Atlanta’s midtown goes live with Iron Sky, map-based video surveillance system

Midtown Blue's video wall

The Midtown Alliance recently went live with an upgraded, browser-based surveillance system from Iron Sky.

Midtown Blue, a public improvement district in Midtown Atlanta, will enable its officers to access camera footage using a map-based interface, with just two mouse clicks.

"Our surveillance program has been running for more than 5 years, resulting in over 700 arrests; however, it was becoming outdated,” said Col. Wayne Mock, of Midtown Blue. “We needed an innovative company that could keep up with fast moving video technology. We chose Iron Sky.They understand the needs of law enforcement and their map-based software is very easy to use."

As part of a phased approach, Midtown will migrate existing surveillance cameras, add state-of-the-art surveillance cameras and integrate third-party devices to deliver smooth, sharp video footage -- at the highest resolution available, said a press release issued by Iron Sky on August 26. The robust and dedicated wireless network will help officers resolve cases faster.

“Midtown Blue’s approach to law enforcement, and Iron Sky’s unique ability to design public safety solutions has been a great fit,” said Bob Carter, Iron Sky’s general manager for Georgia.

Here are a few features of the Midtown Alliance surveillance system:

*   Surveillance resources can be shared with the Atlanta Police Department;

*   New and existing cameras will be fully integrated onto a standard Web page;

*   Non-proprietary, standards-based system is built on commercial off-the-shelf network hardware;

*   Authorized users can access any camera from any networked PC;

*   An unlimited number of surveillance cameras can be added over time.

Seamless integration of the current hardware helps Midtown Blue continue operating at full capacity, while expanding its network of crime-fighting tools and maintaining Midtown's reputation as an exceptional place to live, work, learn, shop and play, said the press release.