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When and under what conditions do banner clouds occur? How high is the snow at the Zugspitze peak/Germany? What is the resulting reflection rate of the Zugspitze plateau needed for evaluating the measured ultra-violet radiation? How much have the European and American continental plates moved away from each other last year? These are some of the questions that keep the scientists at the Meteorological Institute of the Ludwig-Maximilian University in Munich (MIM) and at the German Federal Agency for Cartography and Geodesy (BKG) busy. The answers to these questions provide important hints on the development of our climate and the weather as well as on events and movements within the earth's core.

Far Below Freezing

When searching for answers, the scientists frequently have to cope with extreme conditions. The MIM, for example, uses a weather station at an elevation of 2,965m (9,728ft) on Germany’s highest peak, the Zugspitze mountain. The BKG, in turn, is one of the participants in the German Antarctic Receiving Station (GARS) project in O'Higgins/Antarctica. At the GARS site, a radio telescope permanently collects data on plate tectonics, i.e. the continental drift. While temperatures on the Zugspitze may drop below -25°C (-13°F), they may be as low as -40°C (-40°F) in Antarctica – accompanied by winds of up to 200km/h (130mph).

Images From the Cold

No scientist can be forced to permanently work under these conditions. However, since the clouds and the weather conditions as well as the telescope's position need to be monitored permanently, the researchers rely on video technology for digital image recording. The only problem is – where to find a video camera that operates reliably under such conditions?

Movie Maker and Sun Lover

The Meteorological Institute in Munich uses a total of three MOBOTIX network cameras for continuously documenting the weather conditions, for supplementing meteorological routine measurements and for gaining additional information in the course of various research projects. One camera is installed on the institute’s roof so that the visitors of the MIM website can check not only the current weather data but also view the resulting images. Every day, mpeg films are generated from the numerous individual images, which are then used to demonstrate the dynamics of atmospheric processes to MIM students. “Previously, we were working with a different web cam,” tells meteorologist Heinz Lösslein. “But after some time, this camera had burnt areas on its image sensor that were caused by exposure to direct sunlight. And weather cameras are frequently exposed to direct sunlight,” he states. The scientist searched the Internet for an alternative and finally came across the MOBOTIX solution. “Astonishingly, this camera has proven to be ‘sun-proof’ and, thus, is a very good choice for us,” Heinz Lösslein continues.

At the Top

The second camera is located at the environmental research station Schneefernerhaus (UFS) at an altitude of 2,650m (8,694ft) on the South slope of the Zugspitze mountain. The images recorded there are used to evaluate the measured ultra-violet light. And finally, another MOBOTIX solution can be found on the German weather service (DWD) observation platform at the Zugspitze peak, a location where an online connection is not possible. Therefore, a mini network consisting of a Linux computer and the camera has been installed. This setting is used for continuously observing a certain portion of the peak towards the West in order to document banner cloud development. During the day, the camera records a jpg image every five seconds. At night, the computer generates an mpeg film from the individual images, which is then sent to the Meteorological Institute in Munich for evaluation.

Deep-Frozen Operation

"For location at the Zugspitze peak it was a prerequisite that the camera resists temperatures below -25°C (-13°F),” explains meteorologist Mario Mech. “For this reason, we tested the camera at the institute prior to ist installation for an entire week at -35°C (-31°F) and it worked perfectly,” he adds. Sturdiness is one of the core design principles of MOBOTIX cameras. To achieve this, the cameras do not have any moving parts such as zoom, pan or tilt mechanisms. “Also, Linux as the camera’s operating system is very much appreciated by the university environment,” emphasizes Dr. Joachim Reuder who is in charge of the UFS project. “On top of this, no other camera features such a wide range of networking possibilities, such as ftp, email and nfs. No other camera system that I know of is better suited for our needs,” he summarizes.

In the Picture All the Time

At the beginning, an analog video camera was supposed to monitor the radio telescope 24/7 through a window of the German Antarctic Receiving Station (GARS). “Unfortunately, the camera only worked to our expectations when there was enough light outside and when the window was not snowed in,” remembers information scientist Reiner Wojdziak who spends several months each year in Antarctica. As this was unsatisfactory, he collected information on high-quality outdoor cameras and came up with three manufacturers. “The MOBOTIX camera left the best impression,” explains the scientist. Thus, it was installed at a sheltered spot of the station's outside wall where it has to resist temperatures of as low a -40°C (-40°F). The camera is integrated into the station’s LAN and provides real-time images on this subnet. In order to save transfer capacity, current images to the Internet are sent only about every 10 minutes via satellite  “Since the MOBOTIX camera has been installed, we have permanent first class eye contact with the radio telescope and, thus, can monitor its position continuously,” reports Reiner Wojdziak. “We are absolutely satisfied with this solution,” he emphasizes.

Hardware Used

MIM roof platform: 1 MOBOTIX M1M camera with power adaptor, 10/100 Mbps 3Com switch, 10/100/1000 HP Procurve switch, web server Compaq Alpha with file server 3TB, 1GB connection to the backbone of the computer center and 668 MB Internet connection
UFS: 1 MOBOTIX M1M camera with power adaptor, 10/100 Mbps HP Procurve switch, Internet connection via ISDN router
DWD station: 1 MOBOTIX M1M camera, PC Pentium I 100 MHz, 128 MB RAM, 80 GB hard disc, 10 Mbps connection to the camera, Linux
GARS: 1 MOBOTIX camera with MOBOTIX external power unit via network cable, existing web server within the O’Higgins LAN, 10/100 Mbps connection (download, transfer, maintenance)

24/7 Availability

Self-service terminals such as bank statement printers and ATMs have since long become part of our every day lives. Banks have found them to be the ideal solution for taking the burden of routine tasks from their customer service staff. The customers, in turn, benefit as cash is available 24/7 – everywhere. The Internet financial service company Forium, for example, estimates that there are about 60,000 ATMs at approximately 40,000 locations in Germany.

Key and Punch Card

The first ATM in Germany was installed at the Tübingen Savings Bank in May 1968. In order to use it, customers needed a safety key for the vault, a plastic ID card and a punch card for each 100 Deutschmark note they wanted to pull from the ATM. While bank officials initially feared that self-service terminals would have a negative impact on the customer relationship, they soon realized the advantages of automation. However, it wasn't until ATMs were installed in the foyers and outside of banks for around-the-clock access that these machines became really popular. According to a 2002 poll, 72 percent of the German population claimed ATMs to be the best technical invention of the past decades, certainly a result that can be attributed to the high degree of availability of ATMs.

Security and Data Protection

As the use of ATMs increased, the security became more and more important. Vault security and vandalismproofness are as important as the secure transfer of customer data or the evaluation of biometric data for secure identification. Thus, for example, a portrait image is recorded of the customers at the moment they retrieve the money. But can one image alone provide for sufficient security?

A Complex Task

Direct sunlight in the back of the customer, for example, can become a problem as it will render the images from the portrait camera useless. Such was the case for a savings bank in northern Germany that has an ATM installed at the southern wall of a shopping center. The bank officials presented this problem to the communications specialist Conect Kommunikationssysteme, whose services range from classical network technology to creative concepts for customized video systems. “We wanted not only the backlight problem to be solved,” remembers Conect CEO Karl Heinrich Spiering, “but we also intended to increase security and were looking for a way to document the ‘hand-to-money’ event, i.e. the moment of the actual money retrieval. However, neither the construction of the ATM was to be modified, nor was it allowed to show the numeric keypad in the images,” he adds.

Inspiring Versatility

“It was clear from the onset that a regular camera would not be able to solve this problem,” explains Hendrik Braasch, TV and radio technician by trade who works as Conect project manager. “Luckily, about 18 months ago, I came across a magazine article describing the MOBOTIX camera system,” he continues. From the very first moment, the network specialist was all enthusiastic about the great versatility of this network camera. “The MOBOTIX solution offers such a variety of features and is perfect for realizing the most diverse projects. On top of this, MOBOTIX offers first-class support. Whenever I have a question, the MOBOTIX customer service presents the answer in no time,” Hendrik Braasch explains.

Customized Solution

This was also true for the “ATM problem” of the savings bank in northern Germany mentioned earlier: “MOBOTIX offers a very flexible so-called ‘integration set’ consisting of a mother board and camera lenses on separate mini boards,” Hendrik Braasch continues. “And this was the solution we decided for,” he concludes. The direct sunlight issue was not at all a problem for the MOBOTIX solution. The separate lenses provide for a dual image showing the customer portrait in one image and the ‘hand-tomoney’ event in the other.

Court Approval

In order for the images to be recognized as evidence at a court of law, the transaction data needed to be part of the image. For this purpose, the Conect specialists have developed a proprietary hard- and software solution that is integrated into the ATM. This way the camera can read the bank data from the interface in a converted file format and then displays this information in the camera image. As a result, the bank has this information on every transaction: the customer portrait, the photo of the ‘hand-to-money’ event and the respective transaction data.

The Triggering Moment

The camera triggers the recording of image sequences by means of pre-defined event areas, e.g. when a bank card is inserted or when a person approaches the machine. The MOBOTIX file server feature stores the image sequences on a hard drive of a regular computer. From there, an authorized administrator can retrieve the data via the existing LAN/WAN connections.

Low Operating Costs – High Security

For the savings bank, the transfer of these three important pieces of information was an enormous step forward. Moreover, since nobody needs to visit the external ATMs in person any more to collect videotapes, the camera also reduces operating costs and increases security. The camera data can be accessed directly from the control center. Also, extremely expensive video printers are not needed any longer since the images can be printed with standard workstation printers. In order to access the cameras, the existing IT infrastructure can be used. Another plus: as standard browsers and the Linux operating system are used for the camera, there are no license fees to pay.

Built-in Success

No wonder that the savings bank employee in charge is all happy with the camera. “The system is simple and good. I’ve never seen anything better than this. Compared to this, all other systems were unusable – especially when we compared image quality and user-friendliness,” he states. This prototype’s success has encouraged Conect – together with other MOBOTIX secure partners – to develop customized applications for the different ATM systems on the market. This solution has successfully passed its first real challenge recently: a vandalism attack at 2:45 am was easily solved thanks to the high image quality and to the fact that the image sequences were immediately available.

Hardware Used

Camera: 1 M10 DevKit (camera integration set)
Server: Standard bank PC with 120 GB hard disk storage capacity
Switch: 1 Ethernet switch for connecting router, ATM, camera and file server
Router: Cisco 2600 series with Ethernet and WAN interfaces
Connection: X.25 dedicated connection of the bank
Power supply: MOBOTIX external power unit plus power adaptor to provide power supply via the Ethernet cable

Partnership and Obligation

Mutual trust, a customer-friendly approach and close ties to the public administration are the columns on which the success of the Kaiserslautern municipal savings bank (Stadtsparkasse) is based. Customer-friendliness in this context not only means competent and faceto-face consulting services, but also omnipresence: 20 branch offices and six self-service terminals all over town guarantee fast service virtually around the corner for every one of the more than 100,000 Kaiserslautern inhabitants. Responsible for this success are the 270 employees of the savings bank who have generated a balance sheet total of approximately 850 million EUR in 2002. With its regional roots, the municipal savings bank considers itself to be more than just another bank. Participation in local activities is very important as the bank feels very close to the Kaiserslautern residents, its businesses and the city’s economy. The municipal savings bank supports activities in the fields of economic and structural development as well as public welfare. It also supports charity organizations, sports and cultural events, and many youth and science activities.

Customer-Oriented in All Aspects

Customer-friendliness has many forms for the Kaiserslautern municipal savings bank: customized solutions for the requirements of individual companies, attractive products for private customers, and a range of competent consulting and service activities are offered in a modern environment. For example, the bank’s principal office has been modernized and redesigned from top to bottom in order to create an attractive and even more secure environment for clients to manage their financial affairs. As part of this modernization an innovative camera surveillance concept has been introduced.

Convincing Concept

Werner Stumpf, CEO of the Kaiserslautern municipal savings bank says, “when we first started planning the remodeling of our principal office in 2001, we also thought about integrating a better surveillance solution.” The insurance company only requested that the cash desks be monitored by cameras. “We did not consider this to be sufficient,” Werner Stumpf says. “In case of a raid, we wanted the best possible documentation of the surrounding and the entrance areas. Also, we wanted additional cameras to improve building protection and to provide surveillance of our IT and technical engineering centers as well as the client vaults,” Mr. Stumpf adds. The surveillance cameras previously used were not capable of meeting these objectives. They were solely designed to monitor the cashier area during a raid and were rather complicated in handling and maintenance. “And then, our mayor and chairman of the board of directors, Bernhard Deubig, brought a new product by a Kaiserslautern company to our attention,” Werner Stumpf remembers. “We got in touch with MOBOTIX and enjoyed the presentation of their network camera. I myself was immediately convinced by this solution’s potential. Our director of operations felt the same way. And the low cost definitely was a big plus for MOBOTIX.”

Officially Certified

However, until then, the device had not been officially certified for banking environments. Thus, MOBOTIX developed a new version for the cashier area – the banking camera. This camera version is equipped with two alarm storages and one suspicion storage. This setup enables the cashier to trigger a special alert when a raid or a suspicious situation occurs. Due to an integrated ring buffer, temporary images are stored non-stop. When an alarm is triggered, the images of 15 minutes before and after the alarm are stored permanently so that the official requirements are met. These sequences can then be evaluated directly.

Easy Handling

MOBOTIX cameras do not need additional software and can be managed conveniently via an Internet browser. “All we need is a customized configuration for administering the individual banking and surveillance cameras,” adds the director of operations, Michael Valk. This sums up one of MOBOTIX’ basic concepts: the company concentrates on actively developing their excellent stand-alone solution that is designed to let the user configure the camera in a simple and efficient manner.

Customized Solution

In close cooperation with MOBOTIX, IT specialist Thomas Koob of the municipal savings bank developed a customized concept. For example, for every branch office, he set up an additional server for the banking cameras in order to guarantee permanent availability. For security purposes, these cameras operate in a physically separated subnet to avoid negative effects should, in case of an alarm, the entire bank network be overloaded. The camera uses the TCP/IP protocol and, thus, is able to access the bank network through a multi-tier firewall system via gateways. This allows for centralized administration, live image control, maintenance and permanent availability and status checks of the surveillance system with automatic timely notification in case of a system malfunction.

Extraordinary Recordings

"For us, the advantages of the new system are obvious,” says CEO Werner Stumpf. “In case of a raid, the camera not only records the event itself but also everything else happening in the surrounding areas. Compared to the former solution, the MOBOTIX cameras deliver more images at higher quality, and the images can be evaluated much faster. We are also very satisfied with the camera’s performance in monitoring the building, the IT and technical engineering centers as well as the vaults.” Recently, the new solution proved very helpful in an ATM incident. In this case of credit card fraud, the cameras recorded images of the perpetrator that were immediately available. Thomas Koop recalls the police’s positive reaction. “The officers were astonished by the high quality of the photos that could immediately be used for the search,” he says.

Hardware Used

Cameras: 43 MOBOTIX-cameras
Server: Pentium Xeon 2 GHz (principal office) and Pentium III 1 GHz with firewall (branch offices), plus a time server with firewall as gateway to the bank network.
Router: 1 TCP/IP router per branch office (exists already)
Switches: one 8x Ethernet 1000TX / 19", one 24x Ethernet 10/100TX with 2x 1000TX / 19" (principal office) and one desktop switch Ethernet 10/100TX 5x to 8x (per branch office)
Power supply: MOBOTIX Netpower 20 (principal office), MOBOTIX external power unit plus power adaptor (per camera in the branch offices)