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Mobile CCTV trial sees Bahrain police secure over 700 new driving convictions
 Radar AutoVision systems from TSS (Traffic Safety Systems) are to be installed in a variety of Bahrain police force patrol vehicles
Bahrain police force plans to purchase 19 advanced Radar AutoVision mobile CCTV systems from TSS Systems following a successful trial that helped the police force to obtain nearly 700 prosecutions for excessive speed and inappropriate driver behaviour.
The new Radar AutoVision systems are to be installed in a variety of Bahrain police force patrol vehicles. Julian Cooke, international sales manager at TSS says: "We are delighted with the contract from the Bahrain police force which, crucially, is for nearly double the number of systems we initially anticipated. The increased order is a direct result of the local traffic police being able to see the benefits of the mobile digital CCTV on the ground, with Radar AutoVision proving itself to be extremely effective when used on the busy Bahrain Causeway, a four-lane highway, which links the territory with Saudi Arabia."
Once fitted in a police car, Radar AutoVision is able to integrate accurate speed measurement with digital CCTV evidence of a target vehicle that has exceeded the speed limit or committed other traffic violations. The system comes with NetVu ObserVer video management software that allows users to view and copy images from the Radar AutoVision's removable hard drive.
There is also the potential for it to be used in a stationary or moving vehicle and to monitor offenders travelling towards or away from the police car.
Said deputy director of traffic police, Lt Colonel Sheikh Abdul Rahman Bin Subah Al Khalifa: “I know that the officers I have spoken to have been extremely impressed with the TSS solution and believe that it gives the Bahrain police force an extremely potent weapon for traffic law enforcement throughout the territory.”
The order from the Bahrain police force, says TSS, underlines its growing presence in the Middle East region and the company expects to be able to announce further contracts later in the year. 
Julian Cooke international sales manager at TSS (centre) alongside representatives of the Bahrain police force
NVT cable solution takes off at Queen Alia International Airport in Amman
Queen Alia International Airport, Amman
Queen Alia International Airport, Amman has recently adopted Network Video Technologies' (NVT) unshielded twisted pair (UTP) video transmission technology, as the keystone of a comprehensive CCTV network upgrade.
International New Technical Est. of Amman were contracted to specify and install the project which had specific requirements as Mohammed Nazzal, project manager for New Technical explains: "We have been involved with Queen Alia International Airport since 2004, maintaining and expanding the CCTV system as operational demand at
the airport has increased. Certified as a first-degree electrical contractor by the Jordan Ministry of Housing, we have increased the camera count to nearly 100 cameras, with video recorded on DVRs located in the south terminal control room.
"When installing the new cameras, the units covering the main control tower were required to be sited up to 900 metres from the control facility. This would have caused quality issues if we had used traditional coax video transmission, especially when considering the amount of electrical interference present at the airport.”
The New Technical team instead installed NVT passive transmitters within the existing camera housings and VCL dome cameras fitted with NVT technology already 'built in', at each new camera position.
Cameras now cover all aspects of the airport, with images transmitted via UTP cable bundles contained within the building's cable trunking network.
In the control room, camera images are received via NVT NV- 3262 Active Receiver Hubs. The system is controlled via six workstations that access camera images from both the north and south terminals, a large retail area which spans a bridge between the two buildings, the traffic control tower, and the perimeter of the vast site, including all access gates.
Nazzal adds: "Due to the amount of cameras to be connected and the nature of the airport's business, it could not simply be shut down for installation works, but using NVT, we were able to install the cabling network far easier and quicker than if we had chosen a coax based system, simply due to the smaller size and flexibility of the Cat5e UTP cable. This led to a much quicker install that required less civil works, and therefore had less impact on the airport's daily activities."
The NVT based system is also used as an effective management tool, with key managers able to access video footage directly from their office PCs via an integrated IP network. Due to the airport's rapid growth, it was important for the new surveillance solution to be as expandable as it is effective."
State-of-the-art smoke detection package rules out false alarms at art museum
Siemens’ state-of-the-art Sinteso fire protection technology with Advanced Signal Analysis technology is helping to protect the valuable exhibits in the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna, Austrai from damage by smoke and fire.
Housing irreplaceable collections assembled over centuries as a result of the preferences and interests of the Habsburg dynasty (rulers of the Austro-Hungarian empire), the magnificent Italian, renaissanceinspired building is a truly monumental setting for the imperial treasures.
The riches in the museum’s eight collections (which are also partly housed in the Neue Burg section of the Hofburg Imperial Palace as well as Schönbrunn Palace in Vienna) include artifacts from ancient Egypt, antiquities from the Middle Ages and more modern times up to the year 1800 with Renaissance and Baroque art being a special focus for the museum.
The art museum in Vienna has triple protection against smoke and flames in each zone/room: Siemens beam detectors (also known as linear smoke detectors) mounted directly under the ceiling transmit infrared light, invisible to the human eye, across the room to detect any smoke particles in the air at an early stage. Point-type smoke detectors mounted on the ceiling and flame detectors that respond to the fluctuations in light that are characteristic of flames provide additional cover.
The two large stairwells in the Kunsthistorisches Museum are protected by radio (wireless) fire detectors. Information from the various detectors is analysed in two sub centres (in the roof and basement) and evaluated in the inhouse
safety centre. Fire-doors held open by magnetic catches are triggered to close automatically in the event of a fire, in order to prevent the fire from spreading. “The old system was getting increasingly difficult to operate and maintain,” says Kurt Hofer, fire officer at the Kunsthistorisches Museum.
“Siemens simply offered the best package with its many years of experience, state-of-the-art technology and long-term service offer. Cooperation with the Siemens meant that installation went off without a hitch and without interrupting the museum’s routine,”Kurt Hofer continues.
Even in the most difficult, ambient conditions, the Advanced Signal Analysis technology developed by Siemens for optimal detection reliability, practically rules out unwanted alarms.
The ASA technology is used in the Sinteso S-line detector range which includes neural multi-sensor detectors, wide-spectrum smoke detectors, heat detectors, flame detectors and beam detectors. When adjusted to the specific ambient conditions, the technology dynamically evaluates signals within the selectable detection response.
Another distinctive advantage that the Siemens’ system offered the museum is the possibility to deactivate the fire detectors individually. It is possible to disarm specific devices whenever the need arises – such as when carpentry work, welding or similar work is being carried out in any of the zones causing dust and smoke to rise.
“This is a big improvement over the old system, because deactivation is now simple and precise,” concludes Kurt Hofer.
In historical buildings, aesthetics and minimising the impact on the museum interior has to be considered carefully.
The widespread use of Sinteso technology for the change meant that no additional cables had to be laid in the visitor zones and the impressive building could largely be left unaffected.
Major CCTV installation links Nairobi's streets to police HQ with live image feeds
PSK Ltd says it is helping to make Kenya a safer place to live and do business in, following a landmark installation of CCTV equipment in the country’s capital Nairobi.
The company has recently installed a pilot CCTV system that uses state-of-the-art IP static and pan, tilt & zoom cameras, which have been mounted on the outside of Kenya’s National Archives Building – offering a bird’s eye view of the adjoining streets and surrounding areas. The cameras allow operators to zoom in on car number plates and on to faces in the area, and the system has a direct link to the local police for analysis, recording and action.
Martin Parry, PSK’s technical advisor, says the location and system design were both carefully chosen for maximum impact. “The National Archives Building lies in the centre the intersection of five of Nairobi’s most important roads, so it’s really the perfect choice for a pilot installation such as this,” Parry says.
“From the National Archives Building, we use the fibre infrastructure of the Kenya Data Network to send images live to a control room at the city’s police headquarters, two miles away. We have trained between 25 and 30 police officers on the use of the equipment in the control room, which has now been set up as a Special Surveillance Unit.”
All video from the eight cameras is recorded in high resolution to hard disk drives, and can be easily retrieved to provide evidence of any suspected criminal activity in the area. The control room boasts a Bosch VJ8008 1TB image storage system, together with LCD screens for monitoring and Sicura System’s DigiFend NVR video management software. DigiFend was selected because it can incorporate video help points and automatic number plate recognition, all key requirements for the future.
Now that the installation has proved its worth, PSK’s MD, Gary Stubley hopes that other businesses in the area will take advantage of the security infrastructure his company has set up. “The Surveillance Unit is now in use 24/7, and our aim is to supply other businesses and organisations in the area with CCTV systems that can be connected to the network,” he says.
“At PSK we can offer system design and procurement from the UK, while our local office in the Westlands district of Nairobi carries out installation, commissioning, training and support. We are putting together a leasing package that helps customers with their budgeting, and we offer a five-year maintenance contract, so that in exchange for a monthly fee, users can rest assured that their systems are going to be running 100% of the time. We can even incorporate legacy systems into our network, ensuring that any investment customers have made in older technology still delivers value.”
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