At Sony, we have a strong history of working closely with educational establishments of all sizes to design scalable solutions that meet a broad range of security challenges, from access control and intrusion detection to surveillance for vandalism, arson, burglary and bullying to name but a few. Over this time, not only has the physical infrastructure and security needs of our customers evolved considerably, but so has the capabilities and sophistication of the technology that underpins today's most powerful and effective security solutions.
Never before has real time intelligence, high resolution images and critical information been so accessible to educational institutions, thanks to government funding initiatives, the proliferation of broadband networks across the country and the availability of affordable and scalable networked video monitoring solutions. With new, advanced software such as Sony's Real Shot Manager, monitoring for incidents, archiving data and controlling the system has never been easier and more accurate. Staff, students and the local community no longer need to simply react to disruptive, threatening or even violent behaviour that prevents the establishment from functioning successfully but instead, they can now proactively anticipate, monitor and prevent these incidents.
Add to this the scalability of an IP-based, networked solution and the robust and durable designs of casing and hardware, it is easy to see how any investment in security today is well future proofed to adapt to tomorrow's changing conditions and still deliver critical security well in to the future. Investing in the intelligence, image quality, prevention and longevity of a networked security platform needs to be on everyone's agenda, from staff, students and parents to the local community, police force and other educational authorities in the area.
From reactive to proactive security solutions: technology for a modern world
It is widely recognised that there are inherent weaknesses in the process of manually scrutinising security monitors hour after hour, in the hope of pinpointing all possible risks. The challenge for security providers such as Sony has been to develop a robust technological solution to address this, without the added hindrance of generating false alarms. Part of the challenge lay in the fact that, until now, cameras had no installed intelligence and could play no active part in the detection process. As a result, all too often analogue surveillance recordings provided evidence of a crime committed rather than helped to prevent the act.
By finding a way for technology to carry the burden of relentless detection, Sony developed an innovative solution that took the potential effectiveness of security measures to an unprecedented level. It's a solution that has fundamentally changed the nature of surveillance.
There are two main elements to the new, and in every sense more ‘intelligent', approach to monitoring, which combines Sony's cameras and software, within a highly developed IT architecture.
Intelligent cameras: Sony's groundbreaking intelligent cameras can actively detect individual risks, thanks to software that interprets and highlights security issues. Sony's intelligent cameras can, for instance, independently recognise visual security breaches, such as abandoned packages or suspicious movement. The cameras are sophisticated enough to know the difference between moving people and safe background conditions, such as blowing trees, so that those areas no longer need to form a security blind spot as they do with current analogue CCTV. Most of the time-consuming false alarm scenarios can be eradicated too.
There are other advantages for the broadband network too. The camera's intelligence, added to the fact that it is Internet Protocol (IP) based means that it shares the data processing burden. As a result, bandwidth requirements are minimised because only legitimate threat images and data need to be sent and stored. Not only does it make a huge difference to reducing the cost and management of the captured material, but it also enables fast and accurate results when searching through historical data.
Enhanced software: Sony's RealShot Manager 4.0 is easy-to-use security software that analyses, assesses and responds to the images captured by Sony's intelligent cameras. Designed with the practicalities of security work in mind, the software provides vitally consistent support that security professionals need. By alerting and directing operatives to visible threats within a frame of video through an unmistakable on-screen highlight box, RealShot Manager provides more than just a safety net; it delivers proactive detection.
In May of this year, Sony built on its range of intelligent, IP-based cameras with the launch of our first Megapixel resolution network cameras that perform with ultra high sensitivity levels. Designed for security applications in semi-protected outdoor environments, the cameras can monitor moving objects at wide angles and in dim light.
Some of the return-on-investment benefits of bringing security video cameras into the network, and away from the stand-alone world of analogue CCTV, will be immediately clear. It is no longer necessary to run, manage and upgrade two separate systems.
With the UK government's substantial investment for ICT in schools through its Building Schools for the Future campaign, all schools should have at least 2MB of bandwidth. It therefore makes sense for schools to take advantage of their network infrastructure and benefit from an intelligent security system. Use of the network also allows the technical possibility of additional hardware devices functioning alongside the network video monitoring, allowing features such as triggered lighting or door locking.
An intelligent security system can also be configured in other ways to give the type of support that specific operatives may require. For instance, alarms can be triggered by bodies moving beyond boundaries that have been set in a field of vision or in directions that are prohibited. No movement ever becomes so routine and mundane that it will be ignored.
Designing the right solution to meet multiple security issues
From using surveillance technology to act as a disciplinary aid for internal incidents, or helping to control the flow of traffic in school corridors, to intrusion detection and protecting valuable infrastructure, there is a diverse range of security risks that can be addressed by intelligent networked video monitoring.
One such establishment which worked closely with Sony to meet a number of critical security issues was Harton Technology College, a highly successful 11-to-16 Department of Education and Skills (DfES) designated technology school.
With 16 entrances distributed across various buildings, the college was becoming increasingly vulnerable to costly incidents of anti-social student behaviour, hoax fire alarms, vandalism and theft. However, the school's existing analogue CCTV cameras did not support responsive and efficient monitoring: they simply did not offer high quality images and recovering footage from the system was extremely time-consuming.
Sony's advanced Network Video Monitoring solution enabled the College to install a powerful system quickly and with minimal complexity. With the support of Universal Systems Solutions, the installation, which comprised 21 Sony SNC-RZ30P Internet Protocol (IP) based cameras covering the exterior and all entrance doors, was completed within only 14 days. As a result of Sony's intelligent technology, the school began monitoring the building within minutes after the installation. Later, six more cameras were installed on the second floor of the building.
Easy to maintain and use on a daily basis, the College's managers only have to check the cameras once every morning - there is no need to monitor the system continuously. In addition, the high quality images from the cameras offered exceptional clarity, which helped the school to identify suspicious incidents with pencil-sharp precision.
Sony's cameras have helped the College establish a tight safety net around its students. The management team can now watch the grounds at all times thanks to the day and night function of the solution, which can capture every single detail even under demanding lighting conditions. The cameras have become a deterrent to any criminal or unwarranted behaviour within the school grounds, while anti-social behaviour, such as bullying, has been significantly reduced.
Shortly after the solution was completed, a student was bullied by her classmates in one of the school's corridors. Knowing that the monitoring cameras were in use, she reported the incident to the school and within minutes, the staff were able to track the students accused of bullying and resolve the situation immediately. The return on investment from the system was also impressive, not least from significantly reducing its repair costs from vandalism in only a short period of time.
Using intelligent tools that never get tired of accurately processing endless visual data, the security taskforce of any educational establishment can apply its judgement and experience based on clear information. Ultimately, Sony's network video monitoring solution enables security personnel and institutions to greatly enhance the safety of their people and the security of their physical infrastructure.
