"This is perhaps the only project of this nature in the world and it is definitely the only one in Brazil that uses mobile digital video recorders in this way," said Alvaro de Souza, CCTV manager of VMI, the company in charge of designing this security project.
by Santiago Jaramillo H. *
As 2010 passed, rio Grande Energia (RGE) decided it was time to make a change to its power plants, which are responsible for distributing electricity to the entire north-northeast area of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. The plants serve 262 municipalities, which make up 51% of this Brazilian state.
Previously, the security of all electrical substations consisted of an alarm and intrusion detection system. In turn, these alarm systems were connected to different support stations to alert technicians of a possible incident.
However, support stations are usually located at great distances from isolated electrical substations. Basically, in case an alarm went off, a maintenance employee had to set aside their normal duties to drive for hours and check the nature of the incident, which is a waste of time and corporate resources.
In addition, while an alarm could be related to a real security threat, it was much more frequent that the response of the technicians was motivated by an everyday event, such as the presence of animals grazing very close to the facilities.
Unfortunately, due to the distance between the substations and the support points and the fact that all of them are located in a rural environment, there was no infrastructure that allowed the implementation of technologies such as live transmission via the Internet. So technicians were forced to spend much of their working days running after nothing. RGE and its employees agreed that something needed to be done about it.
What to do?
This was the question RGE executives were asking. The costs involved in building, from scratch, the infrastructure needed for internet access were excessively onerous, to say the least. From a conventional security standpoint, real-time video streaming options, the primary component in eliminating this growing hassle related to wasted time, were sparse and spaced.
After spending considerable time pondering some possibilities and discarding others, Mr. Souza decided to take a recursive path. With the help of Hikvision's security technology, it was possible, in fact, to provide these support stations with real-time video images of each and every electrical substation. The key was in the use of a digital video recorder, or more specifically, the DS-8104HMI-B Mobile digital video recorder with Hikvision 3G module.
"We have always had great confidence in Hikvision's technology. But this project represented a departure from the norm, so we thoroughly evaluated DS-8104HMI-B to make sure it could provide images on a 3G network to employees located in distant substations for evaluation. The tests we did showed that using Hikvision's mobile digital camcorders would be an excellent solution to this vexing problem," Souza said.
For this project the most important thing was to reverse the overall process, i.e. to use the DS-8104HMI-B digital VCR as a fixed digital VCR unit. By doing this, it was possible to completely circumvent the thorny problem of installing expensive cables or fiber optic cable lines.
However, although one serious problem had been solved, another appeared. "Brazil has an unfortunate history of instability in the 3G wireless network. And it is true that sometimes problems arise, as explained by the CCTV manager of VMI. Therefore, if any power outage or other problem with the grid were to occur, the entire 3G solution could collapse. Still, thanks to the DS-8104HMI-B 3G's ability to save a backup copy on site, this issue was easily resolved. Thus, in case a problem arose with the 3G network, it would not be necessary to travel to the facility to retrieve the images from the security cameras.
The DS-8104HMI-B mobile digital VCR can meet all these requirements thanks to different features: H.264 video compression, recordings with resolutions up to 4CIF, two plug-in 2.5-inch SATA hard drives, a patented vibration-proof hard drive and welding technology, and a built-in 3G module (WCDMA/cdma2000) (optional).
The missing piece
Although Hikvision's mobile digital camcorders solved the connectivity problem, one piece was still missing: the eyes of the solution. For Mr. Souza, compared to the problem of internet connection with the type of 3G network in Brazil, this was an extremely easy problem to solve: "I knew immediately which camera would be ideal for this solution, the high-speed dome DS-2AF1-617-B from Hikvision. Its wide and dynamic 128× range and 36 zoom magnifications made it the perfect camera to provide employees of these remote support stations with the tools needed to decide if something posed a real threat."
Mr. Souza continued, "In addition, the DS-2AF1-617-B offers a viewing angle that covers 360 degrees, the maximum range we could ask for. Now, when the alarm goes off, the real-time video images captured by Hikvision cameras will allow support station technicians to make an accurate and optimal decision, as well as save resources." Additionally, Mr. Souza noted that this high-speed dome camera works particularly well in an environment with "low light conditions," thanks to its actual day/night vision images.
Additional features such as 128× wide and dynamic range, high resolution 540 TVL, 3D intelligent positioning function, 3D digital noise reduction and IP66 degree of protection provide this camera with the necessary tools to ensure the power supply by each and every one of RGE's power plants to this part of Brazil.
Mr. Souza summed up this project perfectly, culminated in December 2010, when he stated: "the solution for RGE represents 10% technical knowledge and 90% hard work, all in combination with Hikvision's tremendous technology."
*Hikvision Digital Technology Co., Ltd. is one of the world's leading providers of video surveillance products and solutions. Created in 2001, Hikvision has grown from a small company of 28 people to a global company with more than 6,000 employees, including 2,000 research and development engineers. With the industry's largest research and development team and the greatest potential for continuous innovation, Hikvision's product offering includes digital video recorders, hybrids, network video recorders, standalone digital video recorders, digital video servers, compression cards, high-resolution IP cameras and high-speed domes. These products are used in more than 100 countries and have been used to protect various security facilities around the world. If you would like to learn more, please visit the Hikvision website: www.hikvision.com.
