World in a lens

ANPR border patrol

Visy Oy has installed a 12-camera Derwent Reg number plate capture system in one of the world's most northerly – and challenging – ANPR border control systems.

Finnish Customs are using the system for border traffic operations in Lapland, northern Finland. At 68.5 degrees north, this is the most northerly position in the Karesuvanto region, and traffic is monitored moving between Finland and Sweden.

The REG cameras operate with the Visy Border Gate package, and are set up in six positions across two lanes. Visy Border Gate is designed to perform with a very large number of traffic lanes and constant traffic flow.

REG is also used in a vehicle-mounted Visy Mobile ANPR, which is deployed to monitor traffic on several temporary 'ice roads' in the rivers between Finland and Sweden.

At these latitudes the equipment is exposed to freezing conditions, driving snow, high winds and the most difficult lighting conditions anywhere on the planet. During the winter there is no sunlight for several months – and when the sun does re-appear it remains low in the sky and causes severe problems with glare.

Derwent says REG uses a combination of camera, lens and IR technology to capture number plates during the day or in total darkness at night, regardless of the prevailing weather conditions.

Securing Cologne airport

Since the arrival of airlines German Wings and Hapag-Lloyd Express, Cologne Bonn airport has seen 40 per cent more passengers using its recently expanded facilities. In its second terminal, opened in 2000, the Geutebrück Multiscope II-based CCTV system has proved its worth to operators by reducing false alarms, disruption to services and knock-on costs.

The airport's IT manager, Hans-Peter Buhs, said: "The Geutebrück digital CCTV monitoring system is a vital element in our security architecture. All public and restricted areas of the airport are monitored around the clock, and the live and recorded video is important for a variety of authorised staff - airport managers, immigration officials, police officer and transport operators.

"The Multiscope II system at Cologne Bonn has also revealed a particularly valuable talent for minimising the effect of unattended baggage incidents. Given the 3,000 pieces of luggage which may now pass through Terminal 2 in the average hour, it would be unrealistic to imagine that this problem can be eliminated. But at Cologne Bonn when an unattended bag is found, the duty officer in the control room has some efficient picture search tools to help him. He just needs to mark out a search zone around the bag on the current CCTV picture, and the MultiScope system automatically finds the last picture which contained movement in this area."

Perrys rely on Reflex

Reflex has won a contract worth over £100,000 to supply services to leading national trade dealer Perrys Motor Sales Ltd.

Reflex is supplying services to Perrys at Rotherham, Huddersfield, and Barnsley, with remote monitoring managed in partnership with Farsight. Reflex has designed, supplied and is maintaining a range of integrated perimeter detection and video surveillance technologies for Perrys that primarily protect its assets from unwanted visitors, particularly out of hours.

Reflex group sales director Dave Kynman said: "One of the key elements of the contract is strict compliance with the BS8418 nationally agreed standards, enabling Perrys to receive the appropriate level of security and guarantee a police response. Reflex is highly experienced at dealing with police forces and other national agencies, and has all the relevant national accreditations, ensuring the best possible response for its customers in the event of an incident."

South Lanarkshire safer

ADT and Building Block Video Ltd have installed a CCTV and monitoring system for South Lanarkshire Council. The project involved the relocation and incorporation of three town centre surveillance systems into one system, as an extension to the existing monitoring centre in Hamilton.

The new system integrates the different versions of telemetry protocols used by the previous centres and utilises one matrix to control camera information across the system. To simplify the operation of such a large system, each operator has been given a workstation that provides a graphical user interface showing camera locations with touch screen camera selection. CCTV footage captured from all 105 cameras is now recorded digitally, in colour, by 11 DVRs.

The project was completed in four phases over six months, and was challenging for all involved due to the large areas covered by the CCTV cameras and the need to integrate several different systems successfully.

A spokesman from South Lanarkshire Council said: “The implementation of this new system has meant increased levels of surveillance that make the public feel much safer, and it is also beneficial for the local police when following their enquiries."

Intruder equips BMW

Intruder International has installed the ADPRO FastTrace from Vision Systems as the security system at the renowned BMW Park Lane's high profile London sites.

FastTrace was proposed by Intruder International as part of a major integrated CCTV, access control and intruder detection programme across the car dealership's six sites. BMW Park Lane's operations comprise showrooms and service centres within the capital, all of which require a sophisticated, flexible and highly reliable and cost-effective security system to provide reliable protection.

"When we looked at BMW's requirements, we knew that ADPRO FastTrace fitted the bill perfectly," said Intruder International technical director Lee Abraham. "All sites are connected via a wide area network, and BMW needed a means to efficiently deliver video images. Furthermore, using ADPRO FastTrace in conjunction with ADPRO Video Central Gold enables BMW to remotely monitor and control alarms on sites at all times."

FastTrace's video compression technology appealed to the client. Head of security James Thornton said: "We were very impressed with this significant video compression, as it enables fast access over more limited bandwidth links. We were also particularly impressed with the product's integrated video alarm feature, which alerts us to the presence of intruders before an attempted break-in, and the causes of alarm can be viewed centrally, from our security control room in Battersea."

Rainbow in the Navy

BAE Systems Electronics is the prime contractor installing motorised zoom lenses from Rainbow CCTV on the Royal Navy's new Type 45 destroyer.

The Type 45 class will be the largest and most powerful air defence destroyers ever operated by the Royal Navy. There are likely to be 190 crew, with space allowing for the transport of specialist teams for para-military operations and disaster relief. The prime role of the destroyer will be anti-air warfare – the protection of UK national and coalition forces against enemy aircraft and missiles.

The mixture of short-range Aster 15 and longer range Aster 30 missiles selected for the Type 45 makes it a faster, more agile vessel than the previous generation. The combat management system will perform tactical picture compilation, threat evaluation and weapon assignment. The first of the ships is due to enter service in 2009.

The lenses being used are of 1-inch format motorised zoom, with a focal length of 16-160mm, and an aperture range of F2.2-1200. Optical back focal distance is 18.6mm (in air) and the units can operate between temperatures of -10 to +50 deg C. They weigh approximately 1.4kg.

Numbers up for Stockholm

Dutch company ARS Traffic & Transport Technology has supplied 150 Derwent REG number plate capture cameras to the city of Stockholm to help measure and monitor traffic flows. An integrated ANPR system may also be considered by Stockholm city authorities for a London-style congestion charge.

According to ARS, high costs and complicated techniques have previously prevented the acquisition of good information about travel times in the city. The new ANPR system will be made operational to constantly measure travel time son all major routes within the city of Stockholm.

Approximately 150 cameras will monitor traffic on 50 routes in both directions. The REG cameras capture images of the rear number plate and after registering that data, render the license plate numbers unrecognisable, ensuring privacy and preventing trace back to any one particular vehicle.

The system then transfers the accumulated data directly to a central server every 15 minutes via a wireless communications network known as GPRS. There, all information taken from the different cameras is compared, and the travel times per rout calculated. These results are consequently transferred back to the traffic department of Stockholm's city council.

Complete checks in

Complete Visual Systems has installed CCTV cameras for major national hotel group throughout the UK.

Complete used JVC TK-WD310E wide dynamic range cameras and TK-C1480BE cameras at various sites for the hotel group.

The main security threats for the hotel and conference industry are organised groups of criminals that target expensive media equipment such as laptops and LCD projectors found in meeting rooms throughout the country. Car crime is also a significant security factor.

Walk-in thefts of briefcases and handbags left unattended in hotel lobbies are common and occur mainly in inner city locations. All types of fraud may result, including the use of foreign currency, counterfeit currency, cheques and credit cards. Dave Clements, operations manager at Complete, said: "Having installed TK-WD310E and TK-C1480BE fixed cameras both internally and externally, the cameras are set to achieve optimum picture quality in a diverse range of environments and lighting conditions. The cameras have also been perfectly compatible with digital video recording systems installed."

Zooming into NEC

Zoom lenses from Rainbow CCTV are forming a key element in the complex security and management of the NEC in Birmingham.

The lenses are being used predominantly with Phillips cameras on PTZ assemblies throughout Britain's leading exhibition and conference venue.

The NEC stages more than 180 events a year, ranging from IFSEC to Crufts. Up to four million people visit the centre annually. With 21 exhibition halls totalling 200,000 square metres, it is the seventh largest venue of its kind in Europe.

Although the majority of the lenses are employed to protect people and property, the system also has ANPR systems supplied by Hatfield-based CitySync to help with traffic management, the scale of the site necessitates long runs with communication including microwave, balance feeders and coaxial. Recording is to both VHS tape and hard drive, with ongoing migration to all-digital storage mechanisms.