Toshima installs a visual monitoring system to manage critical situations

More than 50 Sony SNC-WR632C high-speed dome cameras allow disaster prevention teams to take immediate action in emergency situations in this district of Tokyo. The equipment has been installed in the train stations, main road routes, evacuation centers and other key points. Solution completed with NEC's crowd behavior analysis technology.

Toshima is one of the eight districts of the Tokyo metropolitan area in which they live near 300.000 citizenry. With an area of 13 square kilometers, this area has tall buildings, department stores and commercial areas, as well as densely populated residential neighborhoods. An average of 2,7 millions of commuters cross the huge Ikebukuro train station daily, the second largest in Japan.

Japan's Great Earthquake in March 2011 did not cause excessive damage to buildings and roads in Toshima District, but there were scenes of chaos in Ikebukuro station after transport services were suspended, due to the isolation of passengers who could not return home. Relief workers had difficulty handling the situation, as they could not estimate the number of people trapped at the station or how fast the crowd was increasing.. They could not provide accurate data such as passenger numbers and movements..

In the wake of this catastrophe, the planners of this district realized that they needed an efficient visual monitoring system that would allow them to optimally manage any type of critical situation such as earthquakes., fires or floods. This would allow accurate information to be collected and shared instantly., to maximize crowd safety at the station and other public areas.

Under these premises, Toshima has implemented a complete disaster prevention system, whose facilities have been installed the town hall building in the district of the city, which is equipped with a specialist rescue team and an emergency electric generator 72 Hours. In total, 51 high-speed dome network cameras Sony SNC-WR632C provide real-time monitoring of train stations, main road routes, evacuation centres and other key points in the district.

Seventeen of these teams are located at transportation stations and major highway intersections., where there is usually more congregation of people; while others 34 Cameras are located in school-specific rescue centers and other facilities designated as evacuation areas..

These cameras are part of a crowd behavior analysis technology solution from NEC Corporation. Images from the cameras, recorded in real time and collected 24 hours at stations and intersections, are analyzed and an alarm is triggered when the agglomeration levels exceed the previously established limit. Along with injury reports, damage and availability of designated rescue centres, planners can accurately assess the situation across the district and make quick decisions.

Weather-resistant outdoor cameras have been installed on street lamps and road signs just a few meters above the ground, as well as in schools and other buildings with less than 10 high floors. In combination with the powerful 30x optical zoom of these devices, location, relatively low, provides disaster management personnel with a clear picture of what happens at ground level in the event of an incident.

At night, high-sensitivity cameras come in handy in the neon-lit area around Ikebukuro Station, as well as in darker residential areas where conventional cameras would struggle to clearly show what happens without additional lighting..

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