High quality video for hazardous area!

Certified camera line expanded to provide high quality video from hazardous areas at reduced bandwidth.

Industrial Video and Control (IVC) expanded their hazardous area product line with the introduction of H.264 cameras designed and certified for use in hazardous areas. They now offer Class I Division 1 and Class I Division 2 PTZ dome and ATEX PTZ cameras that support H.264 encoding.

Users can view and store high frame rate, quality video over networks while consuming less bandwidth and storage.  This makes these cameras ideal for situations where video might be transmitted over low-bandwidth media such as wireless, or where video shares the network with other critical data.

IVC’s H.264 Class I- and ATEX-rated PTZ cameras are available with an 18x, 26x, or 36x optical zoom imagers.  Theses cameras are also available with a variety of copper and fiber IP connectivity options.

These new camera models are supported in IVC’s Relay Server and Longwatch camera management software packages.

IVC is a manufacturer of IP-based cameras and developer of advanced software for managing networks of video systems.  “IVC has a long history of providing video solutions that can be used in challenging petrochemical environments,” states Norman Fast, president of IVC.  “One of our goals is to continually bring the state-of-the-art in video technology to our industrial customers.  This announcement further establishes IVC as the leader in providing video solutions to critical industrial applications.”

Patnership surveys more!

The Industrial Automation Group of Advantech and Industrial Video andControl (IVC), a leading supplier of industrial video solutions, announce their partnership to provide state-of-the-art video surveillance solutions.  As a world class manufacturer and provider of industrial and embedded PC platforms, Advantech provides IVC customers an ideal industrialized embedded platform for remote, ruggedized industrial applications.   Advantech’s embedded platforms can support both analog and IP-based camera technology as well as offering class 1, division 2 UL certified solutions.

“IVC is extremely satisfied with the quality and performance of Advantech’s products.  Their rugged PCs provide an ideal platform for our IVC and Longwatch camera management software,” stated Clarke Esler, IVC’s Director of Marketing.  “They are particularly attractive to customers deploying our camera systems in remote locations.  We can preconfigure the Advantech PCs with our software to offer our customers solutions that are essentially turn-key.  Additionally, their certified product line dovetails nicely with our certified camera line.”

Video monitoring nuclear bomb site clean up!

Industrial Video and Control (IVC) is supplying video cameras—50% of which are radiation tolerant—to Parsons Corporation.

Pic: New York Times

Parsons is building the Salt Waste Processing Facility (SWPF), a plant designed to process liquid waste stored in underground tanks at the Savannah River Site.  Video from the IVC cameras will be integrated into an Emerson Process Management DeltaV control system, where software from IVC will allow the video to be viewed on DeltaV Operate screens.  IVC’s software will also be used to build up multiple multi-monitor views that will display any number of live video windows.

The cameras will monitor processing operations in the SWPF, allowing operators at the DeltaV consoles to watch over critical steps in the process and monitor the activities of workers in the area.  IVC is supplying cameras, a complete video network, and Relay Server and View Station camera management software to Parsons.

The Savannah River Site is a “nuclear reservation” near Augusta, Georgia. The 310 square mile site was built during the 1950s to refine materials for use in nuclear weapons, and to store all the solid and liquid waste that resulted. From 1953 to 1988, the site produced 36 metric tonnes of plutonium in five nuclear reactors. None of the reactors on the site are operating at present, but plans are to clean up radioactive materials on the site and use the site for other purposes.

For example, the Savannah River Site will have a Mixed Oxide Fuel (MOX) manufacturing plant that will convert weapons-grade plutonium into fuel for commercial nuclear power reactors. Other plans call for a reactor park for power generation, and acting as a host for reactor research. The site is owned by the U.S. Department of Energy.

As part of the overall clean-up operation, the SWPF facility will process 75 million gallons of salt waste currently stored in underground tanks, at a rate of 6 million gallons per year. The SWPF will remove Caesium-137, Strontium-90, and actinides from the salt wastes.

Rapid deploy video system

A lightweight, portable, wireless, all weather manual zoom IP camera system that can be placed anywhere, at any time.

Industrial Video and Control (IVC) has just introduced the RD-MZ-3630-01, a rapid deploy wireless video solution, consisting of a high definition color camera as well as an internal wireless radio. The camera is capable of transmitting over 30 frames per second of video in 1280 x 1024 resolution. It also comes equipped with an IR illuminator, allowing for clear, high resolution images from over 200 feet in complete darkness.

The rapid deploy camera system can be placed anywhere for security surveillance purposes, to monitor a process system, or to watch over a machine, remote pumping station, pipeline, power substation or anywhere there is an immediate need for video monitoring. The system immediately connects wirelessly to an IP network for remote viewing and recording under the control of IVC’s camera management software.

It has secure clasping hooks, letting it easily attach to rails and walls up to 1-1/2 in. thick. The included antenna is mounted on an ultra-high-pull encased Neodymium-Iron-Boron rare-earth magnetic base for secure mounting to sites that may move or vibrate. The antenna is adjustable to allow a clear line of sight signal to the receiver.

Weighing less than 22 pounds with the antenna attached, the RD-MZ-3630-01 comes in a rugged, all weather enclosure equipped with a heater and blower. The unit is capable of operating in temperatures from -29°C to 50°C. The unit comes standard with a Lithium Ion battery, capable of providing six hours of battery life. The charging adaptor is included.

IVC Camera System Software
At the heart of the camera system is Relay Server Software. This scalable, enterprise application provides a full range of camera management and viewing features for up to 24 IP cameras. Camera video can be accessed over a LAN, WAN, VPN or the Internet from virtually anywhere, and can be connected by fiber, copper, satellite or encrypted wireless radio. Live and stored video can be viewed and controlled from anywhere on-site or off-site by authorized users from any networked PC. The Relay Server includes APIs for easy integration of live video into SCADA HMI screens.

IVC’s View Station Software provides comprehensive multi-camera management and viewing. The View Station console is completely configurable. Users can view video from up to 25 cameras on single or multiple monitors. Tours of selected preset views from any number of cameras can be defined on one or more schedules. The View Station provides sophisticated, yet easy to use alarm management. At the occurrence of a user-defined alarm, any camera control, discreet URL command, or executable program can be invoked.

Video monitoring software on industrial cameras

Longwatch, a division of Industrial Video and Control (IVC),  has announced that Longwatch video monitoring software products have been integrated with IVC’s latest industrial cameras.  IVC is a leading supplier of cameras and video systems for industrial, military, and commercial applications.  IVC acquired Longwatch in February 2011, and the two companies have worked since then to create video solutions using Longwatch software and IVC’s cameras. (See our story Video surveilence pioneer acquired - 3rd Feb'11)

Longwatch video surveillance software runs on a standalone PC or can be integrated with almost all popular HMI/SCADA platforms used in automation and process control, including General Electric iFix, Wonderware InTouch, InduSoft WebStudio, and Control Microsystems ClearSCADA. The software allows automation and process control operators and engineers to view live camera data on their HMI screens, pan and zoom cameras from the HMI, “rewind” archived video data to review historical events, link archived video with historian data, and record what operators saw and did during an “event” at their HMI screens.

Longwatch software—including the Console Recorder, Video Management System, Longwatch Viewer, Video Window and the Video Historian—now provides seamless, integrated support of IVC’s latest, state-of-the-art industrial cameras including:
• MZ-3630-04 - Outdoor manual zoom day/night switching color fixed megapixel IP camera
• PTZ-3330-11 – Outdoor 26x day/night switching color PTZ IP camera
• AMZ-3641-02 – Class I Division 1 3 megapixel color fixed IP camera
• APTZ-3141-xx – Class I Division 1 day/night switching color PTZ IP camera (all versions)
• APTZ-3142-xx – Class I Division 2 day/night switching color PTZ IP camera (all versions)

The combination of Longwatch video monitoring software with IVC’s industrial cameras allows IVC to meet the needs of industrial plants for security surveillance, process monitoring, pipeline and well-site monitoring, and video monitoring of remote sites, such as pumping stations, power transmission lines, offshore platforms, water and wastewater facilities, mines, and similar applications.

Video surveillance pioneer acquired

Two companies, focused on leading-edge video solutions for industrial and automation applications, join forces to expand the market

Industrial Video and Control (IVC), a leading supplier of cameras and video systems for industrial, military, and commercial applications, announced the acquisition of Longwatch. IVC, based in Newton (MA US), is known for its industrial camera systems that incorporate ruggedized cameras and state-of the-art video management software.

Operator Console Recorder
headline in Read-out (2009)

Longwatch’s Video Surveillance system, first introduced in 2005 to water treatment and power plants, is able to transmit video over existing instrumentation networks at speeds as low as 9600 baud. Longwatch has since established itself as the leader in integrating video with industrial SCADA applications. Its Video Historian automatically links video with various user databases (including data historians). Its most recent innovation is the Longwatch Console Recorder, which records industrial control console displays and enables easy playback for troubleshooting, operator training and regulatory compliance.

Synergies
“The acquisition of Longwatch is a great opportunity for IVC,” said Norman Fast, CEO of Industrial Video and Control. “It establishes us as the clear leader in industrial video applications. Longwatch’s leading edge software in SCADA video and remote monitoring will be a major addition to our product line and will bring extraordinary value to manufacturers and commercial users,” he added.

Stephen Rubin, CEO of Longwatch, stated, “IVC makes cameras and enclosures specifically for rugged applications as demanded in process and manufacturing industries. Together, IVC and Longwatch can now deliver leading-edge solutions that deliver value that standard camera integrators cannot touch. The know-how and service capability of IVC combined with their cameras and our software brings a totally integrated, reliable solution to customers.”

Moving Forward
IVC will maintain the Longwatch brand and operate the company as a division of IVC. According to Norman Fast, the plan is to make both companies’ product lines interactive while building on the Longwatch brand, leveraging its reputation for innovation in remote monitoring and process control. IVC’s Relay Server, which interfaces with a multitude of cameras, will interface with Longwatch’s Video Control Center – the software that drives the Longwatch Viewer, ActiveX controls for video integration, as well as the Video Historian. Longwatch’s Video Engine, which provides “at the edge” recording of events and video, will also provide video streams to the IVC Relay Server.

IVC also plans to add support of its extensive camera offering to the Longwatch environment. IVC manufactures and sells pan-tilt zoom, fixed, auto-zoom, and manual zoom cameras that incorporate the latest in imaging technology. Their industrial cameras are suitable for the harshest weather and environmental conditions; some models have been certified for use in Class I Division 1, Class I Division 2, and ATEX (inherently dangerous) environments.

See also our blog The Next HMI revolution (November 2009)