As the second largest city in Neuquén Province and one of Argentina’s most important oil producing regions, Cutral-Có was in need of a solution to safeguard both its citizens and infrastructure.

In just 30 days, a Dahua Safe City video surveillance system comprised of 242 devices was set up completely. It enables the city to become a pioneer in modern urban security development as well as a national technology hub.

The Dahua Safe City solution was developed to greatly improve police, fire, transportation, and medical emergency response speeds and efficiency through a network of reliable cameras and intelligent technologies.

Challenge
Located in northwestern Argentina, Cutral-Có is the second largest city in Neuquén Province and a major oil producer in the region. Due to the recent economic downturn and the resulting crime which has resulted, on top of inefficiencies in the traffic system often causing painstaking gridlocks, the city needed an efficient, reliable solution that would secure its nearly 50,000 residents and natural resource infrastructure. This led former Cutral-Có mayor Prof. Ramón Riosecoto to call for a comprehensive video surveillance system that would monitor traffic, improve city management, streamline responses to neighborhood emergencies, support the Civil Defense force, and safeguard urban areas. Without such a system, integral public services would not be able to function properly, thus delaying the city’s modernization process. In coordination with the Cutral-Có government, Dahua stepped up to the task and formed an action plan that would become one of the country’s most advanced security grids.

Solution
Dahua Technology was chosen to develop an urban surveillance network for the city of Cutral-Có not only because of its numerous success stories in developing professional security infrastructure in major regions around the world, but also because of its compassionate, face-to-face technical support. In addition, a wide range of field-tested products able to withstand the adverse temperature extremes Cutral-Có experiences, which range from -10°C to 40°C, made Dahua the most qualified candidate for the project.

At the project’s core, Professional Surveillance System (PSS) software was selected to design and manage deployment of the system’s numerous speed domes and camera components. With support for 256 simultaneous device connections, all 242 of the project’s components could be managed from one system.

In order to handle the massive flows of data from multiple high resolution cameras, the Dahua (DH-NVR6000) series network video recorder was integrated to provide 64TB of storage out of the box, with another 128TB added through network storage, bringing its total storage capacity to 192TB and allowing the system to record and store video in full HD resolution for 45 days. The long archive time offered by this setup is perfect for intense data analysis and various facial and plate identification software.

Dahua SD6C230S speed domes were chosen to provide extensive coverage around urban areas due to their long-range capabilities. With 30x optical zoom and 16x digital zoom at a resolution of 2 Megapixels, the speed domes are ideal for crime prevention units and automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) at variable distances, performing well on objectives at ranges of over 320 meters. These speed domes were installed at the main entrances of integral public sites such as hospitals, schools, police stations, and crossroads. To accommodate various geographical constraints, a portion of the speed domes were interconnected wirelessly, while others were connected by optical fibers. Uninterruptible power supply (UPS) was used to power each to ensure 24/7 operation.

3 Megapixel fixed Ultra-Smart Network Cameras (DH-IPC-HF8301E) were placed in areas of high risk. Their progressive scan CMOS sensor, vari-focal lens, and motorized auto-iris, coupled with a multitude of smart detection features, including facial detection, enable the cameras to deliver superior performance during the day or at night, even in the absence of infrared illuminators.

Smart Professional Surveillance System (Smart PSS) software was used to achieve integration with the entire network of cameras and digital components. This setup allowed the city to host its own internet-based data center administration system, which is the first of its kind in Argentina. Optical fibers provided by internet providers Telefónica and Copelco provided the system with the high bandwidth capacity required to support intense data traffic, which was managed through the Smart PSS software’s load balancing system.

Vigilancia Online S.A., a Dahua partner company, accomplished smooth installation and integration of the system’s 242 cameras in only 30 business days.

Benefits
In just a month’s time, Cutral-Có has been equipped with one of the most advanced command and control centers in the country, which is interconnected with the Radio-electric Command of the neighboring city of Plaza Huincul and defense agencies, displaying the importance of a Smart City system on both its immediate and surrounding areas.

City officials can now take a relaxing breath knowing that Cutral-Có residents and infrastructure are fully protected by world-class, state-of-the-art video surveillance technology provided by Dahua. This solution demonstrates Dahua’s core value in Innovation, Quality, and Service (IQS), which will continue to be its main driving factors as Dahua looks towards the future.