BCS-F-STATION

The BCS Flex station is a CMS (Central Monitoring Station) solution – it is used to set up and manage a comprehensive facility monitoring system. The station enables the supervision of a large facility or multiple facilities located in different places from a single, central control centre. By consolidating real-time alarms from cameras, recorders, alarm systems and fire alarm systems in a single location, it enables a rapid response to emerging threats. This leads to increased security and minimised security costs.

Flex: flexibility and scalability

The BCS Flex station is compatible with all recorders from the various product ranges in the BCS portfolio, as well as, optionally, with recorders from other manufacturers (Dahua, Hikvision, UniView). You can also connect any BCS IP cameras to it, as well as ONVIF-compliant cameras from other brands. You can also utilise existing analogue cameras, replacing the analogue DVR with a hybrid XVR from the BCS Line, BCS Basic or BCS Point ranges if necessary. New premises can be brought under surveillance simply by adding further recorders and cameras.

These features allow you to build a flexible and coherent surveillance system whilst retaining your previous investments.

Performance and security

The Intel Core i7 processor used in the BCS Flex station provides the computing power required to manage an extensive surveillance system and to display and play back feeds from a large number of cameras. The processor utilises advanced security features such as Intel Software Guard Extensions (SGX) and Advanced Encryption Standard New Instructions (AES-NI). Security is further enhanced by the Linux operating system used in the BCS Flex station.

Proprietary software

Many years of experience in the security industry have enabled us to develop our own proprietary software for the station, which has been designed to provide users with maximum functionality and reliability. The carefully designed interface offers easy access to all system functions. Intuitive live view tabs with quick access to recorded footage are just some of the many features that simplify the operation of the station and the recorders connected to it. Support for intelligent camera analysis functions and the ability to perform additional analysis of any alarm triggered in this way provide greater resistance to false alarms.

Preview

The BCS Flex station offers a live view from connected devices across multiple tabs. A single tab can display up to 64 windows. Each of the live view tabs allows views to be saved, which can then be quickly recalled by the operator. From the live view screen, it is easy to add a camera for playback or to access the archive for a specific channel within the live view window.

Playback

The BCS Flex station also offers a convenient way to play back recordings from recorders. The calendar pane and playback bars at the bottom of the screen show the availability of camera recordings for specific days and the selected time period. Different types of alarms are marked in different colours on the playback bars. Footage played back simultaneously from multiple cameras can be synchronised. The module allows selected recordings from DVRs to be saved locally.

E-map

The e-map module allows device channels to be overlaid onto an image from a graphic file or an interactive world map. The module provides a convenient live preview of selected cameras and alerts for alarm events. From within the e-map, cameras can be added to the list of channels being played back.

Alarms

The BCS Flex station allows for flexible handling of various types of alarm events. The most commonly used are alarms from cameras and recorders related to motion detection and the intelligent functions described below. A separate category comprises alarms from sensors and external systems connected to the BCS Flex station. The range is completed by alarms from recorders signalling issues relating to the operation of the system itself, such as the recorder’s hard drive being full or failing, and a loss of connection to a camera.

Integration with fire alarm systems

This integration enables alarm signals from Polon and Siemens fire alarm control panels to be connected to the BCS Flex station. This allows for the configuration of fire alarm signals and the correlation of a given detector with the nearest camera in the system. The visualisation of the detector and the display of the alarm on the site’s e-map significantly reduces the response time to a fire alarm and allows for a quick verification of whether the detector has operated correctly, as well as enabling decisive action to be taken in the event of a confirmed fire alarm.

Integration with intrusion and panic alarm systems

Similar functionality is available for Satel and Pulson control panels connected to the BCS Flex station. It is possible to remotely arm and disarm the control panel and monitor the status of its outputs.

Advanced intelligent analysis functions (ALFA)

The analytics module enables the analysis of both video footage and still images, detecting events such as an abandoned object, line crossing, intrusion into a zone or a missing object. The operator is notified of intelligent events in live view mode, and these events can be recorded as still images available in the “Reports” tab. Rules can also be configured for selected devices, specifying detailed detection parameters such as the duration an object remains in an area (ROI), the dimensions of objects, or the direction of movement across a line.

Virtual patrols

Virtual patrols enhance the security of large and remote sites. As part of these patrols, the operator periodically checks the condition of the site by analysing footage from selected cameras. For each camera, the operator must take a snapshot and answer questions (‘yes’/‘no’). The patrol carried out in this way is recorded in the database. It is possible to define multiple patrols, set detailed schedules for them and generate reports on patrols that have (or have not) been carried out.