InCam Digital Surveillance / Mobile accessibility


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Mobile Accessibility

Any internet connection provides remote access, via a high-speed fixed line, and allows you to gain access to your surveillance images. But what if you are in a high street or in car when you require access to your system?

Remote access to digital video is a key requirement for many clients. InCam have packaged a number of solutions to ensure that you can keep in touch with what's going on at your site or sites. Email and text messaging alerts can be built into any of our systems and using the devices listed below, you are offered a highly accessible system.

The Technology

The basis of truly remote, wireless connections is either via WI-FI 'hotspots' or a mobile contract similar to that of a mobile phone. WI-FI Hotspots are locations where you can access the internet, through your laptop's wireless network card, by piggy-backing on an existing connection. Many cafes now incorporate hotspots. For example, London's Soho area has over 200 hotspots alone where you can just turn up, have a cup of coffee and connect for a nominal hourly fee. But WI-FI is not restricted to London - most cities and towns have several sites at convenient locations; in all, thousands of hotspots currently exist in the UK. Click here to find a WI-FI hotspot near you.

InCam can offer a range of wireless networking products and configure these as part of the overall solution.

Mobile access offers the truly self-contained solution, Instead of paying for the amount of talk time you use, you pay for the data that you send/receive - this is known as 'bandwidth usage'. The solutions that InCam recommend and implement are based upon two distinct types of mobile network - GSM/GPRS and 3G. GSM/GPRS uses the same, common voice networks that mobile phones operate on - instead of sending voice data, the non-voice data is 'wrapped-up' and sent over the voice network in the same manner. This technology uses GPRS (higher speed) networks where they are available and automatically switches to GSM (more available, lower speed) where GPRS is unavailable. The beauty of this technology is that it operates on existing, widespread voice networks. GPRS speeds and availability are set to increase dramatically.

3G or 'third generation' has long since been regarded as the buzzword set to revolutionise mobile technology. Implementation has been slow but network access and devices are now available at reasonable costs and offering vastly superior data access speeds over current GSM/GPRS. However 3G is currently only available within major city boundaries because it is based on entirely new networks that, as yet, do not enjoy the coverage associated with voice networks. That said, 3G networks automatically switch to GPRS when out of range to substitute for this lack of coverage.

Europe currently only has GPRS coverage but 3G is making rapid progress - the future of remote connectivity will be a mix of 3G and WI-FI access. Both technologies are making great steps in terms of speed and availability in order that we can connect when we want to, from wherever we may be.

The Devices

WI-FI access is available through many devices. All current laptops support the technology and many have built-in wireless network cards required for this type of connection.

Other devices allow connection and access to emails in a more portable format. These units are known as PDA's or Portable Digital Assistants and are, essentially, little larger than a mobile phone. They incorporate high-resolution screens and the functionality required to connect to WI-FI and subsequently view your surveillance site. Popular PDA's include HP's range of iPAQ devices running Microsoft Windows, Pocket PC edition software.


HP's iPAQ PDA's running MS Windows for Pocket PC	HP iPAQ running Axis Camera Explorer for Pocket PC

Mobile access to your digital surveillance system is available via a laptop or a PDA. Of course, you can receive alerts via email and SMS text on any mobile phone but for truly remote connection, you will require a device with built-in mobile connectivity.

Specific devices include Vodafone's 3G/GPRS datacard that connects to a laptop and O2's XDA series PDA's with built-in WI-FI/mobile access and running Microsoft's Pocket PC.

Vodafone's 3G/GPRS datacard

O2's XDA II PDA

Vodafone 3G/GPRS datacard

Vodafone's datacard allows your laptop computer to connect, wirelessly to a high-speed internet connection. This technology is leading-edge and demonstrates how mobile networks are shaping up for the future with the ability to stream audio and video to us.

The hardware is simply a PCMCIA-type card that slots into an available port on the computer. The card incorporates a small antenna and, through a pay-as-you-go or monthly tariff-based billing, allows connection to the internet at speeds rivalling ADSL/broadband technology. When you roam outside of a 3G-enabled area, the connection automatically switches to GPRS mode.

Various tariffs are available depending on bandwidth usage per month - the cost of the card decreases as more monthly bandwidth allowance is purchased. InCam are able to supply and configure the Vodafone datacard as part of our overall surveillance solutions.

Note that many more mobile network providers have released 3G devices including O2 and Orange - so there should be a data package available on a network that you already use..

O2 XDA series PDA

The XDA series are very powerful, compact devices. This mobile phone, PDA, WI-FI and GPRS-enabled data access device puts power in your pocket. InCam recommend and specify these devices to give you true pocket-based remote access to your surveillance system.

We specify Axis' Camera Explorer or Milestone's PDA client for Pocket PC software to power the XDA's access to camera images. You can select cameras to view and even remotely control PTZ cameras by simply tapping on the screen to pan, tilt or zoom. Depending on the strength of the mobile signal, you can expect images to be refreshed every 1-2 seconds. Of course, the unit can receive an email alert from the camera system and you can react by immediately reviewing the site from wherever you may be.

Similarly to the Vodafone datacard, XDA's are available on a contract basis. For the cost of a normal mobile phone contract, you have a Pocket PC and mobile communications device in one. Use it as a phone, send/receive email and connect to the internet. These devices operate on O2's GPRS data network - ensuring highly available connections in the UK and Europe.