CASE STUDY
FLIR United VMS
serves as central component in Abu Dhabi’s safe city solution FLIR United VMS is an integral facet in Abu Dhabi’s safe city security platform, managing a large number of public access cameras, integration services and maintenance operations. This deployment, recognized as the Falcon Eye Project by FLIR Systems, was named the Security Infrastructure Project of the Year at the 2018 Intersec Awards.
A
bu Dhabi is a major cultural and commercial centre in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), accounting for roughly two-thirds of the UAE’s economy. While oil and natural gas make up a large portion of its GDP, Abu Dhabi has positioned itself as a premiere tourist destination, with major investments in luxury resorts and business hotels. Consequently, public safety is a top priority – and FLIR Systems is playing a critical role in the city’s long-term safe city initiative. Recently, the Abu Dhabi Monitoring and Control Centre (ADMCC) was tasked with integrating all public access cameras onto a single platform to provide full uninterrupted coverage of the city. This is in compliance with the Safe City 2030 vision of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and President of the UAE. As part of this initiative, ADMCC launched the Falcon Eye project, where surveillance cameras and sensors would be installed across the city to enable real-time situational awareness, threat detection, data collection, data sharing among public safety organisations, and crime prevention. Falcon Eye expands Abu Dhabi’s existing
securityfocusafrica.com
surveillance system to thousands of license plate recognition cameras and surveillance cameras, with cameras equipped with video analytics and/or facial recognition capabilities. As part of the Falcon Eye project, FLIR United VMS integrates all public access cameras into a single platform to provide full, uninterrupted coverage of the city.
Transforming vision to reality To manage such an extensive system under the Falcon Eye project, ADMCC needed to update its video management system (VMS) software. ADMCC sought a VMS that would provide enhanced image quality, as well as increased storage and integrity of streamed video. The VMS also needed to be able to incorporate current, emerging and future
technologies, such as big data, cyber protection, smart cameras, analytics at the edge, and automated camera management. Additionally, ADMCC required a costeffective VMS that would seamlessly integrate with the existing physical security management information (PSIM) without compromising any data or operations from subsystems. Previously, ADMCC had a strong relationship with FLIR, having deployed an older FLIR United VMS version for several years. After careful research and evaluation, ADMCC chose to continue partnering with FLIR as the industry leader in advanced video solutions in the safe city sector. ADMCC selected the most recent FLIR United VMS release as its VMS for the Falcon Eye initiative. FLIR United VMS is a reliable, enterpriselevel software solution for video surveillance supporting an unlimited number of cameras over IP networks. Part of FLIR’s award-winning United VMS platform, Latitude features enhanced cybersecurity protocols.
SECURITY FOCUS AFRICA OCTOBER 2019
31