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| Mobotix cameras and Pivot3 appliances enables Anchorage DOT to store 24 days of video |
MOBOTIX Corp., an industry-leading provider of high-resolution, network-based security solutions, and Pivot3, the leading provider of converged storage and compute appliances in the surveillance market, recently announced that the Municipality of Anchorage has deployed a comprehensive surveillance system at the Anchorage Downtown Bus Transit Center. The Anchorage Department of Public Transportation is using the MOBOTIX cameras and Pivot3 appliances to hasten police investigations, increase operational efficiency and maintain video for compliance and investigations.
The downtown transit centre, the main cog in a 14-route bus system that attracts about 3,000 riders per day, installed 29 MOBOTIX cameras and Pivot3 appliances that allow it to store 24 days of video to quickly tap into recorded footage if an incident occurs. The focus on video to enhance safety is part of an effort to change Anchorage’s collective attitude toward public transportation and increase ridership. The video system is also being considered for purposes beyond security to help the department track rider counts and gauge the timing and efficiency of their busses.
“Public transportation can have an image problem,” said Lance Wilber, Director, Public Transportation Department, Municipality of Anchorage. “The security technology we’ve adapted helps improve that image. The environment at the centre is noticeably more positive and overall, passengers are much more comfortable.”
The MOBOTIX cameras provide a high level of video quality through its use of megapixel sensors. One MOBOTIX camera with 3.1 megapixels records 30 times more detail than traditional CCTV cameras. As a result, larger image areas of up to 360-degree views are possible, which reduces the number of cameras needed in any environment and, therefore, upfront and long-term costs. Most importantly, as a local government on a small budget, the transit center was able to get more features than anticipated through deploying MxControlCenter, professional video management software that connects any number of cameras at any location with centralised or local, user-based operation and evaluation, as it is included with the MOBOTIX cameras at no additional charge.
“The cost efficiencies delivered by MOBOTIX’s decentralised approach to surveillance technology makes it a perfect solution for a local government on a budget and bundling MxControlCenter with the purchase of our cameras further enhances the end user’s ROI,” said Steve Gorski, General Manager, Americas, MOBOTIX. “It is nice to see the cost efficiencies of our surveillance solutions helping change the perception of public transportation.”
The amount of storage capacity required by surveillance video is a major budget item in a surveillance installation since cameras, especially megapixel cameras, can generate up to 1TB of data in one day. The Pivot3 Serverless Computing appliances reduce cost by consolidating server and shared storage functionality in a common appliance, and provide application failover that protects both storage and VMS applications in the event of a failure. The robust storage capacity allows the Department of Public Transportation to access footage of a reported crime and submit the evidence to police to enhance and hasten the investigation.
“Pivot3 appliances make it remarkably easy for users to expand their storage capacity,” said Lee Caswell, Founder and CSO, Pivot3. “This reduces the pressure to precisely calculate the storage they will need by leaving the system open for later expansion and reduces upfront costs.”
