Remote night monitoring with ultra-high-sensitivity cameras at sites without power

Easy monitoring with clear camera video at night, with no power wiring needed

Overview

Camera monitoring is needed at night in many situations: to prevent natural disasters at rivers, ports, slopes, and coastlines, or to monitor police and other critical facilities. However, at sites without power in particular, it can be hard to secure a power supply. At night there is almost no light, making it hard for cameras to capture images, or large floodlights are needed. This article presents a use case in which an ultra-high-sensitivity camera combined with a fuel cell system makes it easy to monitor with clear camera video day and night, even in these conditions.

For details on the Fuel Cell Surveillance Camera Solution used in this use case, see the following.

Fuel Cell Surveillance Camera Solution

Challenge: Capturing camera video in the dark

When cameras are installed for crime prevention or disaster preparedness, camera monitoring is often needed at night as well. However, at sites without power in particular, it can be hard to secure a power supply, and at night there is almost no light, making it hard for cameras to capture images.

1. The difficulty of shooting at night

For crime prevention, problems such as theft are more likely at night, so cameras need to capture video at night too. For disaster preparedness, natural disasters can occur day or night, so continuous recording at night is also desirable. However, at sites without power in particular, there is little light at night, which makes capturing clear camera video a major challenge.

2. The difficulty of shooting in color

Thermal cameras are sometimes used at night, but they often make it hard to tell colors apart. For example, a suspicious person’s features may not be captured clearly, leaving too little information. In coastal monitoring, where the port and starboard sides of a vessel are identified by the color of its navigation lights, there is a risk of not being able to make a judgment because the colors cannot be seen.

3. The difficulty of installing floodlights

To capture clear video at night, floodlights are often installed for lighting. However, at sites without power, batteries are used, and they often cannot supply enough power to keep lights on all night. Also, cameras can only capture the areas the lights reach, which limits coverage.

4. Large system configurations

With power equipment and floodlights, the system tends to become quite large and often cannot be moved after installation.

amnimo’s solution: Clear color images day and night, even at sites without power

With an ultra-high-sensitivity camera and a fuel cell system, you can monitor remotely with clear color video day and night, even at sites without power where light is scarce.

1. Clear images even at night

An ultra-high-sensitivity camera captures clear images even where there is little light. You can view video even when visibility is poor, such as at night or in fog. The camera can also zoom at high resolution, so you can monitor distant areas such as coastlines.

2. Color video day and night

Color is available even at night, which is effective for security and monitoring. For example, if an intruder enters, the camera can accurately capture features such as “a suspicious person in a red jacket.” When monitoring vessels from the coast, you can tell a vessel’s port and starboard sides by the color of its navigation lights, which gives more accurate information.

3. Night monitoring without floodlights

With an ultra-high-sensitivity camera, you do not need power for floodlights. You can therefore use a battery-powered video monitoring system with confidence, even at sites without power. You can also monitor at night at distances that floodlights cannot reach, which widens the coverage.

4. Can be moved after installation

This LTE camera system requires no power wiring or network cabling and no floodlights, so its design is relatively compact. It is an all-in-one packaged product with the required equipment housed in a storage box, so it is relatively easy to move after installation.

In cooperation with EIZO Corporation
The ultra-high-sensitivity camera (SSZ-9700) in this use case is sold by EIZO Corporation. See the SSZ-9700 on the EIZO website