Honeywell and Wireless CCTV help put SEAT Sport's customers in pole position

Honeywell and its installation partner provide wireless CCTV solution for SEAT Sport UK

The Client:

SEAT Sport UK is the motorsport division of SEAT UK which competes in the HiQ MSA British Touring Car Championship (BTCC). It is one of 15 teams competing in the BTCC with two race-engineered SEAT Leon TDI cars. It excels at everything it does and that includes offering its VIP guests an unrivalled experience on race days.

The Situation:

As part of the BTCC season, SEAT Sport UK participates in 30 thrilling races. Thousands of fans flock to the circuits on race days to experience Britain's biggest motor racing championship.

SEAT Sport UK invites a selection of fans, sponsors and commercial partners to experience the race day from the exclusive vantage point that is its hospitality unit. In 2008 it wanted to help the clients to see the events unfold in the garage as they happen.

However, the 10 different BTCC races every season take place on different tracks around the UK. This means that the position of the hospitality area differs from race to race. Situated in the centre of the circuits, they can be between 10 and 300m away from the garages (pits) and SEAT wanted to bring as much of the action to its guests as possible.

SEAT Sport UK specified a CCTV camera that could be easily installed into any of the garage areas by one of its own team, and one that could be controlled and moved so as to focus on areas of action as they happen, transmitting live images to the hospitality areas. The camera also needed to be robust and reliable to enable it to be transported, set-up and dismantled over the course of 10 weekends per year. Additionally, around the garage and pit lane areas, there is an abundance of telemetry signals. The CCTV system needed to be wireless and be able to transmit high-resolution images via a clean signal without interfering with any of the diagnostic equipment or team telecommunications.

Honeywell Orbiter PTZ 18X dome and WCCTV 3G Compact system were found to offer the best solution

The Solution:

Wireless CCTV, one of Honeywell's leading installation partners, was invited to submit a proposal for a suitable solution. Its first step was to undertake a complete assessment of SEAT Sport UK's requirements.

Wireless CCTV concluded that the best solution was to provide a two-way WCCTV 3G Compact system with an Orbiter PTZ 18X dome from Honeywell.

The flexible mounting options of the dome ensured that the camera could be positioned in the optimum position to capture the very best images. SEAT Sport UK can control the pan, tilt and zoom capabilities of the Honeywell Orbiter in the garage area using the bespoke software installed on a dedicated laptop. The WCCTV 3G Compact system is contained within a reinforced shell (peli-case) together with its WiFi transmitter. The unit features several connections for video, audio, alarm, telemetry and power.

A dedicated team from Wireless CCTV trained the SEAT Sport team to install and dismantle the system.

Scott Dennis, SEAT UK Motorsport and Events Manager praised the system. "We wanted to give our VIP guests something different, to let them experience and feel part of the team in the garage on race days. The wireless CCTV system is easy to install and set-up via software on a laptop. We experienced no connection problems. It's easy to control and transmits high quality CCTV images which enhances the experience for our VIP guests."

Benefits:

A better experience

The wirelessly-transmitted, high quality images captured by the Honeywell Orbiter dome not only give SEAT Sport a ‘competitive' edge in terms of providing VIP hospitality services, but such technology can also be employed in a range of security applications on site.

A dedicated team from Wireless CCTV trained the SEAT Sport team to install and dismantle the system

The Orbiter unit is very easy to install and operate. As a result, it is ideally suited to applications where it needs to be regularly installed by non-specialist personnel. This product was used because of its robustness and reliability meaning that it can withstand regular shipping, installation and dismantling in a very short space of time. The system shows the clarity of pictures that can be remotely seen and controlled using the Orbiter and shows the range of environments in which the camera can work effectively.

This solution uses the latest 3G mobile technology, with the optional addition of a WiFi or LAN connection, to maximise flexibility and portability. The system provides fluid, high-resolution images irrespective of location or existing infrastructure. This method makes the equipment ideal for short-term deployment projects.

The system also operates on fixed, IP-based broadband technology, which offers high-speed, fixed-cost transmission networks suitable for live 24/7 monitoring.