Warsash Maritime Academy improves simulator stress test monitoring with Milestone IP video management software and IQeye megapixel technology.

Southampton Solent University's Warsash Maritime Academy in the UK provides seafaring qualifications for merchant navies and the Royal Fleet Auxiliary. This includes simulator testing in an engine environment without teachers present in the room, a challenge well resolved by using Milestone Systems XProtectâ„¢ video management software and IQeye megapixel cameras.

For Warsash Maritime Academy's simulator environment to be as realistic as possible, it is important that only the students are in it: the teaching staff must be in a separate control room where they cannot see into the simulator. In order for the teachers to monitor and hear what the students are doing, how the instruments read, where the controls are set, etc., video cameras are used.

Previously the Academy had an old analogue surveillance system with image quality in low light levels that was unacceptable, and a VHS setup where only one camera's output could be recorded at once. With the high levels of background noise in the test environment, audio capture was very challenging and recorded results far below the standard needed. Editing facilities were very primitive and the VHS output quality was not good enough to show on a video projector to large audiences when sharing test results with international stress research colleagues.

Milestone XProtect IP video management software was installed for viewing live and recorded video from six IQinVision IQeye megapixel cameras, networked with Power Over Ethernet and Gigabit connectivity. The video is archived in the Milestone database, and a user-friendly interface for viewing live or recorded images. Very little training was required by InCam Digital Surveillance and Smart CCTV Ltd., who provided the implementation expertise for the Academy.

"In our engine room teaching environment all kinds of incidents can be simulated to which the students have to react, with a range of issues on which they are debriefed at the end of the session. Of particular interest is how the students react to stress,� informs Stephen Harding, Learning Systems Support Manager at Southampton Solent University. "The Milestone software is very easy to use and a great bonus for the teaching staff."

Only IP video management software like Milestone XProtect can manage megapixel cameras, and these give top clarity from the highest resolution images available on the market today. The IQinVision megapixel technology gives very clear images even in low lighting, and all the camera views at Warsash Maritime Academy are now simultaneously monitored and recorded, providing much better editing capability. By recording the output to a dedicated server, the material is viewable on any PC in the university network, as well.

"The system is very flexible, handling video in various formats and allowing easy upgrades to scale the solution to other locations. We very much worked with each other to deliver this solution at IT and camera levels and have forged a good partnership for future projects," states Paul Stout, Managing Director of InCam Group.

Warsash Maritime Academy intend to increase the number of cameras in the future to cover other simulators in their teaching.