M6 Toll selects Wavestore for CCTV Requirements
by Chris Williams

The M6 Toll is the most exciting development in British transport history for many years and is expected to help businesses by providing a free-flowing alternative to the congested M6 in the West Midlands.

The management company has selected the Wavestore Ruby Digital Video & Audio Recording and Management System, (DVARMS), with its powerful video management capabilities, to enable the control centre to monitor traffic activity, maintain traffic flow and record any adverse events.

The Wavestore Ruby was chosen for its extensive range of features, including motion detection, image boost on activity or alarm and intelligent search functionality. The control room personnel were impressed with the intuitive nature of the interface, and the powerful functionality that was easily accessible.

Several Wavestore Ruby DVRs will be deployed to record the live feed from the static and PTZ cameras located along the carriageway, at the intersections and at the toll booths.

Various digital recorder solutions were considered for the requirement, and the Wavestore unit was ultimately trialled over a period of weeks to gain assurance that it met the total approval of the management and control room staff requirements.

The Wavestore Ruby is a highly reliable DVARMS that is designed for mission critical 24/365 monitoring applications. It enables the recording of 16 channels of video with a global capability of 50pps, and provides instant access and playback of recorded video streams, whilst continuously recording. The use of Wavelet compression algorithm and proprietary encryption on image files ensures that the video evidence is admissible in a court of law.

Tom Fanning, Managing Director of Midland Expressway Limited commented:

”More and more people are finding the reliability and time saving of the M6 Toll an attractive option. We’re committed to ensuring that the M6 Toll is one of the safest motorways, and have invested in CCTV and emergency roadside telephones, noise reducing asphalt and a state of the art service area. The Wavestore products were selected because the combination of the product and the organisation met our high standards of quality and service.“

Roger Isaacson, founder of Wavelet Technology said, “Organisations who have the responsibility for selecting the technology for CCTV and surveillance are recognising that the integrity of the technical specification is equalled by the integrity of the organisation that designs & manufactures it. There is an increasing dependency upon DVARMS technology to be not only the eyes, but also the total recall of the organisation, providing the audio and visual evidence relating to specific events”.

CCTV cameras have been installed along the entire M6 Toll route to enable the control centre to maintain a safe environment, monitor traffic activity and enable any appropriate action to be instigated.