Advantech, Inc. - Experts & Thought Leaders

The Dover International Speedway’s high-banked, one-mile concrete oval racing track is also known as ‘The Monster Mile’. The race track hosts six thrilling NASCAR races a year, at the sports complex that covers more than 800 square acres of land area, in Kent County, Delaware, USA. The race track’s grounds have also been home to the famous four-day Firefly Music Festival, which normally hosts approx. 100 bands, playing across the six stages located at the event. Jim Hosfelt, the Director of Public Safety and Track Operations at Dover International Speedway, Inc., said “During non-event times, our Public Safety Office uses the system around the clock, to monitor activity. We use our cameras, as proactively as possible, looking for issues, before they occur. I’ve always been a firm believer in having a solid video system and our system fits our needs very well.” Axis Communication’s IP network cameras With a full view of patrons coming in and scanning tickets, we monitor the traffic flow" The security team currently covers the Dover International Speedway’s racing track with IP network cameras from Axis Communications, including pan/tilt/zoom (PTZ) and 360° multi-image panoramic models. They routinely use additional video feeds from smartphones and mobile devices, pushed to the security system via the Milestone XProtect Mobile app. All video is monitored live and archived to a set of Milestone Husky network video recorders (NVRs). Jim Hosfelt adds, “With a full view of patrons coming in and scanning tickets, we monitor the traffic flow. We can see a wave of people coming in real-time and decide if we need to open more gates. From just a resource deployment standpoint, the video system is very beneficial to make sure everyone is moving through, as efficiently and safely as possible.” Multi-monitor workstation for constant monitoring Ryan Kelly, who serves as the Senior Account Manager at installing partner, Advantech, Inc., explained how a multi-monitor workstation has been set up at the Joint Operations Centre, where all camera feeds are constantly monitored live. On event days, the Joint Operations Centre has people from all law enforcement agencies, including the FBI (Federal Bureau of Investigation), the Homeland Security, the Dover Police Department, the Delaware State Police, as well as medical teams and the Delaware Division of Transportation. For the day-to-day routine operations, we have three full-time people" Ryan Kelly said, “For the day-to-day routine operations, we have three full-time people. If it’s a race weekend, our combined agency numbers swell to over 800. During the music festival, this number goes over 1,200 people per day. This includes security, law enforcement, EMS, paramedics, doctors, nurses, all the partners that work the festival and we consider them all part of our team here at the Speedway.” Joint Operation Centre The Joint Operation Centre is designed to share the Milestone video feeds with the state of Delaware’s Department of Transportation (DoT), other relevant agencies and partners. Ryan Kelly adds, “We can get access to local, surrounding DOT cameras, to monitor traffic and often the festival managers may also set up another, temporary video system. Thanks to the open platform Milestone VMS, we can bring all this together. Everyone can collaborate within our Joint Operations Centre, helping to ensure we deliver an enjoyable and safe event.” Team reviews video post-event Additionally, the team reviews video post-event, in order to evaluate performance and improve operations. They look at everything from security improvements to marketing and sales, vendor and concession stand positioning, parking and crowd control. The system is used to monitor and evaluate the in-field activities as well, ensuring the safety of speedway workers, vendors, and drivers in their areas.

Matrox validated product range includes industrial motherboards and chassis Matrox Graphics Inc. recently announced a worldwide partnership with global embedded computing leader Advantech to launch a new portfolio of video wall solutions. The Matrox-validated product range includes industrial motherboards and chassis, as well as AVS series controllers that support up to two or five Matrox Mura™ MPX Series output/input video wall controller boards. The AVS series controllers will drive up to 8 HD outputs/8 HD inputs and 20 HD outputs/20 HD inputs respectively, providing OEMs, system integrators, resellers, and installers with the opportunity to build world-class, high-impact video walls for various applications including presentation, signage, control rooms, security & surveillance, and public and private venues. The newly-developed series of Advantech motherboards, chassis, and two (AVS-240 and AVS-290) or five (AVS-540) Mura MPX board-based systems encourage versatile video wall system development. This is due to Mura’s single-slot, 4-output/4-input board design, as well as its PCI Express® (PCIe) x16 Gen2 architecture which leverages 64 Gbit/sec duplex data transfer for uncompromising Full HD performance. Mura MPX boards are also multi-functional, equipped to capture, scale, position, and display a variety of input sources—including High-bandwidth Digital Content Protection (HDCP) compliant devices—across an array of monitors, projectors, cubes, and other outputs.   “The development of video wall technology has changed basic lifestyles: digital signage, stage broadcasting, surveillance, factory automation, and transportation are all active behind the scenes. Thanks to computer, network, and display technology advances, video wall performance continues to improve while total cost of ownership goes down, making video walls the fastest-growing area in the IT and digital electronics industries. Advantech is aware of this transformation and is collaborating with ecosystem partners to develop premium video wall solutions to fulfill the market demand,” said Franz Wei, Vice President of Advantech Embedded Systems Group. “This is an interesting and exciting partnership for both Matrox and Advantech as it opens up a myriad of solution concepts for the video wall market,” says Helgi Sigurdsson, Product Manager, Matrox Graphics Inc. “Not only will customers be able to purchase pre-configured solutions for simple deployments, but also conveniently choose from a variety of Matrox-validated Advantech motherboard/chassis plus Mura MPX board combinations to deliver customised controller systems geared to meet specific video wall requirements.”   Advantech key features: Optimised BIOS supports multiple Mura MPX cards Data bus architecture optimised for zero-latency video data switching Wide operating temperature range provides high reliability in the field High-efficiency power solution meets multiple Mura MPX power requirements Video wall can be remotely monitored and controlled Availability Advantech motherboards, chassis, and AVS-240 and AVS-290 video wall controllers are now available, while the AVS-540 system will be available in Q1 2013. For more information, contact Advantech.

The website helps to visualise how specific security technologies can be applied by end-usersHoneywell recently launched a new website designed to complement its broad range of security technology. The Honeywell City interactive website serves as a single online destination to help security dealers and end-users visualise how specific security technologies can be applied in homes, businesses, commercial sites and critical infrastructure. From high-rise office buildings to single-family residences, the website highlights the challenges an end-user could face in fifteen vertical markets and illustrates solutions offered by Honeywell to address those issues. In addition, visitors can search for the latest security technologies, watch video case studies and download white papers."Innovation in today's security industry must go far beyond providing high-quality technology products," said Frank Roth, Vice President of Global Marketing for Honeywell Security Group. "Security dealers are looking to companies like Honeywell to provide ongoing leadership that truly enhances their offering to their customers. Because Honeywell City was designed for that specific purpose, we believe it will bring more value to our channel partners."Honeywell City also includes embeddable features like video case studies and social media options that allow dealers to generate leads by easily sharing it with end users. The site has garnered an enthusiastic response from channel partners. "Honeywell City provides an added level of information we can share with our customers and potential customers," said Lee Thompson, General Manager of Advantech in Dover, Delaware. "Very clever. I think this unique site holds some real potential," added Bob Ricucci, President and CEO of Advanced Security Technologies in Riverside, California.For more information on the Honeywell City website, click here.