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Berlin S-Bahn Adopts IndigoVision IP Video for New Passenger Safety System
IP Video systems manufacturer IndigoVision is providing the technology behind an additional train dispatch system that optimizes and speeds up operations for the Berlin S-Bahn. The S-Bahn is a metro system that transports around 1.3 million passengers a day across a network consisting of 16 lines and 165 stations. This innovative IP Video system allows train dispatch to be managed more efficiently via a CCTV display – the first installation of its type anywhere in the world for an urban rail system.
IndigoVision’s IP Video technology was chosen following a rigorous competitive analysis. This was followed by the installation of a pilot system using 24 cameras across 6 stations, which was successfully completed over a further 6 month period. The next stage will be to install a further 88 cameras on an additional 22 stations. In time the Berlin S-Bahn hopes to deploy the system across its entire network of 165 stations and stopping points. The system is part of an IP-communication and passenger information system installed by Alcatel-Lucent. IndigoVision was chosen for this prestigious project because it could meet a stringent set of criteria. Even though the pilot was small the system had to be fully scalable to meet the future expansion plans, which could mean the cameras monitoring all platforms across the entire rail network. Flexible video recording was also critical as was the ability to integrate alarm handling with video management, all of which is handled by IndigoVision’s Network Video Recorders and ‘Control Center’ software. In a typical station four fixed CCTV cameras are placed on each side of the track to monitor the platform and train doors. These four cameras are then connected to a quad-split unit to produce a single 4-way video image which is connected to an IndigoVision 8000 transmitter unit. The 8000 converts the analog signal into a high-quality digital video stream, 4SIF at 25fps, for transmission over the IP network.
‘Control Center’, IndigoVision’s enterprise video and alarm management software is used by operators in control rooms, located in the larger stations, to monitor the platform images. The video streams are transmitted using multicast technology that allows any ‘Control Center’ workstation to view live and recorded video from any of the platform cameras at any station or stopping point on the rail network. IndigoVision’s ‘Control Center’ software architecture allows the user to install as many operator workstations as required for no more than the cost of a PC. This will have a major impact on reducing costs as the system expands – another reason IndigoVision was chosen for the project. The built-in motion analytics in the IndigoVision 8000 transmitters is used to trigger an alarm when a train arrives at the station by detecting motion in the quad-split image. The alarm is used to update an interactive rail network status map displayed on ‘Control Center’ workstations and provide real time control of video recording. ‘Control Center’s’ advanced event/alarm handling capabilities are used to update the status map, which details the status of every platform in the system, showing whether a train has arrived, is approaching/departing or no train is present. The status map is available to any ‘Control Center’ workstation, wherever it is located on the IP-network.
Video recording is achieved using IndigoVision’s PC-based Window’s Network Video Recorders (WinNVRs). Three WinNVRs were installed with the original pilot and a further 4 are planned for the next phase of the project. The NVRs, which can be installed at any point on the IP network, continuously record video from all the platform cameras. Most recordings are deleted quickly but recordings of train movements are archived for later analysis. This recording scheme is managed by ‘Control Center’ using the train arriving event triggered by the 8000’s motion analytics. The recording demands therefore change throughout the day and throughout the network. The distributed nature of WinNVRs operating on IP networks means that recorded video from both the larger central stations and the smaller stopping points can easily be accommodated and be fully scalable as the system size increases in the future.
IndigoVision’s IP-CCTV solution is fully integrated with the Alcatel-Lucent IP-communication system that in addition to train dispatch provides comprehensive passenger information services including loudspeaker announcements, information kiosks on the platform and displays onboard the trains. The project demonstrates how easily IndigoVision’s IP Video solution can be integrated with other IP-based security and information services. S-Bahn are also reviewing using the IP Video system for surveillance of areas such as ticket machines, escalators, elevators and the information and emergency call kiosks.
"We have exact safety standards and want to keep our customers informed about rail traffic and special occurrences as quickly and reliably as possible via display boards and loudspeaker announcements. It's essential that we introduce these measures today to ensure that our new railway infrastructure will still fulfill our requirements in the future. By choosing an IP/MPLS network, Deutsche Bahn AG in Berlin will have a multimedia platform at its disposal that can be scaled to support speeds of up to 200 Gbps and expanded nationwide, providing a solid foundation for innovative technologies of the future," explains Erik Brych, project manager for the communication network and CTO of the overall project for S-Bahn Berlin GmbH.
