MicroPower Technologies is an award-winning provider of integrated solar-powered, wireless surveillance systems optimized for rapid, cost-effective deployment for security, operations, and business-intelligence applications. The MicroPower SOLVEIL™ video solution leverages an integrated solar and wireless design to deliver video coverage in areas previously unreachable by traditional surveillance systems.
Business Challenge
A large public utility that serves more than 3 million people across 4,000 square miles and 25 cities and towns leverages MicroPower’s solar-powered wireless surveillance solution to protect its remote sites and perimeters from a wide variety of risks, including physical and cyber security breaches, asset loss and damage, theft, and terrorism. Turbulent weather can also create highly disruptive conditions, which is why the utility employs three full-time meteorologists to provide early warnings of imminent risks to its ability to maintain uptime of its systems.
“When winds reach 40 to 50 mph, which can happen with some regularity in our service area, we need to make a judgment call about whether to proactively power-down certain facilities,” said the utility’s project architect. “In those situations, we want to actually see the conditions, but sending a technician or dispatching a helicopter during stormy weather isn’t feasible.”
The utility decided to evaluate video surveillance technologies and, after careful evaluation, turned to MicroPower Technologies to provide a solution to monitor remote distribution lines for adverse conditions.
Solution
While video surveillance technology was an ideal solution to help monitor and protect remote locations, operations, and critical assets, traditional systems were limited by power and networking cabling requirements. Since the utility’s distribution lines are in areas with limited infrastructure, trenching for power and connectivity cabling was infeasible.
MicroPower’s solar-powered, wireless surveillance platform is energy-efficient and compact. A key component of this solution is the Digi TransPort® WR21 cellular router. With its high-performance architecture, Digi TransPort WR21 provides primary and backup connectivity and is designed for wide area network (WAN) connections over 3G/4G LTE networks and beyond. Gobi™ technology provides failover between multiple cellular carrier. Flexible power and connectivity options and extended temperature ranges make Digi TransPort WR21 a versatile product for harsh environments.
“Digi has a great reputation for delivering quality solutions and its technology allowed us to excel in this particular deployment,” said Aaron Tankersley, president and CEO of MicroPower Technologies. “We constantly search for innovative systems that help ensure our products exceed client expectations, and Digi is a technology partner that enables us to meet this goal.”
Results
The MicroPower SOLVEIL HD Surveillance Platform is a powerful, highly reliable megapixel camera that enables users to experience high-resolution video coverage in perimeter and outdoor areas for enhanced security and operations monitoring. Operating on a nominal 3/4 Watt, the SOLVEIL solution captures and transmits live video up to a half-mile away and provides reliable performance for up to five days on a single charge of its integrated, long-life battery. In this particular deployment, the MicroPower system uses the Digi TransPort WR21 to transmit video wirelessly to a central hub that’s housed within a NEMA enclosure and powered by an auxiliary solar panel and deep-cycle batteries. The configuration allows users to gain access the video from numerous locations via the network.
With the Digi enabled-solution, the utility provider can monitor its remote transmission and distribution lines to make informed decisions about operational processes and potential risks and respond accordingly. Operators can minimize site visits and allocate time to other critical tasks to boost productivity and cut costs. The video system also allows the utility to better protect personnel from risks of injury and respond faster during emergencies.
By increasing efficiencies and lowering costs, MicroPower’s cellular-driven video surveillance solution provides this leading energy company with the ability to shift from overall situational awareness to situation assessment, resulting in greater customer service and satisfaction.