Eurotech is a worldwide leader specialising in the design, development and production of solutions for demanding professional applications where reliability, rugged construction, wide operating temperature range and high level of integration are required.

Video surveillance applications for rail transportation

Eurotech recently realised the Alphabox DVR, an innovative and intelligent device for video surveillance applications specifically developed to be installed onboard rail transportation networks.

The Alphabox DVR integrates an advanced video-processing engine that can perform the real-time analysis of many data-streams coming from analogue and digital sources, with the ability to include on-line discriminating functionalities and the possibility to transmit data through wired or wireless networks.

Once installed, the Alphabox DVR allows a central control centre to monitor conditions onboard any train in real time, wherever it is within the rail network, contributing to passenger security at all times.

The Alphabox DVR allows for real-time monitoring of the security conditions inside trains as they travel throughout the rail network.

The Alphabox DVR compresses acquired images using MPEG4 or JPEG2000 technologies, and transmits them through wired or wireless interfaces (including GPRS, UMTS, WiFi 802.11.X and Ethernet).

The advanced technologies available with the Alphabox DVR contribute towards guaranteed passenger security.

The ability to monitor operating parameters is always possible thanks to the advanced auto-diagnosis features - the Alphabox DVR can also feature remote status monitoring with pre-alarm utilities, speeding up maintenance operations and enhancing reliability.

Thanks to the modularity and versatility of their architecture, Alphabox units can be interconnected together - this gives users the ability to create more expansive video surveillance networks with advanced localization and communication capabilities.

The Alphabox DVR integrates the advanced functionalities of a digital video recorder, with the ability to acquire and store high-resolution video streams (NTSC or PAL) coming from up to 16 analogue / digital channels (BNC composite video, USB, FireWire and Ethernet) onto an integrated fixed or removable rugged automotive storage device.

Wired or wireless interfaces

Furthermore, by taking advantage of the MPEG4 or JPEG2000 technologies, the data can be compressed and then sent using one of the wired and wireless interfaces. These include GPRS, UMTS, WiFi 802.11.X and Fast Ethernet. The system has the ability to dynamically use all the available bandwidth and continually ensure that the maximum possible information can be sent with minimum data loss.

The system is IP65 and EN50155 compliant, has a small footprint and integrates a conductive cooling system. Ease of integration is assured by the use of industry standard circular connectors and a wide input voltage range. This allows for compatibility with all standard commercial vehicle electrical systems.

Auto-diagnosis and remote status monitoring

Monitoring the operating parameters and managing the command execution logic is always possible even if the system is in standby mode, thanks to the advanced auto-diagnosis features. Eurotech is one of the first companies to supply this technology as standard. The systems can also feature remote status monitoring with pre-alarm utilities in order to simplify maintenance and further enhance the system’s reliability.

Thanks to their architecture and modularity, Alphabox DVR units can be interconnected together, with the possibility of also including other members of the Alphabox family. These currently include the Automatic Vehicle Location (AVL) for precise localisation and real-time vehicle tracking applications, and the Vehicular Data Server (VDS) for enhanced communications and data flow management.

BSP packages are available for all the Alphabox systems, these cover the most commonly used operating systems present on the market, simplifying the integration of the system, speeding up software development and reducing the interval between the initial vision and the final realization, therefore minimizing time to market.