Situated in the centre of the city, the Villa Sofia-CTO consists of three main hospital buildings located on a single site. The new 650-plus camera CCTV system will provide the hospital’s management team with the very latest surveillance technology, helping them to protect staff, patients, visitors and valuable assets alike.
The IP video system will be installed on dedicated networks in each of the three main buildings. Each building will be interconnected using a wireless LAN. This will allow the hospital Security Team to monitor all 650 cameras from all three sites using a single, central Control Room.
24/7 image streaming across the network
IndigoVision’s compression technology ensures that full frame rate, high quality digital video from all the cameras can be streamed 24/7 across the network with minimal impact on bandwidth – an important factor when using wireless networks.
The system is being supplied by IndigoVision’s local partner Bettini Srl, and installed by CEPIE in partnership with design consultant Studio Diblasi di Palermo.
The security staff will use Control Center – IndigoVision’s IP video and alarm management software – to monitor live and recorded video from the cameras. Video will be recorded at full frame rate for seven days using 42 standalone IndigoVision NVRs installed around the three buildings to minimise network bandwidth. Using the Control Center workstation, operators will be able to view recorded video from any NVR no matter where they are located.
Cost-effective camera additions
The distributed nature of IP video removes the single point of failure associated with an analogue video matrix and DVR system. If any NVR fails, video can be automatically re-directed to another NVR and, as they are distributed, the system is inherently fault-tolerant. IndigoVision’s system is said to be extremely flexible and scalable, allowing additional cameras, NVRs or Control Center workstations to be added cost-effectively at any point on the network. This factor -together with the high quality, low bandwidth video – was the reason IndigoVision’s solution ended up being chosen for Palermo Hospital.
Real-time motion detection analytics will be used to trigger alarms in Control Center when people or vehicles enter unauthorised areas. The alarms can then be used to automatically trigger events, such as displaying a pre-defined salvo of cameras or panning and zooming a camera to a preset location.
Automating the real-time detection of incidents frees up valuable operator resource and increases effectiveness. The same tools are available in Control Center for the post-event analysis of large volumes of recorded footage. This dramatically reduces the time taken by operators to locate critical events, enabling a swift response to emergency situations.
Conversion of analogue feed to MPEG-4 digital video
The 650-plus cameras are a mixture of fixed and dome analogue models installed internally and externally. Each camera is connected to an IndigoVision 8000 module which converts the analogue feed to DVD-quality, MPEG-4 digital video for transmission over the network.
Processing of real-time analytics and a unique IndigoVision feature called Activity Controlled Framerate (ACF) is achieved in the 8000 module itself. ACF controls the amount of video that’s transmitted on to the network. When the scene is inactive, the frame rate is reduced. As soon as any motion is detected in the scene, the frame rate is automatically set to maximum.
Integrated real-time features such as ACF and analytics that operate in the camera at the network edge can only be fully realised because IndigoVision’s system is a complete end-to-end solution, with all components designed by the company. This, claims IndigoVision in its official press statement, ensures maximum performance in any environment.
