From The Field

Jan 1, 2008 12:00 PM

CORRECTIONS

CPD Uses Remote Video Surveillance For Situational Awareness

The Chicago Police Department (CPD) has successfully deployed IntelliViewer 2.0 software from AirVisual Inc., New York, for use by first responders. The system, purchased and integrated by RMS Technology Solutions, Buffalo Grove, Ill., has been added to the CPD's existing camera network to give users the ability to deliver pre-recorded and live video and other critical information to computer terminals and mobile devices. The system also gives police the ability to integrate disparate security surveillance systems onto a single emergency response platform, while delivering the information wirelessly to responders over any network and to any mobile device.

IntelliViewer 2.0 is an open-architecture, multi-vendor, IP-based content distribution platform created to deliver live camera and video images and text-based data to desktop and mobile subscribers from a variety of content sources. The platform connects to video sources, access control systems, RFID systems and sensor networks, and performs adaptive routing, optimization, distribution and delivery of content based on a rules- and permissions-based system.

“This is a great tool for the distribution and sharing of information amongst first responders and also private security elements,” says Tom Hansen, AirVisual's founder and CEO. “The ability to share collected visual information on a peer-to-peer real-time platform reduces the time to respond with fewer unknowns.”

MUNICIPAL

Sports Center In Parker, Colo., Fuses IT and Physical Security To Improve Building Safety

CDW Government Inc., Vernon Hills, Ill., has provided the town of Parker, Colo., with a video surveillance security system from Axis Communications, Chelmsford, Mass., for its new 100,000-square-foot recreation center. The system allows staff and public safety officers to monitor the multi-million dollar facility from on- and off-site locations.

The Parker Fieldhouse includes a gymnasium with two regulation-sized hardwood basketball and volleyball courts, an in-line hockey rink with seating for 200 spectators, an artificial turf field with spectator seating, a rock-climbing tower, a suspended running track, a fitness area and batting cages. With thousands of young people and adults expected to use the facility weekly for team sports and other activities, the town needed technology to enable the staff to monitor the sprawling facility. The town called on CDW-G for advice on a system to meet its security requirements.

Working with CDW-G to evaluate possible solutions, the town selected 18 motion-activated Axis 221 network cameras and 216 fixed dome network cameras that are positioned inside and outside the fieldhouse to provide round-the-clock surveillance. Axis software is outfitted on a file server to record video, and a front desk monitoring station serves as a landing point for video feeds, allowing employees to view up to 16 camera feeds at one time. The software also enables police dispatchers to log onto the system and view the cameras remotely via a Web page. In the event of a security incident, dispatchers can convey critical information quickly to officers responding on-site. CDW-G was called upon to relay video feeds via coaxial cable from six analog CCTV units affixed to light poles outside the building to the fieldhouse's recording and monitoring stations. The analog video feeds are digitized into a real-time IP video stream by Axis 240Q video servers.

“Drawing upon CDW-G's expertise and access to leading technology brands, we selected a surveillance solution that fits our needs perfectly,” says Terry Denison, town of Parker systems analyst. “The cameras not only act as the eyes for our front desk staff, allowing them to see what is going on throughout the fieldhouse, but also provide near-instant information to law enforcement. Using technology to extend our footprint, we are able to strengthen the safety of residents using this new state-of-the-art facility cost-effectively.”

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© 2012 Penton Media Inc.

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