When the first U.S.-based, laboratory-confirmed case of COVID-19 was reported by the CDC in January of 2020, it’s safe to say that few within the North American Gaming Industry would have been able to fully anticipate the multitude of challenges that would be presented within the following months. With U.S. government officials (understandably) choosing to sacrifice economic stability in the name of public health and safety, one might say that the hospitality and gaming industry entered a new regulatory landscape which challenged the very heart of its operating basis.
From reducing the number of patrons allowed on the gaming floor to minimizing close-quarter interactions, casino operators were forced to quickly adapt in order to find new ways to deliver exceptional player experiences, while ensuring that the necessary safeguards were in place to limit the spread of the virus throughout their properties.
Perhaps one of the greatest demonstrations of an organization remaining agile during this time was involving the Seminole Tribe of Florida which not only owns and operates six casinos across Florida, USA but owns one of the most widely recognized music, entertainment, leisure and dining brands in the world: Hard Rock International, Inc.
Agility in Action: SAFE + SOUND
Early on during the pandemic, Hard Rock International began collaborating with “worldwide health and sanitation specialists, including Ecolab and NSF International” in order to develop a groundbreaking health and safety program, known as SAFE + SOUND. With countless hotels, casinos and cafes located across the globe, the program served as a vital framework for the responsible reopening of dozens of properties during the pandemic.
From building upon pre-existing cleaning protocols to establishing new mask mandates, the SAFE + SOUND program not only introduced a number of new daily operating requirements, but it also created a wide range of sourcing needs, in many cases, involving products which were never deemed mission-critical before, or at least not to the same degree. For example, one key aspect of the SAFE + SOUND program was the requirement that all employees, visitors and guests would undergo a temperature check upon entering each property.
As one of the first touchpoints for an incoming patron, and a crucial moment within “The Player Experience,” it was evidence that temperature screening processes would need to be efficient, non-invasive and as always, cost-effective. It was during this time that vendor relationships became more valuable than ever.
Building Upon Nearly a Decade in Video Surveillance Innovation
At the same time while the SAFE + SOUND program was being developed, the leadership team at Unity Surveillance, Inc. led by Samir Sihan (CEO) and Jonathan Terauchi (President) began working with a number of strategic partners to develop an advanced temperature screening solution that would enable clients to enhance patron safety, while providing multiple layers of functionality with regard to fever event tracking and overall patron management.
Bringing a strong technical background in video surveillance technology, their team first started by developing a new series of indoor thermal imaging cameras which could be deployed at property entrances, at scale and with ease, via dedicated wall mounts, desktop attachments or standalone kiosks. Specialized hardware enabled each X-Stream™ thermal imaging device to capture highly-accurate temperature readings (±.03 degrees Fahrenheit), in many cases, in less than 200 milliseconds within a subject entering the camera’s field of view.
Unlike handheld infrared thermometers which relied on one small point of contact (i.e. typically the forehead of the subject), these cameras referenced countless “points of contact” to provide greater accuracy while also minimizing the need for casino personnel to manually perform close-range temperature checks for each patron entering the property.
Taking SAFE + SOUND to the Next Level
The earliest deployments of the advanced “fever detection” system took place within Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Tampa (Florida, USA) and Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Sacramento at Fire Mountain (California, USA), which were among the first of all U.S-based Hard Rock hotel and casinos to reopen in 2020. With each deployment, the leadership at Unity Surveillance worked directly with on-site personnel to not only ensure that the systems were configured properly, but also to better understand how the system may be improved upon to deliver greater return on investment.
For example, as an early adopter of X-Stream™ People Counting technology, the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Sacramento at Fire Mountain became uniquely positioned during the COVID-19 pandemic when real-time occupancy tracking allowed decision makers to enhance business intelligence, while strengthening COVID-related standard operating procedure (SOP) compliance.
As more properties began layering their video analytics, Unity Surveillance introduced a number of native software integrations within the StreamView™ Video Management Software (VMS) which enabled clients to bring together real-time event monitoring with centralized reporting capabilities.
See Featured Highlights of StreamView™ VMS (Version 7.11 — July 2020)
Review recent events for instances when a patron either exhibited above-average temperature readings or failed to wear a facial covering while entering the property.
Track the total number of visitors entering a property over any designated period of time, as well as the total number of fever detection events logged within the system.
Distribute hourly/daily reports directly to one or more employee email addresses for enhanced occupancy monitoring and fever event tracking.
During a time when many casinos were still figuring out how their reopening would impact the health and safety of the general population, these capabilities became invaluable for decision makers who were looking to go above and beyond temperature screening alone. Due to its versatility and precision, the automatic fever detection system developed by Unity Surveillance, Inc. was deployed in the following:
2020 Global Deployments of Automatic Fever Detection System:
All Seminole Gaming properties located in Florida, USA in 2020
More than half (50%) of all Hard Rock Hotel & Casinos in the United States of America
Dozens of Hard Rock Cafes located across the globe
The Evolution of Event Monitoring Technology During 2020
Throughout 2020, Unity Surveillance introduced a wide range of feature enhancements which continue to benefit clients across the North American Gaming Industry to this day. For example, the “AI Monitor” feature (part of the StreamView™ VMS) has been adopted by numerous casino surveillance operations nationwide due to its powerful video analytics integrations, clutter-free visual display, and overall versatility.
During the first deployments of the company’s automated fever detection solution, this feature was originally designed for the sole purpose of reviewing recent thermal monitoring events with each event being displayed in list-style format alongside an associated video snapshot (i.e. “screenshot”) captured by the system; hence why it was originally named “Thermal Monitor.
However, as more properties began looking to integrate additional video analytics capabilities such as Face Recognition, the feature later evolved from “Thermal Monitor” to “Face Monitor” until becoming the robust event-monitoring tool that many rely on today, known as “AI Monitor.” For sites utilizing Face Recognition (Face-X™) or License Plate Recognition (LPR-X™) today, this license-free monitoring tool enables surveillance operators to monitor and review various event types, based on any number of user-defined classifications such as ‘Face Recognition - Banned’ or ‘Face Recognition - Watchlist.’
Once an event of interest is located, authorized users can drag and drop the event into an empty preview pane (without leaving the StreamView VMS™) to rapidly review the video footage associated with the incident. From there, they may share the evidence with other members of their surveillance operation, stitch together clips within one single file or export the footage directly to a common file format such as MP4.
For more information about the StreamView™ Video Management Software, contact us at info@unitycore.us to schedule a personalized software demonstration.
The Lasting Impacts on Business Intelligence
While real-time event monitoring tools can be considered priceless when it comes to maximizing situational awareness and streamlining investigative activities, one of the most important ways that video surveillance systems can deliver return on investment (ROI) is by aggregating event data and providing insights into player activity trends across one or more property locations.
In light of the growing number of video analytics integrations, the development team at Unity Surveillance, led by Brian Moore, Director of Development introduced “AI Reports” as a license-free feature within the StreamView™ VMS which enables decision makers to analyze and export a wide range of insights captured by each of the Ai-powered resources and devices located across their properties.
For more information about how you can maximize business intelligence within your Gaming Enterprise, contact us at info@unitycore.us to get started today.
Taking a Step Back to Give Credit Where Credit’s Due
Looking back at 2020, the President of Unity Surveillance, Jonathan Terauchi, considers it to be pivotal time within the company’s history. Since then, Unity Surveillance has experienced a tremendous increase in demand for both its video analytics hardware and specialized casino surveillance software.
“It’s humbling to look back on the role that we were able to play within the Safe and Sound program because we understand how much time and consideration goes into these [procurement-related] decisions, especially when health and public safety is on the line. Our goal has been, and always will be, to prioritize relationship-building because ultimately, they [clients of Unity Surveillance] are the reason we’ve been able to develop the feature-rich platform we have to offer today,” admits Terauchi.
The company’s automated fever detection system has been featured within various digital media publications by Florida-based news outlets such as 10 Tampa Bay WTSP and NBC 6 South Florida, as well as within a YouTube video posted by Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Tampa.
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