Barco and Siemens Belgium sign partnership in network and visualization systems for control centers
Kuurne, Belgium – June 21st 2005 – Barco and Siemens Belgium have agreed to combine their technologies and portfolios in the field of visualization and distributed video switching. The purpose of the collaboration is the seamless integration of Siemens’ Open Transport Network solution (OTN) and Barco's world leading streaming video technology into ready-to-use solutions for control centers in 24/7 mission critical applications.
Barco is the world's leading expert in visualization solutions for traffic, surveillance and command and control centers. Barco’s solutions display critical information to operators in command and control centers of police, fire brigades and other organizations. Maps with positions and alternative routes, as well as video feeds of events, are displayed on screen and communicated to the entire operations staff. They enable shared situational awareness in real time from the field up to the (central) command in joint operations centersOpen Transport Network (OTN) is a unique solution that integrates all peripheral equipment for voice, data, LAN, video etc. into one simple, fast, flexible and reliable network over very large distances. An Open Transport Network is built up by nodes which are interconnected by a double fiber optic ring. Nodes are the units to which all the devices are hooked up (phones, cameras, displays, etc). The distance between two nodes can be up to 120 km, which makes it the preferred choice for large surface operations, such as oil fields, railway/metro lines, mines, airports to name but a few where a wide array of control, surveillance and warning systems are used, ranging from sophisticated sensoring to video-monitoring.
OTN is developed at Siemens Communications in Herentals, Belgium. In the decade since its introduction it has conquered the world market, with references in North America, Europe and Asia. One of the latest successes in Belgium is the Wide Area Network (WAN) of Belgocontrol, the agency that controls all air traffic in the Belgian and Luxemburg airspace. Thanks to OTN, the seven main airports and two radar stations are now linked up by one single network over which all information (voice, data, video) can be transmitted.
The purpose of the collaboration is the seamless integration of OTN and Barco's world leading streaming video technology into ready-to-use solutions for control rooms in airports, subways, railway lines, tunnels and other large scale operations.
One aspect of this integrated solution is Barco’s streaming video card, which is the first hardware decoder integrated in a display wall controller. It is designed to universally decode digital streaming video signals (MPEG2, MPEG4, Wavelets, MJPEG) and combine them in a fully integrated visual solution. Its design offers unparalleled capacity in processing large amounts of streaming video signals simultaneously in real time with minimal latency.
Another key element of the OTN and Barco integration is Siemens' MVIDIP (Multiplexed video over IP) module. This Ethernet module is able to stream up to 60 digital video streams in MPEG format over the OTN network. The streams are then decoded by Barco’s streaming video cards which are directly connected to the OTN network and by means of Barco's wall management software in an organized way visualized in crystal clear pictures on Barco’s video wall.
The system eliminates intermediate digital/analogue conversions, which greatly enhances the quality of the pictures and the speed at which they are transmitted.
The integration offers added value to customers in providing a total solution with more functionality for less money. Both companies have a worldwide organization capable of installing and supporting these systems. The solutions are designed for seamless integration and flexible installation. The use of industry standards guarantees continued compatibility in case of further development of the current technologies.
Wim D'Hooghe, Director of the OTN Business Unit within Siemens Communications Belgium explains: " The OTN product line holds the number one position worldwide in various sectors including transportation, oil, gas and mining. Digital interfacing with Barco’s video walls provides the customer with significant benefits from a price and performance point of view. This will ensure that Siemens OTN maintains a leading position in its market segments and will provide the opportunity to break into other sectors, including city networks, utilities, etc."
Bruno Daissormont, International Sales Manager Barco Control Rooms says: "The current agreement combines Barco's ultimate visual performance, state of the art hardware and software solutions with OTN's innovative technology into a total, integrated solution offering towards the customer. Pictures coming from cameras connected to the OTN network can be displayed in any size and lay-out combined with any other data on Barco's video wall. There are no conversions between analogue and digital signals, therefore there are no delays; pure quality gives the customer the best solution available on the market."
About Siemens Communications
Siemens Communications is one of the largest players in the global telecommunications industry. Siemens is the only provider in the market that offers its customers a full-range portfolio, from devices for end users to complex network infrastructures for enterprises and carriers as well as related services. Siemens Communications is the world’s innovation leader in convergent technologies, products and services for wireless, fixed and enterprise networks. It is the largest Group within Siemens and operates in more than 160 countries around the world. In fiscal 2004 (year-end September 30), its 60,000-strong workforce posted sales of approximately 18 billion euros.
More about Siemens Communications at http://www.siemens.com/communications
About Barco
Barco, an international company headquartered in Kortrijk, Belgium, provides visualization and display solutions for professional markets. Barco designs and develops solutions for large screen visualization, display solutions for life-critical applications, and systems for visual inspection. Barco is active worldwide and has its own facilities for Sales & Marketing, Customer Support, R&D and Manufacturing in Europe, North America and Asia Pacific. Barco is quoted on Euronext Brussels and is a BEL 20 and a Next 150 company (Euronext: BAR; Reuters: BARBt.BR; Bloomberg: BAR BB).
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