Heifer provides gifts of livestock and training to help families improve their nutrition and generate income in sustainable ways. The non-profit organisation refers to the animals as "living loans" because, in exchange for their livestock and training, each family agrees to give one of its animal's offspring to another family in need.

The new system at Heifer International provides surveillance for three buildings, and cameras are monitored by a central guard station. The IP-based system also makes it possible for multiple departments to monitor their areas, according to Tom Spinnato, Facilities/IT Specialist, Heifer International.

“Arecont Vision provided the most robust features, and the panoramic options are beyond impressive,” said Mr. Wirges. “The customer easily perceived the quality of the product, which allowed performance and versatility to be the focus of the design rather than price.” Says Zachary Wirges, President of Genesis Datacom, the integrator for the project.

At Heifer International, three Arecont Vision AV8185DN Surroundvideo day/night 8-megapixel H.264 cameras are now being used. The cost-effective cameras are designed for applications where mechanical pan-tilt-zoom (PTZ) devices might otherwise be used or where multiple cameras would be needed to view expansive areas. Each Surroundvideo camera incorporates surface-mount and in-ceiling mounting options, an IP66-rated environmental chassis and a 5.5 inch polycarbonate dome that needs no external housing.

Arecont Vision model AV8185DN is an 8 megapixel, 180-degree panoramic H.264 IP camera that incorporates four 2 megapixel CMOS image sensors that can be switched between day and night manually or automatically to provide 6400 x 1200-pixel panoramic images at 5.5 frames-per-second (fps). The panoramic view can also be set at lower resolutions to provide faster frame rates, such as 1600 x 1200-pixel images at 22 fps or 800 x 600-pixel images at 88 fps. Low-light sensitivity is 0.2 lux at F2.0. The 180-degree panoramic camera can substitute for up to 24 analog cameras. Features include image cropping and up to four regions of interest.

In addition, Heifer International uses an Arecont Vision AV365DN camera, which is a Surroundvideo day/night 8-megapixel H.264 camera providing 360-degree panoramic views. Other features are similar to the AV8185DN.

Also used at Heifer is the Arecont Vision AV2825IR camera, a full-HD mode, 1080p H.264 Megaview IP camera that includes an IR illuminator. The megapixel camera is enclosed in an all-in-one IP66 (environmentally rated) and vandal-resistant cylindrical (bullet-style) housing. The camera also includes a 4.5-10mm IR-corrected vari-focal lens, and the IR illuminator has 48 infrared LEDs for a 25-metre (82-foot) IR distance. The camera provides up to 24 frames-per-second in 1080p mode, and has an embedded heater and blower.

Other Arecont Vision cameras incorporated into the Heifer International system include two Arecont Vision AV3155DN cameras, each a 3-megapixel H.264 network (IP) Megadome integrated camera, lens and IP66-rated dome providing 2048 x 1536-pixel images at 15 fps and 0.2 lux light sensitivity at F1.4. Features of the all-in-one integrated camera, lens and housing include a 1/2” CMOS sensor and Arecont Vision's Megavideo image processing at 80 billion operations per second. The camera employs H.264 (MPEG 4, Part 10) compression to minimize bandwidth and storage requirements while maintaining real-time image resolution. The day/night model (DN) features a motorised IR cut filter.

Finally, four Arecont Vision AV1355 H.264 Megadome IP cameras provide 1.3 megapixel (1280 x 1024-pixel) images at 32 frames per second in an integrated all-in-one camera, lens and dome. The cameras have features similar to the other models. Light sensitivity of 0.1 lux at F1.4 enables low-light viewing and recording.

The cameras all use power-over-Ethernet (PoE), and there are fibre connections between network switches. Two Gateway GW-500 systems by Next Level Security Systems provide analytics and network video recording.

The increased image quality of megapixel video played the largest role in solving surveillance system issues at Heifer International. Expanded coverage areas and day/night options of Arecont Vision cameras also contribute to a successful and effective new system.

Image detail at the forensic level gives Heifer International the confidence in their surveillance system they previously lacked. “We can now see areas of the campus that were not previously addressed and acquire the necessary information to address whatever event occurs,” said Mr. Wirges. “The system can clearly deliver faces, license plates, vehicle details, physical details and even capture video in low light.”