IP video is part of a security upgrade at London landmark. 30 St Mary Axe, known as โThe Gherkinโ. On the former site of The Baltic Exchange, 180m high, itโs the third tallest building in the City of London.
โThe Gherkinโ is a multi-tenanted commercial office block occupied by insurance and legal businesses.
The distributed and open architecture of IndigoVisionโs IP video system provides the installation platform for the migration of legacy CCTV and integration with other security systems. Universal Security Systems Ltd, IndigoVisionโs Authorised Partner, installed CCTV access control and intercom. This replaced old analogue CCTV matrix and DVR kit with a fully digital network using an IP-based distributed virtual matrix. This allows any component in the system to go at any point on the IP network. As a scalable and flexible solution, it was a key factor in IndigoVision being chosen for the project, according to the manufacturer. All of the original analogue fixed and PTZ cameras were re-used and the migration was achieved without any disruption to building operations. That was an important consideration for a building of this type with 24/7 activity. IndigoVisionโs ability to stream synchronised audio across the network alongside the video, allowed Universal to develop a video intercom, recording audio from existing intercom equipment with video from nearby cameras.
The security of the video archive, through the use of a resilient and redundant recording solution, was another important factor for the building owners. Video is recorded on six standalone IndigoVision Network Video Recorders (NVRs), with a seventh used as a fail-over back-up. Should any NVR fail or be taken off-line for maintenance, the back-up automatically starts recording in its place. The stand-alone NVRs have a Linux-based software engine and a fault tolerant design with dual redundant network and power supply connections.
Two โControl Centerโ workstations are used in a security office to monitor live video and analyse recorded footage from all of the cameras. โControl Centerโ provides advanced analysis tools such as motion thumbnails for fast incident review. Guard tours, sequences and privacy zones are all supported. Video is displayed on PC viewing panes or traditional monitors. Operators can view an interactive map of the entire site to locate cameras and alarms.
