A complete Surveillance system consists of cameras, software and video storage. In previous articles we described the different parts of a surveillance system. We described how to select a camera, understanding camera specifications, how to select the resolution and lens of a camera and the storage systems. In this article we put it all together. We create a real life requirement and then assemble a complete surveillance system. Everything is included from the cameras and lenses to the mounting brackets and power supplies. I included budgetary pricing as well. So let's make our system:

System requirements

First let's define what we need. Acme manufacturing has three areas they would like to monitor. They have had some cars broken into in the parking lot so they want to be able to monitor this area. Tools have vanished from the tool crib in the manufacturing area so they want to see who is going in and out of the area. Management would also like to monitor the manufacturing area to see all the activity and who is working at certain areas.

We need to clarify some things before selecting or cameras. For example, how large an area do we want to view? What do we want to see with our cameras? Do we want to just count people or see their faces? What is the light level? How long do we want to store the video?

In the parking lot and tool crib, management would like to identify a person's face. In the manufacturing area, management would like to see the people working and don't need to identify a person's face.

The parking lot is 40 feet wide by 75 feet long. There are some lights which provide about the same light as a full moon. The tool crib is about 40 feet by 40 feet and has one doorway.

The manufacturing area is approximately 200 ft by 300 ft. It has a number of assembly area. Management would like to see the activity during the day and monitor the area at night when no one should be there. They would like to view this area not only from the manufacturing site, but also when they are visiting potential customers so they can show them the plant in operation. Lighting is excellent during the day, but very low at night.

They would like to store the video for 7 days.

Camera for the parking lot

The the parking lot can be monitored using fixed high-resolution cameras or PTZ cameras. If we use the PTZ camera we can set the camera to automatically step through a number of different positions. If we use a high-resolution camera we can view up to about 40 feet wide area and then be able to digitally zoom in to identify a person's face. Since the parking lot is 40 ft wide and75 feet long we will require 2 fixed cameras at each side of the parking lot (see diagram). If we use the mechanical PTZ camera we can get away with one camera. So which way should we go? Well there is an advantage to the high-resolution cameras. They are never looking in the wrong direction so you never miss anything so let's select two fixed high-resolution cameras.

Since the lighting is not too good at the parking lot, we need a camera with good low light sensitivity. A camera with 1-lux sensitivity can see things in full moon light. The following IQ camera has 0.3-lux sensitivity, so this will be even better. We also used the lens calculator at http://www.kintronics.com/iqinvision/lenscalculator.htm to determine the right lens based on the distance of 75 feet and width of 40 feet. We came up with an 8.25-mm lens. Selecting a variable lens makes it easier to frame the video shot if we got some of the measurements wrong. The following camera comes with an adjustable 4 10-mm lens.

IQ303LensV
IQeye303 camera with 4 - 10 mm lens (36 - 88 degree) is an intelligent imaging system with a 4 Megapixel color imager with 0.3 lux sensitivity. It provides digital pan, tilt, zoom and has a 1/2" 2048 x 1536 CMOS digital imager. It provides selectable windowing and subsampling, AGC or selectable gain, Adjustable spot meter window, Configurable color balance, Variable JPEG compression ratio, Text and graphic overlays. The camera has an Ethernet: RJ45 10/100BASE-T, Connection. Power: 12-33 V DC power supply, Console Port: 230 Kbps over 9-pin D serial. Relay I/O: 6 screw terminals, two in, two out, 12V DC power out, Camera mount: 1/4 - 20 threaded mount.It comes with a1 year warranty.
The price is $1659

This camera can be powered over the Ethernet using the following:

IQpoet3
Power IQ cameras over the Ethernet
The price is $85

Since the IQ303 camera will be used outside, we need an environmental enclosure. For example:

HS9484-2HB
Environmental enclosure for IQeye and other small cameras. Includes thermostat controlled fan and heater. 24VAC, 28 W heater, blower. Constructed from die cast and extruded aluminum. Slide-off cover allows for maximum accessibility during installation and servicing.
The price is $158.

You may also want a sun shield -
HS9484SS
Sun shield for Aigis HS9484 series enclosure
The price is $42

And mounting for a wall:

MT9215
Wall mount, 12 - inch with feed thru.
The price is $36

And, if you want to mount to a pole, add -

MT9213
Pole mount adapter w/SS straps for housing mounts
The price is $42

Power for the heater and blower is also required, but not necessary if the temperature doesn't go below 30 degrees:

TX2450
24 V AC power supply 50 W. 120 VAC input
The price is $17


Camera for the tool crib

We just need to monitor the doorway of the tool crib to see who is going in and out. We can also see most of the inside of the tool crib in the distance, but only need to identify a person's face as they enter or leave through the doorway. The lighting is good during the day but at night there is only a small light in the area.

There are a number of lower priced cameras that can be used inside, for example the Axis205 and the Vivotek IP2112. They have similar resolution, but different low light capability.

Since we have a low light requirement, the best choice is the Vivotek 2112. It has a low light sensitivity of 0.1-lux, while the Axis 205 has a minimum light sensitivity of 10-lux. Here are more details about the IP2112 camera.

IP2112
Vivotek Network Camera includes a 6mm lens and is aneasy to use MJPEG surveillance system. The camera connects to the network using TCP/IP. It has a 1/4" CCD sensor, with 1 lux sensitivity, Resolution: 704x480 or 352x240 (NTSC) High performance and fully customized motion JPEG compression engine. Provides up to 30 frames/sec. Full screen motion detection, Configurable maximum bandwidth, Automatic remote image retrieval and storage via e-mail and FTP with event triggering, Support ActiveX control enables easy development for Windows application software
The price is $285

Camera for the manufacturing area

Instead of using a fixed camera we will need a pan/tilt/zoom camerafor the large manufacturing area. The PTZ camera can be set to patrol through a set of positions so it can monitor the area automatically. Managers can watch during the day, but at night it can record video if motion is detected. We can select a PTZ camera from Axis, Sony or Pixord for this application. Since this is a low light area the Axis213 or the Pixord261 are better choices since they both have low light sensitivity. Since the Pixord261 costs about $1,375 and the Axis213 costs around $1,600, so we might as well select the Pixord camera for this application.

PiXORD 261
The PIXORD Network Dome Camera is an all-in-one Web-Based Dome camera for remote surveillance applications. It allows you to control the Pan/Tilt/Zoom function remotely via standard Web Browser. It has a1/3" Inch Interline Transfer CCD. Horizontal Resolution: 480 TV Lines. Minimum Illumination: 0.3 Lux at F1.6. Build-in 22X optical zoom lens with focal length 3.9~85.4mm. Automatic/Manual Iris Control. 360 continuous rotation. Up to 128 programmable preset positions. High speed rotation and tilt, speed range varies from 0.18/sec~360/sec. 180 Horizontal Instant Flip. 6 alarm inputs, 1 alarm output can be set as NO (normally open) or NC (normally close) for each PIXORD 261. 12V dc voltage input (power supply options: AC 90~260V or AC 24 V)
The price is $1,375

Software

There are a number of software options such as ProSightSMB, NetDVR or SoftSite32, and a software/hardware combination called the VideoZerverto choose from. The software packages use your own computer and allow you to view, store and retrieve video and control the cameras. ProSightSMB and NetDVR allow you to view the video using a web browser from anywhere on the Internet. They all allow you to patrol through preset PTZ positions, store video only when motion is detected, and notify you of motion alarm by email or by an alarm sound on the PC. Since we have a small number of cameras, we can select ProSightSMB. Here are more details:

ProSightSMB-04C
4 Camera license - Small-scale video management system provides live video, recording, playback and camera management and control. It can be used with a single server and can be expanded to support up to 25 cameras. Displays up to four cameras at a time. Allows viewing of cameras from any computer using a web browser.
The price is $499

Storage Requirements:

The storage required depends on the number of cameras, resolution of the cameras, the frame rate, the amount of motion detected (if motion detection is enabled) and the duration of time the video is stored. For example if you store the video for 7 days and the cameras are set at 5 fps and resolution of 700 x 480, and we assume that motion is detected 50% of the time (this assumes that most of the motion is during the day and very little motion is detected at night), you will require about 170 GB of storage to hold the video from 4 cameras.

Video Storage:

The video can be stored in the same computer that's running the ProSightSMB software or it can be transferred daily to Network Attached Video Storage. You can store one day of video (about 25GB) in the same computer and then transfer the rest to the NAVS. Here's an example that includes a DVD recorder for archiving video.

NASDV81-4U240IGR
160 GB NAStorage 8100 storage system with DV-Recorder. Includes Celeron Processor 1.2GHz with 512 MB cache . System is in a 4U Rack drawer. Can be configured for RAID with hot-swap drives. Includes 240 GB IDE Hard Disk capacity - 160 GB if in RAID 5 configuration (contains 3 80 GB IDE drives), Ingrasys 8100 NAS 10/100/1000Base copper, direct network connect hard drive appliance. Network Operating System Compatibility: Microsoft Windows 95/98/Me/NT/2000/XP, UNIX: Solaris, FreeBSD, Linux, and other UNIX derivatives, MacOS 8.x, 9.x, OS X, Network Protocols: TCP/IP, AppleTalk, HTTP, CIFS/SMB, NFS v3, FTP, AFP, BOOTP, RARP, DHCP; DNS; WINS; SMTP, SNMP Web browser interface for easy administration. Can upgrade with additional IDE hard drive.
The price is $3,995

IP/Network camera server/Wireless Network Camera/Knowledge Articles:

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• New wireless Pan/Tilt/Zoom IP Camera
• New Elmo PTZ Network Camera Offers Simultaneous MPEG4/MJPEG Operation
• Cost-Effective Toshiba Network Video Recorders Bring High-End Performance to
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