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Perimeter security at Featherbrooke Estate

The residents of Featherbrooke Estate (www.fbestate.co.za) in Gauteng, insist on knowing that they are safe in their homes, day and night. As one of the most prestigious estates in South Africa, the homeowners did not want to compromise on security on their perimeter, yet still wanted to maintain the rustic and rural ambiance of the setting while working within a very reasonable budget.

The most significant challenges they faced included:

1. Early warning of possible incidents on the perimeter in all conditions without false alarms,

2. Reduce costs and dependency on patrolling guards and camera operators,

3. Highest possible video quality for forensics, without requiring expensive and redundant networks/bandwidth,

4. Low civil works, operation and maintenance costs,

5. Protection from lightning strikes, and

6. All within a limited budget along with quick and modular deployment.

Perimeter surveillance

After considering several options Featherbrooke decided to install VideoIQ’s HD SmartGuard iCVR devices. The solution was quickly installed on the perimeter and integrated into the estate’s control room by SysControl (www.syscontrol.co.za), one of VIdeoIQ’s accredited partners, and preferred supplier to Featherbrooke, using a combination of technologies. The result is a perimeter electronic guarding system that isolates each pole, dramatically reducing the risk of damage and outages from lighting strikes while also eliminating the risks associated with mains power outages or running mains power along the entire perimeter.

The final design includes:

* VideoIQ full HD SmartGuard Systems with IQ Track, remote motorised focus and various early warning rules set per device.

* High power infrared LED directional illuminators from Tekno Europe.

* Solar panels with battery reserve at each pole for power supply to illuminators and HD SmartGuards for lightning isolation.

* Simple Layer 2 Korenix fibre network linked to the control room.

Improved security and reduced guarding costs

Now Featherbrooke’s control room operators are notified of any potential threats or incidents before they happen but triggering video alarms on the outside of the fence, pre-empting incidents before any possible breach. Guards can now instantly respond to any incident with accurate, current information on the exact location, description and count of people or vehicles to apprehend.

Reasons for Selecting VideoIQ

As VideoIQ requires no servers or other hardware infrastructure the cost of installation and implementation has not just saved overall system costs (such as storage, software licences and expensive networking hardware), but also reduced the indirect costs of extra guards, beams, fences or control room staff to monitor screens. Also, being fully scaleable means that if Featherbrooke wants to change or expand then it can simply add more devices without modifying or upgrading existing infrastructure. It can simply add VideoIQ units as and where needed.

Minimising false alarms often caused by rain, animals, vegetation or anything moving that is not a human or vehicle was key for an effective system. Responding to actual events using true intelligent analytics that have proven to be the best available means that guards and controllers have a real tool to ensure proactive surveillance. Also running all the technology inside a single device ensures that the control room is not bombarded by video streams or false alarms.

As each VideoIQ iCVR acts as an independent device with its own rules and storage, there is no need for a robust network or constant streaming. The solution at Featherbrooke simply involved mounting the units on poles at the perimeter and connecting them back to the control room via the network.

VideoIQ iCVRs install just like any PC on a network so Syscontrol was able to pre-configure and quickly install them on site when the poles were in. All that is required for the control room is a Windows PC.

As each device manages its own storage there is no requirement for DVRs, NVRs or any special hardware or software licences at the control room, making Featherbrooke’s design simple and easy to maintain. At any stage a controller can quickly interrogate the system to retrieve video or specific events.

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