Glasgow Science Centre has a new video surveillance system. One of Scotland’s most popular visitor attractions, pictured, it stands on the south bank of the River Clyde. It’s an educational charity, supported by a not-for-profit visitor experience and other revenue streams.
A contract to install the new video surveillance, which features cameras sourced from Hanwha Techwin, was awarded to Scottish Communications Group. The firm installed the original, analogue CCTV when the Centre opened in 2001.
Stuart Leslie, Sales Director of the Scottish Communications Group, said: “We have had a close, long-term business relationship with Glasgow Science Centre and are delighted to have had the opportunity to build on the partnership by being entrusted to design, install, commission and maintain the new system. The old analogue system had done an excellent job over the years helping to keep visitors safe by ensuring staff and contractors comply with health and safety procedures. However, in terms of features and functionality, as well as the image resolutions of the cameras, the system was not able to deliver the benefits offered by the latest generation of cameras”.
Some 68 new Wisenet cameras have been installed; 48 as replacements for those old analogue cameras. Some 20 extra cameras have been installed in new locations to negate any blind spots and give the Centre’s control room operators greater situational awareness.
Stuart Leslie and his colleagues took advice from Hanwha Techwin Europe’s pre-sales staff about what Wisenet internal and external cameras to specify for each of the 68 locations. As a result, 40 cameras were selected from the Wisenet Q IP network series which, with infra-red (IR) illumination. These Bullet and mini-dome cameras also feature Wide Dynamic Range (WDR), which performs at up to 120dB to produce images from places that present a mix of bright and dark areas, such as the Centre’s reception area where strong sunlight can stream in.
The remaining 28 bullet, PTZ and mini-dome cameras come from the Wisenet HD+ analogue series and deliver 2-megapixel HD images over coaxial cables. Those HD+ cameras can support the transmission of HD images using standard coax cabling – without latency or image loss, the manufacturer adds – at distances of up to 500m. Further, without the need to incur the cost and time of installing encoders, converters or switches, yet more savings can be achieved.
Images from the cameras are recorded on either a Pentabrid ‘hybrid’ recorder or a Wisenet NVR, with each of the five devices offering up to 12 terabytes of storage.
Roddie Galbraith, Facilities Manager at the Centre, said: “The safety and security of our visitors is always our top priority. We have therefore invested in the very latest technology in order to significantly upgrade the capabilities of our video surveillance infrastructure and, in doing so, provide our security colleagues with a powerful tool which will allow them to respond quickly and effectively to any incidents.
“We are very happy with the performance of the new system and are pleased that we could take advantage of the cost-saving benefits of the Wisenet HD+ cameras without compromising on quality or functionality. We believe we now have a video surveillance system which will be fit for purpose for many years to come.”
About the installer
Scottish Communications Group (SCG) cover most sectors; its customers include Pinterest, Motorola and Acciona (an energy company, for their Ness Energy project in the north east of Scotland). Visit https://scottishcommunications.com/.
