Article on command and control

http://installationeurope.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1211&Itemid=112

Everything under control?

Everything under control?

Video surveillance plays an important part in modern traffic management, but it is only effective if there are people sitting in front of the monitors or large screens who are alert.

Studies show that people are not suited to staring for hours at unchanging images. Viewers monitoring several monitors, will miss around 45% of the information after just 12 minutes. After a further 10 minutes they will miss around 95% of recorded information is not correctly.

The security sector has recognized this problem and makes use of modern video-analysis and alarms to identify problems and alert operators, automatically displaying key images on the control room’s main monitor.

Such automation has not always been entirely successful because of false alarms, but enhanced algorithms have minimised this problem, so modern systems relieve the operators and strengthen the effectiveness of the control room.

Designing in redundancy

All such systems should be designed for 24/7 operation, with a degree of redundancy, which ensures that replacement equipment can be brought on stream immediately when one component fails. Today there are many manufacturers of large video screens and monitors, who compete in this market, but few offer complete integrated solutions that provide 24/7 operation with redundant features.

Many manufacturers, for example, offer only the display but not the controller, which controls the matrix of displays and the management software to control all the connected sources and processes. It can be difficult to ensure full redundancy when faced with different systems from different suppliers. It is also worth remembering that display screens developed for 24/7 use in traffic control rooms are likely to have optimizing features not found on large screens available from electronics supermarkets.

We would advise anyone specifying a traffic control centre to choose a supplier who offers a complete solution, including displays (DLP cubes or LCD monitors), graphics controllers and management software.

To make the most of the features available on large display systems, it is well worth investing in so-called wall-management software, such as eyecon from the German large screen system manufacturer eyevis.

Eyecon simplifies the task of pulling together the alarm functions from different screens, graphics controllers and management software systems, by processing incoming alarms and messages from different systems, and linking them with predefined actions. Users can specify how the system will respond to a wide range of alarm inputs, including sound alarms and even changes in colour on a screen, so that the information is provided to control room operators in the most appropriate way. Options include a change of the preset image on the large screen; the addition of extra windows or messages on the large screen; the launch of applications; the broadcast of alarm messages to other systems and the playing of audio files.

With such systems, operators can control, administer and display any source (including RGB/DVI and analog and IP video) in the network (LAN/WAN) nearly in real-time. Since the system is based on a network and database structure, it can display all signal sources together on a large screen wall, and manage an unlimited number of different large screen walls and individual displays. Because the system features a WAN connection, it can also be controlled remotely and offers remote diagnosis.

Efficient traffic management systems enable operators to view the source of alarms by zooming-in using appropriate nearby traffic cameras. Such systems also ensure that the operator is not distracted by unnecessary data and that the display provides the information in an easily understood form.

Many transport departments operate older analogue cameras alongside the latest digital IP video (streaming video) cameras. To handle images from different camera types and display the images on a large video screen, traffic control centres require a controller, such as netpix that accepts a multitude of inputs.

In case of crisis

Good design of the equipment in a traffic control centre can have a major bearing on the efficiency of response during an emergency. Control centre operators are often well-trained specialists, but few have concrete knowledge of the place where the emergency is taking place, and must make decisions within seconds based on a clear understanding of the situation.

Integrated control rooms with intelligent software provide operators with a clear graphical overview of the situation. The information is available immediately to the operators in the control room, and also remotely to managers so they can manage the response, where appropriate. The ability to share the data remotely is also important when several control rooms have to collaborate in response to a crisis.

Humans, by nature, are very good at gathering information visually. It is therefore important in traffic control centres to optimise display content and layouts to ensure only important information is displayed, and that, in the case of alarms, the relevant information is brought to the foreground.

When specifying traffic control centres, therefore, it is not the number of displayed sources that is important, but the ability to have the relevant data available when it is needed. To put it another way, it is not necessary to view a camera image while nothing is happening. It is far better to have motion detection systems that automatically launch the appropriate camera image on the large display screen when an alarm is triggered.