360 Vision Technology, the UK manufacturer of ruggedised HD, radar and thermal PTZ imaging cameras, has been chosen to supply the camera surveillance technology for an historically important English Heritage site, at the Transit Shed, Exeter Quayside.

Installed by Select Electrics and specified by Derek Maltby of Global MSC Security, the inclusion of additional CCTV was required to monitor the Exeter Quayside area, covering the canal side, shops, restaurants, bars and attractions.

Kevin Tyrrell, CCTV Technical Manager for Select Electrics explains the requirement for an expansion to the current CCTV system: “With accessible funding granted from a successful Safer Streets 2 application, Exeter City Council looked to expand the surveillance coverage of the Quayside area and integrate it into the existing town centre CCTV network, for monitoring at the Exeter City Council control room.

“Coverage was required to provide safety and security surveillance in an area that is popular with both locals and visitors. Additionally, as the Quayside includes a canal side, should coverage of the canal be required in an emergency, high-definition footage of any incident here would be advantageous.”

With all these requirements considered and tender bid successfully accepted by the council, Select Electrics was selected to implement the expansion of surveillance coverage.

“To cope with the harsh conditions to be found at Exeter Quayside, we required a camera that would not only provide reliable high-definition images but also one that would withstand high winds and rain, that can combine to make a difficult operational environment for electronic equipment, such as a CCTV camera,” continues Kevin. “We’ve enjoyed a long-term technical relationship with 360 Vision Technology for a number of years, having employed their camera technology in many varied applications and based on this experience, we were confident in their ability to provide a camera that could satisfy our demanding requirements.”

“Additionally, and further complicating matters regarding the installation of cameras, many parts of the Quayside area are historically important, such as the cobbled areas and streets, as well as the English Heritage protected Transit Shed, that occupies a large part of the area.”

The centrepiece for many music, dance and street theatre events held in the area, the Transit Shed is an open plan building set on cast iron uprights, historically, used to store cargo unloaded from ships. “Obviously the historically important parts of the area could not be disturbed,” adds Derek Maltby. “The logistical effects of installing traditional CCTV infrastructure, such as fibre cabling under streets and a network of CCTV cameras on poles was considered too disruptive and prohibitively expensive – so an alternative solution needed to be found.”

“We have always had a great relationship with the research and development team at 360 Vision and this project was no different. We had identified the Transit Shed as a possible location for the siting of a single PTZ camera, where it would have a perfect line-of-sight to all of the areas that required coverage on this project, but we knew that any camera mounted on, or near the Transit Shed would have to meet strict English Heritage requirements, including a specific body colour, to match the exact heritage hue of the Transit Shed, to blend with in the historic architecture.

“We outlined the technical requirement and restrictions of the project to the team at 360 Vision and were delighted with their enthusiasm and technical understanding of the demanding requirements of this installation. Very quickly, we determined a solution using the 360 Vision Invictus TX wireless camera but in a one-off specific colour, specifically matched to blend with the painted roof of the Transit Shed.”

With continuous rotation pan, unobstructed 360-degree view and 160-degree tilt, the 360 Vision Invictus camera can deliver unhindered views to the control room and for night-time vision, is equipped with on-board LED white light technology. Considering camera performance, unlike many other camera products that utilise ‘belt-drive’ PTZ systems, Invictus incorporates ultra-reliable and extremely quiet Direct Drive mechanisms, resulting in consistent pre-set accuracy and long-term reliability for its installation at the Quayside.

The Invictus TX’s high-performance, ruggedised PTZ camera with full 1080P HD and ultra-low-light camera imaging technology, made it the perfect choice for deployment in this application. Supplied in a specific green pantone reference, the camera is designed to provide years of trouble-free service in the harsh Quayside conditions and is now providing comprehensive coverage of the area, at a fraction of the cost of multiple traditional units and associated traditional hard-wired transmission infrastructure.

“In operation, system operators can instantly switch-on the LED white light mounted onboard the Invictus camera, to illuminate the scene and inform people at the Quayside that they are being monitored, both for security and safety purposes, for example, if anyone falls into the water at the Quayside at night,” adds Dennis Cavanagh, Control room Operations Manager, Exeter City Council. “Since the 360 Vision Invictus TX camera has been added into the system, we have had many positive comments from residents and local businesses, complimenting the non-invasive nature of the colour-matched camera in the historical surroundings and confirming the feelings of security the camera coverage now provides to the area both during the day and night.”

The Invictus camera on the Transit Shed is part of a wider project to increase surveillance coverage and improve image quality across the Exeter CCTV network, with over 40 cameras already installed to either replace existing cameras or extend coverage to new areas, as part of a rolling programme of improvement made possible by funding from Safer Streets Fund.

Jason Wyatt, National Account Manager at 360 Vision Technology says: “The combined Invictus TX camera and integrated LED white light technology makes it the perfect choice for the technically demanding environment at the Exeter Quayside. Invictus’ ultra-low light technology from 1/1.9’’ ULL sensors also delivers brighter, crisper and more defined colour images at night, for the ultimate performance at the Quayside. We are proud to have delivered a bespoke Invictus camera version in a one-off colour, to enable use on the English Heritage protected Transit Shed, as part of an overall upgrade to the Exeter City Council city-wide CCTV network and its ongoing surveillance upgrade using 360 Vision’s Invictus cameras.”