Technology @ Work
Technology @ Work
“We chose the solution that was the most advanced and the best fit for our needs,” Murphy said. “The city is thrilled with what the system has enabled us to accomplish.”
More than 150 DVTel cameras are already operational throughout the city, mounted on city-owned streetlights in 19 neighborhood parks and downtown Wilkes- Barre. By October, an additional 150 cam- eras are expected to be live on the network, 70 of which will be monitoring the city’s high school and middle schools through a partnership with the Wilkes-Barre Area School district. The remainder of the cam- eras will be deployed in other areas of the city and, in conjunction with the city’s Parking Authority, at parking garages and parking lots throughout Wilkes-Barre. Finding the resources to deploy the sur-
veillance network outside of city funds was essential to the project, city officials said. By proving that the cameras would provide a substantial economic benefit to the city as well as to the surrounding area, the $2.8 million Safe City Initiative has been funded from federal and state grant money, including federal stimulus funding from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, and funds from the Pennsylvania State Gaming and
Pennsylvania Community and Economic Development Departments. Businesses in downtown pay a fee to belong to the city’s Business Improvement District, part of which has helped to install a higher
PROJECTS in the News
Cameras watching over cultural proper- ties, like The F.M. Center for the Per- forming Arts in Wilkes-Barre’s Public Square have helped to draw theatergoers back to downtown in the evening hours.
density of cameras in that area and ensure around-the-clock monitoring. In the first few months of camera
In tandem with the camera network, city economic development initiatives have succeeded in bringing more than 600 new jobs to the downtown area over the past three years.
142 October 2010
deployment, city police have already requested video to use in six incidents, with more than a dozen events, such as car accidents and minor public disturbances, already caught on video. Video is moni- tored in real-time at the command center, where DVTel’s Latitude Network Video Management System manages the vari- ous camera feeds and displays available images on a wall of 10 monitors. “I expect the cameras to be a great deter- rent to criminal activity in the areas where they are deployed,” said Wilkes-Barre Police Chief Gerard Dessoye. “They have already proven to be a valuable tool in assisting our investigations, allowing the officers to provide a higher level of protec- tion to the community.” Local officials also expect that the cam- era network will be invaluable during large events in the city, and periods of time when crime is typically high. Information captured from the cameras can be relayed to emergency dispatchers at the regional 911-dispatch center. — Contributed by Paul Smith, chief operating officer, DVTel Inc.
Vicon Industries Inc., working with Advanced Automation Systems Inc. of Tampa Fla., found a novel and valu- able application for its pressurized, high-performance SurveyorVFT pan- tilt-zoom camera dome. It is being used as a “beach cam” in Sarasota, Fla., where its live, 24/7 online video feed is helping to reassure potential tourists that the county’s beaches have not been tarnished by this sum- mer’s oil spill. The camera slowly pans the entire expanse of beach, clearly displaying a 180-deg. view. In response to last April’s Deepwa- ter Horizon oil rig explosion, Sarasota County Parks and Recreation teamed up with the Sarasota Convention and Visitors Bureau, to install a state-of- the-art video camera at Siesta Beach as part of an aggressive public rela- tions campaign. Advanced Automa- tion Systems successfully installed the camera in a two-week time frame. Requirements included the ability to withstand Category 2 hurricane force winds, constant exposure to salt water, and to not fog up in the extremely humid beach-front environment. Live video from the Beach Cam is online at
http://www.scgov.tv/siesta- beachcam. The camera receives an average of 5,000 hits per week.
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Acker-Stone Industries, a Corona, Calif., manufacturer, is monitoring its corporate office and manufactur- ing facility using DVTel’s (www.dvtel. com) intelligent video analytics from ioimage to detect security breaches and quickly identify safety issues for employees. The intelligent video solution is remotely viewed by Virtual Guard Inc. (
www.virtualwatchguard. com), a remote video monitoring com- pany in Chatsworth, Calif. By pairing intelligent video with the company’s remote monitoring capabilities, Vir- tual Guard is able to prevent theft, identify security breaches and provide enhanced security for employees.
PHOTO COURTESY OF DVTEL
PHOTO COURTESY OF DVTEL
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