Car dealers are often popular targets for break-ins and theft, and the German Euler Group, which is among the ten largest BMW dealers in Germany, is no different. To solve unwanted trespassing, two of Euler Group’s dealerships in Kaiserslautern and Landstuhl in Southern Germany installed complete video surveillance systems from Mobotix

The installation partner Schirra IT was responsible for the installations, and in consultation with Euler Group, they found the ideal combination of cameras for the BMW dealerships.

The installation of a series of cameras with thermal sensors measuring thermal radiation from persons and objects has made it possible for the dealerships to monitor their premises even in complete darkness. The dealerships also benefit from the thermal sensors in the daytime, since they can now detect movement in shadows, in semi-darkness and behind bushes.

Further to this, the cameras are equipped with Mxactivitysensor, which is the new motion detection software from Mobotix. This ensures that harmless movement from e.g. leaves whirling around or heavy rain do not trigger alarms. Consequently, the dealerships experience fewer false alarms, and this is crucial as the cameras are connected with a security company, which now only receive alarms when actual objects are moving around the premises.

In addition to the cameras with thermal sensors, several day/night cameras have been installed as well, meaning that security staff can now access quality images 24 hours. An extremely high resolution and light sensitive HD premium lenses make it possible to record up to 30 times more details than analog cameras. Equipped with razor-sharp images, the security staff can now easily detect and identify uninvited guests and inform the police if necessary.

As an extra precaution the solution has been programmed to automatically make an announcement if someone moves across the premises outside business hours. The ‘visitor’ is then notified that he is trespassing and that the security company therefore has been informed. This alone is a deterrent and ensures that many trespassers quickly leave the premises.

One of the reasons why Schirra IT recommended the Mobotix solution was the cost-effective nature of the solution. This is mainly due to the Mobotix decentralised concept, which eliminates a great deal of hardware and software. Each camera is equipped with a built-in computer and the recordings can be stored to the camera’s SD card and transferred to a network storage device if required. Both data and image processing and the encoding are performed by the camera itself, and this means that the control centre now serves purely for viewing and managing the cameras, and not for analysis and recording.

Euler Group have expressed their satisfaction with the new solution. "Thanks to the installed cameras with thermal sensors, there are barely any false alarms and the security company can provide the police with accurate information. The decentralised concept allows significantly fewer cameras to be used, meaning there is no need for expensive video software. We were able to save quite a lot of costs and are very impressed by the Mobotix solution", states Yvonne Hilgendorff, Security officer for Euler Group in Frankfurt.