The filter set has also been extended with new powerful features such as line crossing alerts and object trajectories and specification filtering. Triggers can be set to transmit alerts if, for example, objects cross a pre-defined line or multiple lines, or change speed (running), shape (crouching) or aspect ratio (falling). In addition, IVA 3.5 provides support for far infrared (FIR) thermal cameras which require different settings to standard color cameras.

One of the great strengths of the Bosch IVA system is its powerful forensic search capabilities. Content analysis information, in the form of metadata, is generated and stored with the video images. The recorded metadata, comprising simple text strings describing specific image details, is much smaller and easier to search through than the recorded video. The optional IVA Forensic Search license enables users to easily set up search queries that scan through this recorded metadata and point them to video of interest in a matter of seconds. Searches which may take days or even weeks when done manually can be completed within seconds just by searching the metadata with smart search facilities similar to those provided by an Internet search engine. The IVA Forensic Search function also allows extra detection criteria to be set after the live video has been recorded. For example, even if the live system had not been configured for 'idle object' detection, it is possible to configure it to detect such events later during a forensic search of the recorded video.

Configuring the system has been made even simpler with a new easy-to-use and intuitive wizard-based task manager. Task wizards guide the operator, step-by-step, through the process of creating "alarm rules" for each monitored camera. Especially helpful is a new intuitive 'Object Sampling' configuration option which allows the user to capture all relevant object data such as size, speed, and color in a selected live scene with a single mouse click on the object of choice. This information is then used as monitoring criteria for tracking similar objects in the future.

With their advanced processing power, modern IP network cameras and encoders and cameras are capable of far more than simple video transmission. Taking advantage of this extra processing power, IVA embeds intelligence at the edge (i.e. in the encoders and cameras themselves). This greatly simplifies the IP Video architecture, avoiding the single point of failure that can occur in traditional centrally-served VCA architectures. Moreover, with this approach, 'events' are generated at the camera site and only video footage of interest (e.g. abnormal events) is transmitted to the control center. This greatly reduces traffic on the network. It also reduces human intervention and boosts 'guard-assisted surveillance' by relieving operators of the need to continuously watch the monitor screens, resulting in fewer errors and more reliable alarm handling.

Bosch has pioneered this 'intelligence at the edge' or "smart cameras" approach in its IP network video products and solutions. IVA 3.5 is embedded into all the latest Bosch cameras and encoders, and a license is all that is required to activate its functionality. Users with licenses for earlier versions of Bosch's Intelligent Video Analysis software (IVMD 2.0 or IVA 3.0) automatically receive a free upgrade to IVA 3.5 when they update the firmware on their Bosch IP network video products.