world of security and network technologies.
