Taipei Station Front Underground Mall Enhances Security with Synology Surveillance and AI-Powered Video Analytics

Formerly using traditional analog cameras with digital video recorders (DVRs), the 0.3-megapixel resolution offers little help in identification during the playback of an incident. The system requires someone to sit through the entire footage in person in search of a single event. The searching process not only wastes a lot of time but also prone to human negligence. Secondly, the hardware maintenance for an analog system is just too troublesome. If a camera is offline or showing static noise, one would have to go over all of the wires to find out what's malfunctioning. Since all of the analog cameras need to be physically connected to a DVR device, sorting through bunches of cables would be like looking for a needle in a haystack. Furthermore, since incorporating more cameras means plugging in more cables to the server, it's challenging to increase the number of cameras without further consideration. The storage space is also limited by the hard disk capacity and unlikely to be expandable.

The most prominent obstacle that Station Front Metro Mall faced was the DVR surveillance structure. Excellent scalability, friendly user interface, and easy management are also required features. After careful consideration, Synology Surveillance Station is the one that came out on top. Upgraded from 4 DVR recording servers and 64 analog cameras, the new deployment includes 4 recording servers, 122 IP cameras, and 4 Synology VisualStation video decoders. A TV wall is also set up in the disaster prevention center to show what's happening when it's happening.

Other than that, Synology Deep Learning NVR DVA3219 is deployed at the mall's main entrances to count the people flow. Based on the automated people flow report provided, one can make better managerial decisions, such as estimating billboard fees and changing guard patrol schedules. Synology's smart surveillance solution successfully solved the fundamental problems with the DVR system, providing more features than just recording and playback. More importantly, its video analysis feature provides actionable insights for the management team to make better decisions.

There are currently four surveillance servers in Station Front Metro Mall. The Centralized Management System (CMS) allows one to monitor the surveillance feeds recorded in different locations from one console. When an alarm is triggered, you can review all of the notifications by logging into only the host server without logging in to the other servers. This feature significantly increases surveillance efficiency and enables people to respond promptly.

Surveillance Station offers a flexible license policy so organizations can purchase enough licenses for their security cameras according to their needs. Compatible with most surveillance camera brands, Surveillance Station allows users to choose freely regarding camera selection and not be limited by certain brands. As for storage scalability, Surveillance Station supports online storage expansion, ensuring an uninterrupted surveillance service even during the expansion.

Since the Synology surveillance management system uses an IP structure, adding new cameras is as simple as attaching an Ethernet cable from the nearest switch. When a camera goes offline, the Surveillance Station will send a notification and point it out on a map. This allows the emergency operations personnel to easily monitor the cameras in the entire area, knowing exactly when and where a camera is not functioning. Accompanied by a POE (Power over Ethernet) switch, fixing and maintaining the malfunctioning cameras can be done quickly.

Since countless people go through Station Front Metro Mall every day while all kinds of activities are being held, deploying all-around protection for the entire area is a must. To ensure that all the grounds are covered, cameras are installed in almost every aisle to monitor everything in this mall. Offered in Surveillance Station, the intelligent searching feature allows the surveillance personnel to locate the incidents in each area quickly. The staff can instantly see the events from the search results through simple configurations, finding what they need without manually combing through the entire record.

The people-counting feature makes gathering and analyzing information easy in the long run. Better managerial decisions are made as the deep-learning algorithm provides invaluable help with its analysis. For instance, one can assign more officers for security patrol during busy hours, charge more for ads shown at specific places and times, or calculate the efficiency of each store for future reference. Without DVA3219, it wouldn't have been possible to have the completed report to make sound and scientific business decisions.