Mediability is developing a new system for the more than 400 cameras operated by the Norwegian Public Roads Administration (NPRA). Soon all road users can see more of the Norwegian road network when planning their journey.
The NPRA runs some 400 web cameras covering thousands of miles of roads across the whole of Norway. Images from these cameras play an important role for all those using the country’s roads.
Transport firms use the cameras to plan their journeys in an efficient way, and they make the job easier and safer for professional drivers and private individuals who can check the images from the cameras to see whether it is safe to travel across exposed mountain passes during winter.
Out-dated system
But the system running the large and expanding camera park lacks capacity and is out-dated. In 2015 Mediability won a tender as the only company qualified to deliver a completely new system which will take the NPRA’s camera park into the future.
“For us this is a new an exciting field, says Henning Dahl,” who heads the project for Mediability.
“Our expertise lies in improving the efficiency of broadcast production using IT based systems. Although this project involves cameras, it represents a completely new kind of task and brings a new type of customer to us. We found it inspiring to get on with the job, and look forward to delivering the system later in 2016.”
Bigger and better offer
With the new system in place, webcam users will experience a much more stable service. There will be an improvement in webcam refresh rates, and the public will be able to find out faster if cameras in weather exposed areas temporarily go offline.
The NPRA is also continuously expanding their camera park.
“This fact was important to us when we developed the new system,” explains Henning Dahl.
“Our solution allows the NPRA to install as many as 3,000 cameras across the country, nearly tenfold what is there today.”
Further expansion
Project leader Henning Dahl says that Mediability and the NPRA have also prepared for further expansion during the development of the system which controls the cameras.
“The feed from the NPRA’s webcams is available for all kind of end users via the Internet. And in future our system can also be integrated with the Vegtrafikksentralen (Norway’s road traffic control centre), which monitors bridges and tunnels across Norway,” says Dahl.
New area
Installing live video streaming is a completely new area for the NPRA and system owner for the webcams Thor-Anders Amundsen.
“We had little knowledge for how to introduce a stable and functioning system for receiving video streaming from all of our webcams. Mediability had the key skills which we needed, and we are very happy that they wanted to work with us in order to introduce this system,” Amundsen says.
“We also envisage future expansions and upgrades, and look forward to continuing our cooperation with Mediability.”
Take a look at the solution here.