Nineteen German cities equipped with data protection-compliant video technology

Frank Salder, Managing Director of Dallmeier Systems in Gladbeck, is responsible for the Safe City division within the Dallmeier group of companies. In this regard, he is the contact person for the police, cities, municipalities and authorities.

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The German video technology manufacturer Dallmeier is looking back on three extremely successful years in the "Safe City" market sector in Germany. To date, the inventor of the Panomera multifocal sensor technology with cameras, recording systems and software for video analysis and management has been able to execute 19 major projects in German cities. Successful investigations into recent incidents once again confirmed the quality of the systems.

Essentially, three factors determine the success or failure of the use of video security technology in public spaces: on the one hand, it is important to guarantee a high and, above all, as consistent a minimum image quality as possible over the entire area to be recorded – this is the only way to ensure the images can be used in court and, above all, to ensure positive results in the automatic analysis of these images. Secondly, this goal should, of course, be achieved with the fewest possible number of camera systems in order to keep overall costs, complexity and the workload of system operators low. And finally, the quality of the video management software used and the analysis of live images and recordings is of crucial importance.

Minimum number of cameras for maximum coverage

These three elements together form the essential added value of the patented Panomera multifocal sensor systems, which Dallmeier successfully launched on the market in 2011. The breakthrough in the "Safe City" sector came at the end of 2016 with the successful commissioning of the camera systems on the Domplatte (cathedral square) in Cologne. Here, the police can observe an area of almost 9 000 square metres with only eight Panomera cameras, and this with a minimum resolution density of 250 pixels per meter (px/m, according to DIN EN 62676-4). This very resolution is required to be able to recognise unknown individuals. With large-scale installations in 19 German cities, including Frankfurt, Essen, Wiesbaden, Chemnitz and Bremen, the manufacturer can look back on an extremely successful track record in the field of urban surveillance.

A Panomera camera is equipped for different sensors for different distances, with the corresponding focal length and light sensitivity. The result is a uniform overall image with the same minimum resolution over the entire area.

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"We have been using the Dallmeier Panomera technology since 2018 with great success. With the Panomera systems, we benefit in particular from the fact that the entire overview of a scene is always maintained, whereby operators can zoom into different areas with high resolution even in the recording," says Thorsten Wünschmann, Head of the Hanau (a German city near Frankfurt) Public Order Office. "In this way, we achieve optimum control with minimum operator workload and, thanks to the fact that only a few systems are required, we also achieve low total cost of ownership."

Data protection as a matter of course

A further, very important, aspect for market acceptance is also data protection: Dallmeier fulfils this requirement by strictly observing the GDPR guidelines "Privacy by Design" and "Security by Design". Dallmeier develops and manufactures all essential components of its solutions at its headquarters in Germany, uses external service providers for extensive penetration and security tests and offers its customers comprehensive documentation and support in the implementation of video security solutions that comply with data protection regulations.

Strong results and maximum efficiency

"We are very proud of our success in the Safe City sector over the past few years. Dallmeier technology is being used for more and more installations in large cities, but also increasingly in medium-sized cities. Extremely rapid, successful investigations, not least with regard to the most recent events in southern Germany, and consistently very positive feedback from the emergency services as well as the decision-makers attest to our strategy," says Frank Salder, Managing Director of Dallmeier Systems in Gladbeck and Germany-wide expert for Safe City within the Dallmeier group of companies.

Compared to megapixel and PTZ cameras, Panomera multifocal sensor systems always capture the entire event in the defined minimum resolution. This enables high-resolution zooming in every section, even during recording, and sufficiently high-quality data for video analysis applications.

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"The patented Panomera Multifocal sensor technology enables an extremely low number of systems required. For example, it is possible to cover 40 000 square metres with only 58 Panomera cameras at a minimum resolution density of 250 pixels per metre (px/m, according to DIN EN 62676-4). Together with the resulting much lower demands on the infrastructure, and, of course, considerably fewer operator workstations, this also results in an extremely economical operation of the systems."

Further information

• Dallmeier Webinar on 28 May 2020, 4:30pm – 5:15pm CEST on the topic: “Multifocal Sensor Technology for "Safe City": Functionality, Benefits, Real-World Examples”
• Special Issue "Video Extra": Camera manufacturer recommends fewer cameras
• Dallmeier Solutions for Safe Cities