Mission
In recent years, the Government of Extremadura has been developing a social communication strategy with the aim of fostering and promoting the most notable aspects of the historic and artistic heritage of its communities. It comes as no surprise that in this community, which is a European hotbed for open-source software development, technology is one of the building blocks on which this strategy is based. Technology is applied in order to enhance the quality and speed of communications between different parts of the region, thus promoting educational, social and cultural work.
The deployment and implementation of an intranet between all of the distributed offices of the Government of Extremadura, as well as the popularization of broadband in the region are clear examples of this. However, after
strong connectivity had been established between the various population centres, the essential requirement of a
plan of this type was to ensure that the content provided by this network was translated into high quality services
for Extremadura residents, with tourism and the environment being identified as major points for development.
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| The end product that can be accessed on the web has intuitive interface |
Solution
Committed to the fundamental task of developing high quality content, the Government of Extremadura set out to create a project focused on extending the image and presence of its region by means of telematic networks, a regional network of cameras offering real-time, Internet-transmitted images of different sites in its communities through the Regional Telecommunications Intranet of the Government of Extremadura. This intention led to the launch of www.extremaduravista.com.
During a two-year period and based on a study of the neighbouring environment, a pre-selection was performed of the most representative and favourable locations for installing the cameras, focusing on places affording open views without being intrusive for residents.
The need for the cameras involved in the project to provide high-quality images led to a crossing of paths between the Government of Extremadura and Axis, and it was discovered in the process that it was possible to use the existing network, resulting in major financial savings. New goals were also established due to the possibility of including value-added services into the installation by incorporating sensors into the cameras.
The end product that can be accessed on the web at www.extremaduravista.com has an intuitive interface that allows visitors to choose between the different locations on the map of Extremadura and obtain real-time images of these sites. To this end, the network consists of a total of 130 AXIS 221 Day & Night Network Cameras and 20 AXIS 232D+ Network Dome Cameras.
Result
The result is exceptional. Today, a large number of the notable places in Extremadura, 119 towns and 10 protected
natural spaces, are within reach of anyone, anywhere in the world with a connection to the Internet.
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| The Axis software allows users to obtain real-time images of different locations on the map of Extremadura |
Live re-broadcasting experiments were performed for prize-giving ceremonies and media days, using video and audio captured by these cameras. Excellent results were obtained, and it also comes as no surprise that some TV stations use these live cameras to comment on the weather situation.
This project does not make any claims as to the number of visits. It is a project that is intended to be self-financing and will remain under development according to technical and technological progress. Requests are being received from many municipalities in the region that could not be included in the first phase of the project and want to be part of the second phase.
The tourism and cultural opportunities provided by this service have already been proven, and web visits are received from all parts of the world. It is completely logical that everyone wants to display their town via this showcase that permits Extremadura natives living far from home to feel the atmosphere of their town every day.
