Indiana State Museum Exhibits Panasonic s Fully Integrated Video Security System

Indiana State Museum Exhibits Panasonic s Fully Integrated Video Security System

The city of Indianapolis, Indiana is probably most closely associated with car racing and basketball as the home to the annual Indianapolis 500 and the NBA s Eastern Conference Champion Indiana Pacers. But as any resident of Indianapolis will tell you, the city is also rich in culture and the arts, as clearly exemplified in the recently opened Indiana State Museum. With a lineage dating back to the 1800 s, the Indiana State Museum s groundbreaking ceremony was held on August 30, 1999. The building is constructed from materials native to Indiana and includes a three-level 130,000 square-foot museum plus a fourlevel 100,000 square-foot administration/collections building that houses state of the art conservation labs, artifact storage areas, and office space for staff. The magnificent facility also features a James Toler, Security Manager at the Indiana State Museum, runs a tight ship with the help of a fully integrated Panasonic surveillance and security system. two-story gift shop, two restaurants, and the 40,000 square-foot IMAX Theater. The facility cost approximately $65 million to construct and was paid for with public funds, while private funds were used to create and endow the exhibits for an additional $40 million. The Indiana State Museum officially opened to the public on May 22, 2002. As with any public facility across the country, security is a top of mind concern for the facility s directors especially in an environment usually teaming with children and priceless exhibits. The need for high security is countered by the desire to maintain an open and friendly environment that nurtures creativity and education. This is the daunting task of James Toler, Security Manager at the Indiana State Museum. Mr. Toler was brought on board at the museum shortly before the facility opened. At that time, design and installation of a unique, highly sophisticated Panasonic Video Surveillance System was well underway by South Western Communications, Inc. (SWC) a Panasonic Security Systems Certified Dealer located in Indianapolis, IN. Under the direction of Mark Scheller, General Manager at SWC, the system was completed in time for the museum opening. Philip Santore of Ducibella, Venter & Santore, a security consultant out of New Haven, CT, worked with Ratio Architects to initially design and spec the system work, said Mr. Scheller. When the system went out to bid, we went after the project aggressively since it was in our backyard and wanted to be a part of this project. We were awarded the installation and started working hand in hand with the consultants and the architect to finalize the design plans. The actual architecture of the building started a year and a half before contracts were issued for the security systems, which created some problems, but we worked out the glitches. We had an outstanding crew and our project manager did an excellent

The Indiana State Museum is an architectural masterpiece with an extensive canal system running adjacent to the facility that is monitored 24/7 using Panasonic s high performance camera systems.

job coordinating the installation, continued Mr. Scheller. The system is a bit atypical compared with conventional installations since it encompasses two buildings an administration building and a museum building both of which are controlled from the centralized security command center. We had to go under the canal to get cabling from the administration building to the main museum building. As we approached the final stages of the installation, James Toler was hired as the museum s Security Manager. He requested we install some additional cameras in locations that required new cable runs, which were very difficult since the building The Panasonic Matrix System 850 installed at the Indiana State Museum is configured to provide James Toler, Security Manager The security command center at the Indiana State Museum provides Security Manager James Toler with the ability to visually monitor virtually the entire facility from one location. In addition, using Panasonic s Matrix System 850, all fire, alarm and environmental systems are fully integrated to provide Mr. Toler s staff with comprehensive control capabilities. was essentially complete at that point, said Mr. Scheller. Then it was decided to interface the existing cameras located in the garage with the new Panasonic System. Since the distance from the garage to the security command center is some two to three thousand feet, we bundled all the cameras and added fiber optic converters. We then ran the system into the Panasonic Matrix System 850 without any compatibility problems. According to Mr. Toler, The Panasonic Surveillance System has been great since day one. We have made some camera placement changes from the original design to further enhance our coverage capabilities. With the performance of Panasonic s WV-CS854A Super Dynamic Dome Camera Systems, we have achieved 100% coverage of the facility s perimeter. The zoom capabilities work incredibly well and they work in virtually any lighting condition. So well in fact, we can view license plates on vehicles that are more than 100 yards away. The Panasonic Surveillance System installed in the Indiana State Museum is comprised of over 130 cameras including Panasonic s WV-CS854A Dome Systems, WV-CW474 Vandal Proof Mini Dome Cameras, and WV-CP474 Fixed Cameras all of which feature Panasonic s exclusive Super Dynamic II technology. The Panasonic cameras are strategically located

with complete access to the systems 130+ cameras from a satellite system in his office. Panasonic Super Dynamic II cameras are positioned throughout the Indiana State Museum s interior. around the museum s perimeter and throughout the interior structure. We have approximately 80% of the interior covered using a combination of dome and fixed camera systems from Panasonic, continued Mr. Toler. The museum s eight elevators 2 freight elevators and 6 passenger elevators are also monitored with dedicated Panasonic cameras. The city held a 13.1 mile mini marathon that attracted some 30,000 people and we had the Komen Indianapolis Race for the Cure here recently with some 37,000 people involved. The runners passed directly in front of the museum so we assigned one of our cameras to monitor the runners and pedestrians. With the Panasonic dome camera s coverage capabilities, we had a good view of the entire area. In the event that an incident occurred, we could have responded quickly, said Mr. Toler. Panasonic s WV-CS854A Dome Camera System is highly regarded as the most advanced dome camera system available. It incorporates an advanced CCD camera, 22x zoom lens, and rotating chassis that s all packed in a sleek 4.3 (110mm) diameter housing ideal for almost any location. Its Panasonic Digital Video Recorders are networked at the Indiana State Museum allowing Mr. Toler to assign any camera to record and playback images on any DVR. Super Dynamic II capabilities deliver a dynamic range 64 times greater than conventional cameras to provide excellent images under highly contrasted lighting conditions. In addition, the WV-CS854A Dome Camera Systems offer Day/Night operation capable of providing color images in light as low as 1lux (0.1fc), and black and white images in as little as 0.06lux (0.006fc). Additional features include full 360º horizontal rotation, 190º vertical pan, The Panasonic dome camera systems mounted on the exterior of the Indiana State Museum have been architecturally designed into the structure to help obscure them from the public s view, yet provide comprehensive coverage of the facility s exterior. and 300º/second speed; Privacy Zone Masking and Patrol Learn features; digital motion detection; an image hold function to minimize image distortion during fast motion transitions; plus many more high performance features.

Mr. Toler s security staff at the Indiana State Museum closely monitors exhibit areas to assure that the museum s often priceless exhibitions remain intact. Thanks to the Panasonic system, our staff is able to respond immediately to any incident inside or outside the museum, said Mr. Toler. The cameras mounted on the exterior of the Indiana State Museum have been architecturally designed into the structure to help obscure them from the public s view. We wanted to make the cameras as unobtrusive as possible, continued Mr. Toler. Although we maintain a very high security presence which is comforting to visitors, we are also conscious of maintaining a user friendly environment. All of the cameras in the system are controlled from the security command center using Panasonic s Matrix System 850 with a satellite control system located in Mr. Toler s office. Additional monitoring facilities are located at the facility s loading dock, kitchen dock, the front entrance guard station and the guard station at the interior entrance to the parking garage. Most of our business comes in through the garage, so we placed a monitoring station there to give our personnel a good view of activity in the area. Initially, the parking garage was not the museum s responsibility, although it is now. There are over 25 cameras in the garage that we have since tied into the Panasonic Matrix System 850 and have added two additional Panasonic DVRs to record images from this feed, continued Mr. Toler. The Panasonic Matrix System 850 offers the capability to install up to 64 satellite systems with control capabilities affording Mr. Toler the ability to expand the system with additional control and monitoring locations as the need arises. In addition, when fully configured, Panasonic s Matrix System 850 can accommodate approximately 9000 cameras, 1024 monitors and 128 system controllers making it ideal for systems with anticipated growth. With large camera systems such as the Indiana State Museum s, the Panasonic Matrix System 850 s advanced switching capabilities allow Mr. Toler to program automated tour or group switching sequences. He also has the ability to program event sequences by time/date or alarm activation for automated camera PTZ movement with preset switching, recording and monitoring sequences. The Panasonic matrix system is programmed to run dual group and tour sequences automatically so that the guards can scan the monitors and get a good overview of the entire facility. Each of the overview screens display 16 multiplexed cameras, according to Mr. Toler. The Panasonic Matrix System 850 installed in the Indiana State Museum is controlled using Panasonic s PFW850 Graphical User interface control software. The software provides the museum s guard staff with an easy and highly efficient means to control the matrix switcher including all camera programming and control functions as well as monitoring assignments.

We record all 130 plus cameras on Panasonic Digital Video Recorders (DVRs). We presently have over 10 terabytes of storage in our DVR system to accommodate the camera capacity, continued Mr. Toler. Initially, we had 7 terabytes of storage but added an additional 3 terabytes to accommodate the additional camera system located in our parking garage that we incorporated into the Panasonic Matrix System 850. The Panasonic DVRs are set up to record 24/7 in real time with a 30 day archive backup. We find this to be a good record/archive ratio. The Panasonic DVRs installed in the museum are interfaced via a dedicated network. Panasonic s Super Dynamic II Cameras provided the perfect solution for monitoring areas where there are highly contrasted lighting conditions and the light levels continually change throughout the course of the day. According to Mr. Toler, The networked DVRs provide us with a tremendous degree of versatility. We can assign any camera to record on any DVR via PC control. We have the ability to call up any camera recording from virtually any PC located here in the facility, from my home PC or from a laptop computer virtually anywhere in the world. We run Panasonic s WV-AS50 DVR viewing software on two PCs which provides us with complete control of our DVR network. In addition to controlling the DVRs, we can use the software for pan/tilt/zoom camera control. The DVR viewing software provides an easy and effective way to manage DVRs on an enterprise level with the ability to individually control, access, playback and transfer images from one unit to another across a digital network platform, said Mr. Toler. Panasonic s WV-AS50 DVR Viewing Software allows simultaneous viewing of up to 16 cameras from any recorder, or recorded images for each DVR connected to the network. Images can be accessed randomly or automatically through alarm logs and be downloaded from the DVRs onto the PC s hard drive. User name and password protection provide authorized access to the system. A camera operation panel is also incorporated into the program to provide camera control capabilities from any location with custom screens. The Panasonic surveillance system installed at the Indiana State Museum integrates all of the critical security functions, such as alarm, fire and access systems, allowing the security staff to simultaneously monitor all systems from the centralized security command center. We have a comprehensive intrusion and fire alarm system with smoke detectors in the ceilings and glass break detectors that are integrated into the Panasonic Matrix System 850 and control software, continued Mr. Toler. If an alarm is sounded, the signal automatically activates the Panasonic system to bring up cameras located in the affected area so we can instantly view the incident. We also have the capability to control all the lights throughout the entire building, as well as the HVAC system. Everything is right at our security staff s fingertips in the control center. Facility management also has a similar monitoring station in their offices in the event they see a condition that warrants attention, such as humidity control in the exhibits area. Our Panasonic surveillance and security system has become a showcase for other

The Panasonic cameras provide comprehensive coverage of the museum s perimeter and interior. facilities, said Mr. Toler. The national governor s conference was held in this facility. It was one of the largest activities ever staged at the museum and we had security personnel from virtually every state here for their respective governor. They were very pleased with the performance and coverage provided by our Panasonic Surveillance System. We have hosted a number of demonstrations of the Panasonic system here at the museum, continued Mr. Toler. Security personnel from the Zoo, regional banks, the library and other museums have come in to see the capabilities of our system. During an open house, the directors of the Tennessee State Museum were shown our Panasonic security system and were so impressed they brought a group back to our facility six months later to look at the system. I could not be more pleased with the Panasonic surveillance and security system Panasonic Super Dynamic II Dome Cameras are strategically located throughout the Indiana State Museum s interior including the museum s eight elevators 2 freight elevators and 6 passenger elevators. installed here at the Indiana State Museum. And the support from Panasonic s engineering staff has been outstanding, concluded Mr. Toler. 072004-10M Visit our web site at: www.panasonic.com/security or call toll free 1-866-PAN-CCTV