Sell the Big Picture

IQinvision believes it has just the thing for the network or security integrator looking for something new to sell: an industrial Internet camera.

The company in May debuted its IQeye3, a programmable camera with a 1.3-megapixel imager and an embedded computer.

Rick Davitt, VP of marketing at IQinvision, calls it a “computer with an eyeball.” (Come to think of it, IQeye3 sounds a lot like HAL from 2001: A Space Odyssey—without the deadly character traits.)

Davitt is banking on resellers and OEMs to move the devices. IQinvision says the IQeye3 is designed for viewing color images over a corporate network, intranet or the Internet.

The product includes 10/100Mbps Ethernet and serial-port connectivity. It also supports File Transfer Protocol and Simple Mail Transfer Protocol, among other network standards.

Integrators can employ IQinvisions software-development kit to create custom apps. For example, the camera can be programmed to capture and e-mail images when the door of a data-center cage opens.

Davitt says security, traffic monitoring, public safety and distance learning are among the potential apps for IQeye3.

The three-year-old compa- ny first sold directly to test its products. But now the company markets through indirect means. “We have no intention of marketing directly to end users,” he says.

Thats good news for potential allies, who can now offer the $1,395 product to customers.