Mission
UTV.hu's team has undertaken the task of no less than facilitating the life of Hungarian, and especially Budapest citizens, giving them the possibility to avoid daily traffic jams and congestion. UTV was looking for a remote video surveillance system that would send real-time images to the users' mobile phone or home computer, thus providing accurate and fast information about the traffic situation in different areas.
Solution
The owners of UTV.hu, Magyar Plastiroute Ltd. and Mobilkép Ltd., found the right solution with the help of Aspectis Ltd., an Axis partner, to provide continuous information about the overall traffic situation. The installation of such a system raised a number of privacy issues, which had to be solved. When UTV.hu first began the process, the startup and administrative tasks took more than a year, and the total installation was finalized in 2years due to the remote locations involved.
The system implementation began in July 2008 after construction of the service. 88 AXIS 211/211A network cameras are used in 27 locations in Budapest, while 16cameras have been installed at Lake Balaton.
Result
After 2 years, it is estimated that nearly 2 million people know about the service and have used it nearly 50 million times. A package/program is available for download on the website for Symbian OS-based smart phones which transmits the requested live videos for each area. The UTV brand and the underlying video service is now familiar not only for computer users and mobile phone users, but for a number of TV channels which have also recognized the potential. Now UTV provides real-time records and live video during the daily weather and traffic news. A number of radio channels rely on UTV.hu's data when composing the traffic news. Expansion continues and as opportunities allow, the country towns will be involved in the system, while the installation of traffic surveillance at Lake Balaton will also proceed further.
| Axis network cameras were installed to improve Budapest's traffic surveillance |
In the installation of the system the biggest challenge was not the technical requirements, but the procurement of the official authorizations. The system contains a camera network and a server park. The data transmission is mostly solved with optical fibre or broadband Internet connection. For most locations AXIS 211/211A outdoor and indoor network cameras were installed. The cameras are able to provide excellent image quality even in low light conditions in MPEG-4 and Motion JPEG, and feature motion detection and advanced event management.
Financial feasibility played an important role in the selection of the system. Magyar Plastiroute Ltd. undertook the building of the system. "The solutions are always location- specific. We decide about the placement of the cameras, the power supply and the data transmission based on local conditions. The most difficult task was to ensure adequate bandwidth data connections. In the first phases we built the camera network, then came the rest of the process," said Csaba Wiszt, Head of the Electronics Business Unit.
A small programming team deals with the server installation and operation. The camera records are processed and delivered by 10 high-performance servers in compliance with regulatory requirements. A unique, self-developed Linux-based system has been designed to support UTV, which allows software developers to fully integrate Axis network tools into the end-user solutions. Due to its flexibility the system can be easily expanded by adding new cameras, and if necessary, by adding additional servers.
UTV.hu's crew has solved a difficult task with the installation of the information system about the current traffic situation. Users are satisfied, with a service that provides convenience for their everyday lives.