Milestone Secures Malmo CityTunnel

When the Swedish national rail­way began major construction of the Malmo CityTunnel Project in 2005, workplace security was of utmost concern. Now the tracks are almost ready, and it is IP video surveillance manage­ment soft­ware from Milestone Systems that helps make sure everything goes smoothly. When construction is complete in December 2010, 17 kilometers of new high-tech, double-track electric rails will connect Malmo Central Station in Sweden with the Oresund Bridge to Denmark. Six kilometers of that will run underground in two parallel tunnels through the center of Malmo.

The goal of the CityTunnel connection between Malmo and Copenhagen is to greatly reduce the travel time between the two cities - and not least to transform Malmo Central Station into a transit hub that powers the pan-Scandinavian network. Several thousand people have been involved in this construction, and today around 100 men are working with the last preparations. It is precisely this reduction in personnel that has made the managers of the CityTunnel project sharpen security for the workers with IP video surveillance from Milestone Systems.

"In conjunction with reducing the workforce in this phase, we have increased the security because even though the project will soon be finished, we have to continue to ensure that the work goes smoothly and problem-free and that our employees have safe work conditions. We have therefore chosen IP network video surveillance, and it has already solved a number of issues for us," says Mikael Lundquist, Manager for Personnel & Work Environment, CityTunnel. In collaboration with Insupport, a Certified Milestone Partner, the CityTunnel project identified weak points in their security and it was clear that network video surveillance was necessary. The choice was Milestone XProtect Enterprise, an IP software solution designed as an open platform that supports the largest options for cameras and integrations with other systems - both existing and future. The video surveillance is installed in three train stations, as well as the tunnels, with about 30 Sony IP cameras, including the rugged stationary dome model SNC DF80 and the panorama model SNC RZ25 with Pan/Tilt/Zoom and day/night functionality.

Strong Nordic Partner
"The decision to use Milestone was easy. We know Milestone really well, and they offer a very strong platform that allows integration with all kinds of software and hardware. Among other things, we can archive the surveillance video in very high quality and quickly export images to other locations, which has huge value for the CityTunnel," states Pontus Pettersson, VP at Insupport Natverksvideo. Three security guards patrol the underground stations where the surveillance is installed. When they walk their normal rounds they can also have their colleagues follow with the video monitors at any time. The system has been used primarily for documentation which has already been a big help, for example in the case of two inebriated Danes who got lost in the tunnel in January. With the video images, there was incontrovertible evidence that was immediately given to the police. "We have been very pleased with the Milestone software, not least because it is easy to use by our security personnel, but of course because it makes our work much safer," concludes Mikael Lundquist.

XProtect Corporate 3.1 with enhanced User Interface
Within the Milestone product portfolio XProtect Corporate is designed for large-scale implementations, supporting un­limited cameras, users and sites. Inte­grated map applications and built-in support for video walls provide excep­tional surveillance overview and control. Centralized management and intuitive operator clients make handling large installations easy.

The latest release of XProtect Corporate 3.1 now comes with a significant new version of the user interface: Smart Client 5.0. Ground-breaking functionality like the Sequence Explorer investigation tool and independent playback significantly increase efficiency in security operations and investigations. Milestone version 3.1 of XProtect Corporate is powerful IP video management software designed for large-scale, mission-critical security implementations, supporting unlimited cameras, users and sites. This release includes streamlined and optimized installation procedures for easier deployment, Management Server Failover using Windows Server Clustering, plus Windows 7 and Server 2008 R2 support.
Even more important news about this release, however, is the innovative version 5.0 of XProtect Smart Client that takes a giant leap forward in usability and functionality. It is available in 20 languages including online help, which extends the software's ease of use around the world.

Enhanced User Interface
Milestone XProtect Smart Client 5.0 also improves the user experience through an enhanced, adaptable interface that focuses on personalized usability and operational efficiency. The intuitive layout allows users to show only the dialogs preferred or needed for surveillance tasks, or hide them all for a pure full-screen mode of viewing, if desired. In addition to selecting controls on the fly, each user can choose to remove controls from the interface, so only the most relevant ones are displayed. This makes the system interface easier to understand and navigate - especially for new users.

With this release, XProtect Smart Client features an industry first called Sequence Explorer that previews tiled video from recorded sequences or time intervals from multiple cameras. The Sequence Explorer displays a drag-and-throw wall of video preview images in thumbnails with smooth slider scrolling and easy selection of preview images for closer scrutiny of details. The Sequence Explorer is a powerful new investigation tool to browse through recorded video sequences to find incidents and evidence fast. Milestone XProtect Smart Client now also provides video overlay playback controls to view individual cameras in live mode. This means that operators can play back events on one camera without losing track of what happens live. This feature also works in the normal playback mode so operators can see recorded camera images in the view from different times. Overlay buttons can also be added on each camera to facilitate common actions such as triggering events and outputs, using PTZ, and other tracking tasks - all to improve surveillance effectiveness.

Up to One Hundred Cameras in a Single View
"XProtect Corporate 3.1 with Smart Client 5.0 offers innovative new combinations of tools for improving the user's experience and efficiency on the job, which translates to more rapid response and better security. Independent playback and the unique Sequence Explorer make investigations far easier than ever before, and the adaptable GUI in particular is a game-changer in the surveillance industry that operators at all skill levels will really appreciate," says John Blem, CTO and Co-Founder of Milestone Systems. XProtect Smart Client 5.0 shows up to 100 concurrent cameras in a single view with unlimited numbers of more via carousel and HotSpot windows. Customers can ramp it up with XProtect Smart Wall for large command center installations, and add even more value through integrated solutions with other systems offered by Milestone Solution Partners. XProtect Corporate 3.1 with the new Smart Client 5.0 will be demonstrated live at the upcoming industry trade shows this spring around the world.