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High-Definition Situational Awareness Keeps Traffic Flowing in Colorado

Colorado DOT Douglas County traffic management operations center video wall

Effective traffic management is dependent on the ability of managers to monitor a wide range of visual information in real time. Being able to combine diverse video sources such as analog cameras, IP cameras, television news feeds, and/or live video streams into a single, comprehensive, situational overview greatly improves efficiency, responsiveness, decision-making, and ultimately safety.  The right display system can make all the difference in coordinating response to an emergency situation.

For Douglas County, a populous region located in the area of greater Denver Colorado, optimizing traffic flow requires real time decision-making based on a comprehensive understanding of traffic patterns, accidents, and resource allocation across the entire County. Video information is collected from an extensive system of analog and IP cameras along roadways, traffic flow sensors, cooperating agency resources (Colorado DOT, municipalities in the county, local sheriffs and police departments), and news reports.

RGB Spectrum’s advanced video wall display technologies were installed to consolidate diverse video inputs, improving communications and enhancing the ability of traffic managers to respond to critical situations.

The Park Meadows traffic management center (TMC), located in Lone Tree, CO, is the central monitoring and control facility serving as the communications hub for the greater Denver region.  A RGB Spectrum Galileo display processor, powering a 15 display HD video wall, allows the Park Meadows TMC to view CCTV feeds from the Colorado Department of Transportation, as well as from satellite TMCs in the region.  Additional video signals arrive from various departments and locations as IP streams that are first fed to a Wowza streaming media server, so that a single stream can be viewed by multiple destinations. One of the destinations for the video from the Wowza server is the Galileo display processor, which provides IP decoding and scaling for the video wall.

Real time performance and video clarity are essential. By bypassing typical VMS servers and decoding streams directly from cameras or encoders, the Park Meadows TMC architecture assures that video signals arrive with minimal transcoding or other processing which can degrade resolution, clarity, and introduces latency into the video.

The Galileo video wall processor allows operators to visually confirm and respond to situations that need attention during commute hours or whenever an emergency happens. Its remote desktop functionality provides operators with quick access to message sign control computers, providing for the quick rerouting of traffic and alleviating congestion.

Planning for the future, Douglas County selected the versatile Galileo processor which can be configured with an unlimited number of video windows displayed on arrays of up to 56 displays. Windows can be displayed anywhere on the video wall, at any size, within or across screens, and in correct aspect ratio or scaled over multiple monitors. Images within individual windows can be panned or zoomed to emphasize detail. The processor’s window layout options are endless, and users can use presets to recall preferred configurations and quickly change the appearance of the video wall.

The Galileo processor supports a combination of up to 48 analog video inputs, up to 56 digital video inputs, and IP decoding, all at the same time. A path for migration from analog to digital to IP is provided without the need of replacing the core chassis, processing architecture, or software, extending it’s useful life well beyond that of other wall processors.

The system is easy to set up and control. An advanced user GUI provides live thumbnails of sources that users can “drag and drop” to destinations. The GUI also allows operators to control and display PC applications running on the wall, such as VMS, SCADA and videoconferencing. The processor and applications can also be controlled through a tablet interface. And as noted above, the integrated remote desktop control enables integration with computer systems.

Galileo provides Douglas County traffic managers with the scale-able, reliable, and easy to use tool they need to consolidate and display all of their video information for better and faster decision making. The result: alleviating traffic congestion, speeding response to accidents, and saving lives, time and money for the people of their community.

RGB Spectrum is a leading designer and manufacturer of mission-critical, real-time audio-visual solutions for a civilian, government, and military client base. The company offers integrated hardware, software, and control systems to satisfy the most demanding requirements. Since 1987, RGB Spectrum has been dedicated to helping its customers achieve Better Decisions. Faster.