Dallmeier designs an innovative public space video surveillance system for the city of Cologne

Does installing more cameras or devices with more and more resolution ensure security? This is the approach that Dallmeier has set out to solve to respond to the growing insecurity in the population, in which the German city of Cologne has been chosen to set up a pioneering system in video surveillance of public space.

Until now, mounting large systems with as many cameras as possible seemed to be the only logical way to protect large areas widely.. However, in most cases, it turned out that such a procedure, on the one hand, was outside the limits of the budget and, on the other hand, it was simply not technically possible to create satisfactory solutions.

"That's why., in the past, at least between a 30 and a 40% of these types of projects were not even realized", says Dieter Dallmeier, founder and CEO of the German video manufacturer Dallmeier.

Thanks to the technical possibilities of Panomera, technology patented by this manufacturer, and its components (also developed by Dallmeier), a completely new and pioneering approach to crime prevention is possible. The multifocal sensor system has been specially developed for the complete protection of wide areas.

With Panomera, large widths and deep surfaces are displayed with a high quality of resolution, all in real time and with an image rate of up to 30 Ips. Thus it is possible to cover with the view from one place an immense area (resolution is scalable almost at will, depending on the required surveillance task), so that a Panomera camera with eight sensors can replace approximately 35 conventional megapixel equipment.

Objective: Colony

The events of cologne during New Year's Eve 2015 they are still present in the consciousness of their inhabitants. Local police recognized the need to review the existing security concept, especially with regard to the protection of large public squares, and retouch it where necessary.

Pushed by the crimes that happened that night around Cologne Cathedral, chose this area of the urban center to make new security plans. In the spring of last year the first concepts of how the overview for the police and the management of intervention personnel in the wide Bahnhofsvorplatz/Domplatte area could be improved were presented. (the esplanade of the station and the cathedral) by using video systems, especially when the concentration of people is higher.

At this early stage of planning they were faced with a considerable problem.: the use of conventional video technology would not allow to fully capture the surface to be covered by 8-800 M². Also, they did not find any camera technology that could provide the required resolution of the entire area for police investigations.

It was also recognized that a conventional video system with many individual cameras would lead to an avalanche of unfathomable images and that, therefore, would essentially make proactive observation and quick reaction by officials in the control center difficult..

Less is more: the Dallmeier solution

Dallmeier's project engineers got down to work and designed a system that would not only meet the defined requirements., but even surpassed them. The order was awarded to the manufacturer of Regensburg and thus began, in mid-December 2016, the assembly of the Panomera system.

Instead of a system with countless single-sensor cameras – which would have meant a laborious installation, as well as high infrastructure and maintenance costs-, Dallmeier designed a video solution that covers the entire surveillance area and that, However, maintains a discreet presence.

Only two installation points were required, which not only made assembly easy but also, in comparison, given the considerably lower costs in terms of infrastructure and system maintenance, would have positive financial repercussions for the city.

Data protection

In Germany, the protection of personal data is strictly regulated by law and, therefore, the Cologne Police is aware of its responsibility with the processing of video data. In this project Dallmeier is concerned, through different measures, that the recorded data complies with data protection rules.

Specifically,, certain areas of the image can be completely hidden from camera capture, as well as faces and license plates of vehicles can be disfigured by pixelation. Additionally, data retention is limited in time; they are kept only in cases of well-founded suspicion and for evidentiary purposes before the courts.

Active observation vs. passive surveillance

Instead of having to rely on a large number of surveillance cameras installed to lead to a decrease in the crime rate, now the Cologne Police can replace ineffective passive surveillance with active video observation. This means that potential dangerous situations are detected before they can become events in police statistics..

Intervention personnel are promptly alerted and directed to the scene. And in the event that before the 'eyes' of the officials a crime was committed, Exist, thanks to Panomera, relevant and admissible data before the courts for criminal follow-up.

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