Mobotix: hemispheric cameras to monitor a scene

Mobotix: hemispheric cameras to monitor a scene. When several cameras are monitoring a single room, it is often difficult to understand the room layout in its single view. This makes it hard to comprehend the overall setting. To work with hemispheric Cameras can be an alternative. A single hemispheric camera can monitor an entire room, replacing the time-consuming and expensive installation of several standard cameras.

Mobotix pioneered the market for hemispheric cameras with its Q22M model. This model is now replaced by the new Q24M hemispheric camera that includes a more powerful microprocessor and an optimized system platform attaining twice the image frame rate as before. Even 3.1 megapixel camera images can now be transferred at a rate of up to 20 frames per second and megapixel images at a rate of up to 30 frames per second. In addition to a 3.1 megapixel color sensor, the camera also includes an internal DVR (digital video recorder) with a maximum memory capacity of 32 GB.

The DVR is based on Flash memory technology for improved reliability and extended service life. The combination of a high-resolution sensor, hemispheric lens and internal DVR allow you to view an entire room with just one Q24M camera and save the images in the camera as a high-resolution video sequence. The Q24M Secure comes with a 4 GB MicroSD card that can record about 50,000 panorama images or four hours of video.

High-resolution 180°-Panorama

The camera works without a motor, but with like a virtual PTZ and zooms in on details: The image of the Hemispheric camera can be continuously enlarged and any image section can be examined using a joystick, for example. While zooming into a section in the live image, a full image can be stored in the recording for later analysis, an option no PTZ camera that operates with a motor can do. The surround function of the Q24M (ceiling mounted) immediately replaces four conventional cameras and shows four different directions simultaneously in quad view on a monitor.

Virtual PTZ is available for each of the four views. Together with the 180° panorama the camera can deliver two more views simultaneously, making it possible to see the overview and to focus on two scenes at the same time.

Distortion Correction Highly Efficient Image Transferring

The full image from a hemispheric lens (Fisheye) is difficult to analyze. Mobotix solves this problem by perfectly straightening the uneven lines in the live image using the camera software. Since the image distortion correction of the hemispheric view and the generating of the panoramic view take place in the camera itself, no additional load is placed on the viewer PC, unlike a standard camera.

Thus, displaying a large number of panoramic cameras simultaneously on a single PC is possible. While other camera systems always transfer the full images via the network for further analysis, a Mobotix camera sends only the relevant image sections. Therefore, a Q24M panorama image needs only about 1/6 of the original data volume or bandwidth. This means up to six times more cameras can transfer images over a network compared to ‘standard’ cameras.

One new feature of the Q24M is the ‘panorama correction’. In seconds, the user can independently fine-tune the live image in the panorama image generated by the camera.

Storage Options

The Q24M stores high-resolution video with sound directly on the integrated Flash memory without using an external recording device or PC, therefore using no additional network load. Flash memory is a sophisticated form of semiconductor memory without mechanical moving parts and represents the storage medium of the future thanks to its reliability, ease of use and low cost.

Old recordings can be overwritten automatically or deleted after a predefined period. The storage capacity is sufficient for around 400,000 panorama images or 33 hours of film (32 GB MicroSD). The system includes three important additional options that allow more data to be stored for a longer time:

• Only the relevant image sections are stored instead of the entire image ( e.g. sky or ceiling is removed) 
• Video recording only begins when relevant events take place (such as movement in the image) 
• Temporarily increased frame rate during continuous recording of events 

By connecting external memory over the network (NAS), the system can be expanded without limitations even while it is running.

Contact:

Manuela Strasser
Mobotix AG,
Langmeil, Germany
Tel.: +49 631 3033 111
Fax: +49 631/3033 190
sales@mobotix.com
www.mobotix.com