A major oil and gas company based in Brazil is using IP video to remotely monitor high-tech automated gas facilities in the Amazon rainforest.
The 12 compounds, many of which are unmanned, contain millions of dollars of process automation, telemetry and telecoms equipment and are spread across many thousands of miles of the forest. All the stations are centrally monitored from a control room in Rio de Janeiro using ‘Control Center’, IndigoVision’s security management software.
This project uses a hybrid IP network consisting of satellite, fiber optic and wireless links. The system was designed and installed by IndigoVision’s local Partner AIRWIRE, who specialises in video surveillance of remote areas. Armando K Gessinger, AIRWIRE’s CEO said, “We chose IndigoVision for this challenging project as they were the only company that could deliver very high-quality video at low bandwidth and provide excellent communication management tools.”
In addition to compression technology and bandwidth tuning tools, IndigoVision’s IP Video system supports a feature called Activity Controlled Framerate (ACF), which has been a benefit for the project. ACF, which is built-in to each of IndigoVision’s IP Video transmitter modules, controls the frame rate of the camera video stream based on the amount of motion in the scene. When there is no activity, video is streamed over the network at minimum frame rate, the instant motion is detected the video is automatically transmitted at the maximum configured frame rate. This significantly reduces the amount of bandwidth needed as much of the time little or no activity is being monitored at the 12 stations.
A number of fixed analogue cameras at each remote facility are connected to IndigoVision’s transmitter modules, which convert the camera’s feed to digital video for transmission over the IP network. PIR intruder detectors are also connected to the IP system via digital inputs on the transmitters. Advanced alarm handling features in ‘Control Center’ can then process these PIR detector alarms and alert operators to potential intrusions, immediately displaying the nearest camera on a spot monitor and identifying the alarm on an interactive map. The integration of alarms with video surveillance improves operator efficiency and incident response. Audio is also transmitted alongside the video, allowing two-way conversations between the central control room and workers at the remote sites.
In addition to the central control room, ‘Control Center’ workstations are deployed at each remote facility for local maintenance and monitoring where applicable. IndigoVision’s flexible licensing model means that ‘Control Center’ is licensed on an unrestricted basis within the cost of IndigoVision’s hardware, allowing any number of video workstations to be installed for no more than the cost of the PC.
