CCTV based on machine-to-machine communication (M2M) cost little to install and make continuous manual evaluation of camera images superfluous, it is claimed. That is because mobile CCTV cameras like the EyeSee, made by Deutsche Telekom partner Jablocom, come with smart software that analyses image and sensor data and alerts the user via the mobile network if they need to raise the alarm.
Metal theft is a problem in many industries. Besides railway track and telecoms equipment, thieves often target construction sites. The landmark site of the Slovakian mining town of Banská Štiavnica was affected. To the east of the town, in the crater of a collapsed volcano, there is a Calvary Hill, pictured. There, in the mid-18th century, Jesuits built three churches and 19 chapels, which house valuable frescoes, works of art and sculptures depicting Christ’s journey to the cross. The Calvary was long ago left until, in 2008, the Kalvársky Fund began restoration of these late Baroque buildings. Initially, the work went ahead without problems, but after a while thieves began to sneak up the hill by night to steal copper wire from the power cables.
M2M camera
Martin Macharik recalls: “Interruption of the power supply meant that we often had to call a halt to work for two or three days. We can’t monitor the entire Calvary as the site is too large.” That was why, as President of the Kalvársky Fund, he was looking for a suitable video surveillance system which had to be mobile and cover multiple locations, as the team “can’t monitor the entire Calvary since the site is too large and too unmanageable for that.” The solution also needed to below-cost and capable of monitoring the site by remote control.
Macharik opted for the EyeSee product from Jablocom, a company founded in 2005 as a spin-off from the Jablotron Group, a manufacturer of alarm systems, automotive technology and telemetry solutions. Jablocom has since developed and manufactured M2M products such as surveillance cameras and mobile desktop telephones, and since mid-2012 has been a Deutsche Telekom partner. Its EyeSee mobile surveillance camera, based on machine-to-machine communication (M2M), is also available via Deutsche Telekom’s M2M Marketplace.
M2M is the automated interchange of information between several machines or between machines and a control centre. In the security sector the technology is not only used for wireless connection of cameras but also connects alarm systems via the Internet and notifies users when the sensors identify a fire or a burglary, for example.
Sensors recognise situations
The EyeSee has an infrared motion detector and recognises movements by sensing human body temperature. A motion in picture (MIP) detector records changes at the site under surveillance by taking regular snapshots and comparing them. A sensor picks up changes in atmospheric pressure when doors and windows are opened or closed. An acoustic alarm registers the normal frequencies of the sound of breaking glass. The GSM surveillance camera is also equipped with a contact sensor to prevent third parties from changing the camera’s position and angle, while an especially sensitive microphone registers sounds above a certain noise level. If, for instance, the camera identifies a break-in on the basis of the sensor data, it alerts the user automatically by phone call, text message, multimedia message or e-mail. In next to no time the user has the camera photo on his mobile phone and can inform the local authorities. As a result, no manpower is required for continuous monitoring of the camera images and the reporting parameters and sensitivity levels of the sensors can be individually adjusted via an online portal.
First offender
Depending on the space or building type, a user can choose from different profiles, such as house, open air, garage or business, with house set as the default profile. In surveillance mode, the camera pays particular attention to movements of people, gusts of wind, significant changes in temperature or loud noises while in the open air mode, the camera scales down the sensitivity of its sensors in order to prevent false alarms. This was the profile Macharik selected when he first set up the camera near a church.
“A few days later I received a multimedia message with a photo of the thief,” he says. He and a colleague drove to the Calvary Hill, apprehended the thief and handed him over to the police. “Since then,” he says, “our work has progressed smoothly.”
The Kalvársky Fund plans to restore all of the churches and chapels on the late Baroque pilgrimage site before opening them to the public again. Up to eight EyeSee cameras will continue to keep watch over the frescoes, works of art and sculptures when they are put on display.
About Deutsche Telekom
Deutsche Telekom has more than 132 million mobile customers, over 32 million fixed-network lines and 17 million broadband lines (as of December 31, 2012). The Group provides products and services for the fixed network, mobile communications, the Internet and IPTV for consumers, and ICT solutions for business customers and corporate customers. Deutsche Telekom is present in around 50 countries and has 230,000 employees worldwide. The Group generated revenues of EUR 58.2 billion in the 2012 financial year – more than half of it outside Germany (as of December 31, 2012).
