Synology CCTV AI cloud service unveiled

Taipei-based storage computing firm Synology unveiled its cloud-based video surveillance service and AI-enhanced C2 Surveillance platform at Computex on Wednesday.

C2 is Synology’s cloud platform, offering users services such as backup and recovery, password management, scalable data storage, and secure file sharing.

While typically used as a storage solution for surveillance systems, Synology has recently entered the surveillance market with its range of security cameras, targeting the entire ecosystem.

“Our goal has always been to build a comprehensive surveillance ecosystem that enables seamless integration and management for our customers,” said Synology’s surveillance group head, Josh Lin.

“With the addition of C2 Surveillance, customers now have the flexibility to deploy their surveillance solutions entirely on premises or in the cloud, depending on their requirements.”

Synology said its surveillance-as-a-service platform aims to simplify the deployment and management of operations, particularly for customers with multiple sites.

During the unveiling, the company’s corporate marketing manager, Katherine Harniess, demonstrated how a Synology camera can be connected to the platform in minutes.

This requires the camera to be Synology-branded and connected to the same network as the device accessing the C2 Surveillance platform.

While footage is viewed using a local network, the platform is designed with “continuity first architecture”, ensuring recording even during network disruptions.

In the case of a network outage, C2 Surveillance has a failover offline mode that allows users to continue monitoring video feeds without being connected to the Internet.

For the safety of video data captured by the platform, Synology says it incorporates AES-128 encryption, multi-factor authentication, and granular permission settings.

As for data compliance, Synology also noted that it adheres to the industry’s leading compliance standards such as the EU’s GDPR, NDAA, ISO 27001, and SOC Type II.

As a cloud-based system, administrators can use the platform to centrally manage cameras across multiple sites and enable centralised identity and access management due to its Windows Active Directory integration.

Additionally, C2 Surveillance has a low-bandwidth mode that can reduce bandwidth consumption by up to 50%, minimally impacting video quality.

The platform also has AI integration, which allows users to program specific triggers based on video input.

During her presentation, Harniess demonstrated how the platform can notify a shop owner when someone enters the view of a particular camera.

Similarly, factories can use AI integration to track the bar codes on production lines to determine output. 

Harniess said that the company is developing a deep search feature allowing users to search for specific parts of a recorded video feed. 

This was demonstrated with a Model 3 Tesla at Synology’s booth at Computex. However, the exhibitor noted that it has trained its AI models using Tesla vehicles and that it still struggles to distinguish between cars and brands.

Synology said that it uses “open-source AI models to fine-tune its AI deep search functionality” and has not relied on one of the major large language models for this end.

The company said that the C2 Surveillance platform will become available later in 2025.

The images below were taken of Synology’s surveillance camera exhibition at their booth at Computex.