In the Spanish capital, El Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza in Madrid features some of world’s finest pieces of art. The museum is switching from analogue video surveillance to an IP-based system. The products from Bosch mean that the museum can receive and monitor all alarms centrally. New IP cameras cover the museum’s exhibition rooms and provide images for recording, and video analytics. The installation is managed by a Bosch Video Management System (BVMS).
IP panoramic cameras were chosen by the museum for its Temporary Exhibitions Room to cover each artwork and to eliminate blind spots. These cameras featuring a “fisheye” lens provide a 180- or 360-degree overview. The camera’s built-in dewarping turns the circular image into distortion-free rectangular images that can be viewed in high resolution thanks to its 12-megapixel sensor.
The IP panoramic cameras have built-in Intelligent Video Analytics, for continuously analysing all video images. If a pre-defined scenario is detected, an alarm is triggered. Intelligent Video Analytics continues to monitor the full image circle so that the user continues to receive alarms even if the CCTV operators zoom in on a spot.
As an optional feature, a “museum mode” enables the museums’ security staff to pre-define a perimeter around an artwork, and to create a virtual perimeter. If someone breaches this barrier, whether in an attempt to touch or steal an artwork, or in a fall, an alarm is triggered and received both in the control centre as well as by the security personnel on their mobile devices, allowing them to react and act. This virtual barrier is an alternative to conventional infrared barriers.
For exhibits displayed in low light conditions such as the recently exhibited ‘Bulgari and Rome’, in the museum’s Moneo Room, the museum selected Bosch IP 6000 series cameras featuring the latest starlight technology. Bosch says that its starlight IP cameras are made for low light, providing colour images in almost complete darkness. These cameras also ensure that low light areas can be properly monitored without the need for more lighting and that the museum’s management does not have to compromise the look of the museum.
