In northwestern Argentina, Cutral-Có is the second largest city in Neuquén Province and a major oil producer in the region. The city’s former mayor Prof Ramón Riosecoto called for a video surveillance system that would monitor traffic, improve city management, streamline responses to incidents, support the Civil Defense force, and safeguard urban areas. The CCTV manufacturer Dahua Technology was chosen to develop an urban surveillance network for the city. The company points to numerous projects around the world, and adds that it was also chosen for its face-to-face technical support. Field-tested products are able to withstand the temperature extremes of Cutral-Có, which range from minus 10 degrees C to 40 degrees C.
Dahua’s Professional Surveillance System (PSS) software was selected to design and manage deployment of the system’s numerous speed domes and cameras. With support for 256 simultaneous device connections, all 242 of the project’s components could be managed from one system.
To handle the flows of data from multiple high resolution cameras, the Dahua DH-NVR6000 series network video recorder was integrated to provide 64TB of storage out of the box, with another 128TB added through network storage, bringing its total storage capacity to 192TB and allowing the system to record and store video in full HD resolution for 45 days. The archive time offered by this setup allows for data analysis and various facial and plate identification software.
Dahua SD6C230S speed domes cover urban areas chosen the manufacturer says for their long-range capabilities. With 30x optical zoom and 16x digital zoom at a resolution of 2 Megapixels, the speed domes allow automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) at variable distances, performing it’s claimed at ranges of over 320m. These speed domes were installed at the main entrances of public sites such as hospitals, schools, police stations, and crossroads. Some of the speed domes were connected wirelessly, and others by fibre optic cable. Uninterruptible power supply (UPS) was used to power each to ensure 24/7 operation.
Some 3 Megapixel fixed DH-IPC-HF8301E network cameras were placed in areas of high risk. Their progressive scan CMOS sensor, vari-focal lens, and motorized auto-iris, with smart detection features, including facial detection, enable the cameras to work by day or at night, even without infrared illuminators according to the product manufacturers. SMART Professional Surveillance System (SMART PSS) software was used to integrate the network of cameras and digital components. The city hosts its own internet-based data centre, the first of its kind in Argentina. Optical fibres provided by internet providers Telefónica and Copelco gave the bandwidth capacity required to support the data traffic, which was managed through the SMART PSS software’s load balancing system.
Vigilancia Online S.A., a Dahua partner company, was installer of the 242 cameras in only 30 business days.
Cutral-Có’s command and control centre is connected with the Radio-electric Command of the neighboring city of Plaza Huincul and defence agencies.
