Intelligence and high-definition from Hikvision safeguard the World Expo

Hikvision created a comprehensive intelligent video surveillance system to safeguard the China Pavilion

World Expo 2010 Shanghai, another global event held in China following the 2008 Beijing Olympics, was a six-month trade fair which attracted over 73 million visitors from May to October. As one of the core pavilions in the expo, management at the China Pavilion looked for a comprehensive security solution, featuring high-definition (HD) image quality and intelligent video involving analytics. Hikvision, the leading supplier of digital video surveillance products, created a comprehensive intelligent video surveillance system including hybrid DVRs with video analytics features, HD cameras and speed domes as well as video management software to safeguard the China Pavilion.

Challenges
The China Pavilion security team wanted to prevent illegal intrusions. They requested an intelligent perimeter monitoring solution with PTZ cameras which can effectively detect and track intruders who enter restricted areas. The solution allows the client to detect unusual behaviour/events and also analyze them retrospectively. 

Camera status checks include loss of video input, cable disconnection, damage to cameras or shifting, precautions that contribute to ensuring continuous monitoring of the China Pavilion and surrounding areas.

Video preview and playback, storage, log management, PTZ control and e-map functionality were also required in this video surveillance system.

Video Analytics and Retrieval
Due to the large scale of the China Pavilion, the security team set up more than 100 video surveillance points to cover all areas. Among these, numerous hybrid DVRs with video analysis algorithms have been deployed for motion tracking and object classification.

The hybrids DVRs feature intelligent behavioral analysis for event detection, with scenarios including object entry and exit, appearance, loitering and suspicious objects. Alert areas and time specifications can be designated as well.

Hikvision video management software was also deployed in this system. The software supports a variety of video inputs as well as offering reliable storage and emergency responses. The software runs on a dedicated server to oversee analytics and event-triggered alarms. Once an alarm is triggered, high-definition snapshots of intrusion events can be produced by the HD cameras, and an alarm log including time and location of the event, is updated. Users can click onto events in the alarm log to view related footage. All events are logged for easy review, with multiple download formats for data backup.

Post-event analysis can be conducted as well. Should an unusual event such as loitering, object left behind, graffiti spraying and illegal parking take place, the related video footage can be retrieved along with the time and date of the event for reference. Users can also define different periods of time to retrieve video footage as required.

Wide Coverage with Specific Details
In wide area surveillance, it is difficult for cameras to acquire both wide view images and specific target object details at the same time. This project had to balance these two to identify people and objects. Hikvision achieved this balance by using the leader-follower solution with HD cameras and speed domes in the perimeters of China Pavilion.

Hikvision set up a fixed camera as the "lead" unit for monitoring large areas, accompanied by a high-speed PTZ dome as a subsidiary "follower". If the "lead"camera detected events such as loitering or entry into designated zones, the video feed would be automatically transferred to the hybrid DVR for analysis and the alarm would be triggered. The DVR would lock the objects and send an order to drive the subsidiary PTZ dome to track and zoom in for details. This solution can help management acquire wide coverage without losing the image details which can be crucial for police officers to use as leads in investigation.

Additionally, most standard definition cameras record at resolution of CIF or 4CIF which goes up to 704x576. However, this is not always enough to monitor large areas. In order to acquire high image quality, Hikvision HD cameras were deployed in the system for wide-range monitoring. With resolution of 1.4-megapixel (1360x1024), image clarity and video quality were enhanced, improvements which enabled the hybrid DVRs to conduct behavior analysis more accurately.

Achieving High Security Levels
With products ranging from HD cameras, HD PTZ domes, hybrid DVRs and intelligent video surveillance analysis servers, Hikvision established a rigorous and comprehensive video surveillance solution to secure the China Pavilion. Given the prestigious nature of the location this became a notable project with some of the highest security levels currently used in China or worldwide.

"Hikvision's intelligent, high-definition solution not only improved security levels at the China Pavilion, but also allow improved visitor experiences at the World Expo," said Polo Cai, Vice President of Hikvision.