Ensuring Security on Campus

Universities contain valuable assets that demand security protection. Access control and surveillance monitoring can help optimize campus security.


Mobotix Safeguards Basic Research
Plants, insects, and the variety of ways in which they communicate chemically are the primary focus of the research work conducted by the Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology in Jena. The institute has 7,400 square meters of primary floorspace, some 1,500 square meters of greenhouse capacity, an annual budget of around EUR 10 million, and 270 research scientists and employees from 19 different countries. To protect the modern building and the institute's valuable equipment, monitoring the facility is crucial.


"We have a lot of expensive equipment, some of which cost as much as EUR 2 million, which we completely rely on for the purposes of our work. In addition, the building is quite remote and accessible from all sides - making it a potential target for vandals and burglars," said Johan Brandenburg, Technical Director at the Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology. Brandenburg found that only with the aid of a powerful camera system that the institute could achieve the degree of protection they need.


Day and Night Cameras
During the institute's search of a suitable security solution, Telegant, a service company specializing in communication, network, and security solutions, suggested Mobotix M10-DN, a day and night network camera capable of delivering high-resolution images in daylight and in the dark. The camera is equipped with two image sensors and two lenses. Depending on the prevailing light conditions, the camera automatically selects either the color sensor with the daylight lens or the black-and-white sensor with an infrared lens to record the pictures. Its megapixel sensor (1280 by 960 pixels) and high sensitivity for light offers a convenient digital zoom function.


Common challenge of surveillance systems are its large storage requirement and privacy issue of working employees. Mobotix cameras deployed are equipped with LEDs which are switched on whenever motion of any kind is detected in their exposure zones, said Michael Hellmich, technical supervisor at Telegant's Network Systems unit. The event-controlled recording can optimize storage capacity and enable fast video search. Mobotix cameras can also protect employee privacy by masking off certain areas of the image or render them unidentifiable without impairing security.


To provide the extensive building with comprehensive protection, the 32 Mobotix cameras were installed on four local area networks, connected by a fiber optic backbone. The images are recorded on a standard Linux file server as well as on the built-in ring buffers. To ensuresecurity as well as privacy, the camera network was designed to be completely autonomous and is not connected with the institute's computer network, said Brandenburg.


University of Amsterdam Goes IP with March Networks
The University of Amsterdam's Faculty of Science, one of Europe's premier centers of higher learning and scientific research, is preparing for a new milestone in its long and illustrious history. Later this year in 2009, it will begin moving into a new 300,000-square meter state-of-the art building that will serve as a showcase of advanced technology, housing 10 research institutes and laboratories, 2,000 students and 1,200 researchers and lecturers.


March Networks all-IP VideoSphere solution was chosen because the system was able to use the university's existing network, said Erik Ruikes, manager of security systems at Burgers Ergon Apeldoorn. Cameras are powered over Ethernet with no need for dedicated cabling, making the installation cost-effective and easy to manage.


This system includes 126 March Networks VideoSphere CamPX dome cameras featuring H.264/MPEG-4 compression, 32-channel recorders with RAID 5 external storage, VideoSphere Edge decode stations for video display in the monitoring center and VideoSphere SiteManager software for full control of the integrated security environment.


The video surveillance system is integrated with the building's alarm and access control systems to similarly alert monitoring staff of intruders in sensitive areas, said Ruikes. A live camera view is presented on a guard's desktop each time someone uses an access card to pass through a secure door, or each time an alarm is triggered, improving security awareness and responsiveness to incidents.


Third-party monitoring software was used to link together all alarm panels, access control equipment and surveillance cameras to create a unified security net for the new facility. The integration ensures that signals sent over the network from any of the access card scanners or alarm contacts installed at doors, elevators and other key points throughout the buildings will provides live video to the security command center.


Continuous availability of the system is assuredthrough the use of two uninterrupted power supplies that will power the system for the 10 minutes it takes for the university's diesel backup emergency system to kick in if a power outage occurs.


ADT Korea Controls Access on Campus
College works as another miniature society upon its own ecosystem. In Korea, colleges do not have any firearm accident compared with those in the USA because the possession of a gun is legally prohibited in Korea. However, various accidents or crimes still exist, and the cases of thefts or sex crimes are occurring more often as time goes by.


Almost all the colleges are located on broad c ampus , compos ed of numerous buildings, broad green areas and shelters for local communities. There is no restriction to entry and thousands of people usually have free access to the place. Difficulty of access control is a concern for campus security. Integrated security system can solve this peculiar issue.


"Most universities have onsite security guards, but they are not equal to the task securing the whole campuses, reaching hundreds of thousands yards”, said Yong II Choe, Marketing Director of ADT Korea. “Universities are focusing on expanding security facilities on campus to reduce the violent crimes or sexual violence in dormitories and libraries that open 24 hours a day. They are planning to introduce integrated and specialized security systems including video monitoring, and also increase the number of security guards."


Multifunctional smart card solution
The security trend in local universities can be classified into the multi-functional smart cards solution and the integrated monitoring system. Local universities demand automatic time and attendance check by using RFID or ubiquitous technology and access control between laboratories.


ADT Korea card-based access control solution with attendance check can satisfy such need. A well-integrated one-card solution can work with various systems reliably and effectively to meet the requirement of a university. Its database should be well protected with a backup system, uninterrupted power supply and firewall should also be installed to prevent external threats. Each server should also have server security software to control and manage authentication and authorization.


Integrated Monitoring System
An integrated monitoring system is another trend for campus security. Emergency call, fire monitoring system and lightening control can be synchronized together within the solution. Automatic monitoring system integrated with these unmanned security systems can optimize campus security and reduce cost.


Idesco Secures Tampere University of Technology
Tampere University of Technology conducts a diversified range of scientific research in technology and architecture. With over 10,000 students and 2,000 personnel, the school requires a strong functioning access control system to ensure campus safety. Idesco access control system — proximity readers were chosen.


The system, covering the whole campus area, enables personnel and students to come and go throughout the university around the clock or with preliminary authorized schedules. It also ensures only the authorized persons can be on the premises. The same card can work as an ID card with features such as time and attendance, cafeteria payment, computer work station identification and an access control card for both personnel and students.


With the electric access control system to ensure both physical and logical access, equipment and IT information can both be secured. The system can also track when and who have entered the building and accessed the computer stations.