The Situation
A well-known City in Southern California is famously the hub of the entertainment world. With a population of 34,500 it is like many other municipalities when it comes to running the city and providing services to the community. Unlike other small towns, it hosts over 7.4 million visitors every year – up 23 percent from two years ago. This creates some unique challenges for the city in terms of traffic and pedestrian management and general security and policing in the city.
The Challenge
The City makes extensive use of outdoor surveillance to support the police department and city teams. With the increase in visitors, the City identified additional areas with insufficient coverage in their existing camera system. The problem was, most of these areas didn’t have access to power or the city’s fiber infrastructure, and the expense to add power and extend the network made the project cost prohibitive.
The Solution
The City investigated the option of deploying cameras that were self-powered and use cellular to connect to the City’s Ops center. They decided that using a solar/wireless camera system had the potential to provide the added coverage at an affordable cost but had several additional requirements. Since they already had many cameras deployed and an existing Ops center, it was important any new cameras be able to integrate directly with their existing Milestone Video Management System (VMS). The new cameras needed to be “standard product”, deployable at scale across the city, and not “pieced together”. Portability and ease of deployment were also important since they anticipated wanting to move some of the camera locations over time to adapt to changing needs.
The City conducted an extensive field-test of the concept and potential vendor solutions, then initiated a competitive public bid process to solicit proposals. Sensera Systems was selected as the provider of choice based on fully meeting all requirements, at a significantly lower total cost, for a completely integrated and portable solution.
The Benefits
- The team was able to extend their video surveillance platform across the city into important infill and hard-to-reach areas without access to network or power.
- Reliable, Compact, 100% Solar/Wireless Solution — Sensera Systems cameras have 5 days of autonomy and are robust, fully-integrated fast-charge solar-powered systems.
- Integrated with Existing VMS – Allows the City to monitor all cameras in one Ops center and the Police Department to have remote access.
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Simple to Install and Move – Sensera Systems cameras offer automated provisioning and are easily installed by one person in minutes, helping the City reduce costs and speed deployment.
The Product
Sensera Systems SiteWatch-PRO2 cameras. SiteWatch-PRO2 Smart Security cameras operate with Sensera’s SiteCloud software and communications platform to provide end-to-end connectivity across the city and integrates with the Milestone VMS. The SiteWatch-PRO2 is a multi-sensor system that includes color, night/IR, and thermal cameras, providing the City with video streaming, edge recording, and robust detection day or night using the FLIR thermal camera.