Sony IP cameras monitor the route of the New York Marathon

To secure the area where the New York Marathon was going to take place, its organizers installed Sony IP cameras connected to a Firetide wireless mesh network.

The New York Marathon is the largest in the world. After the cancellation of the event in 2012 due to hurricane sandy, the marathon 2013 had a record number of participants. More than 50.000 people finished the race, the largest number recorded in a race of this type. In addition to the runners, More than two million spectators watched the race. 42 km that ran through the five boroughs of New York before ending in Central Park.

The marathon is organized and managed by New York Road Runners (NEW), a local non-profit running club for runners of all levels that organizes world-class running events. The safety of the marathon was the main concern after what happened in Boston and, that is why, The NYRR wanted to apply additional measures in the race of 2013.

Safety at events like racing is always a challenge, since these are open routes around which millions of people congregate.

The Firetide-Sony merger

One of the main challenges in installing a security system of these characteristics is the lack of infrastructure. Marathons often run through areas that do not have sufficient infrastructure to allow secure, high-resolution video transmission., and the New York race was no exception.

To overcome this challenge, The security company EIA designed a surveillance system based on IP cameras from Sony that were connected to a wireless mesh network Firetide.

Adam Roth, Vice President of EIA Technology Division, stated that Sony IP cameras were chosen for the New York Marathon for their Full HD image quality, its ease of installation and its ability to transmit wirelessly over a mesh network.

Firetide and Sony technologies allowed EIA to install temporary video surveillance systems in Central Park in a short period of time. Just 36 hours before the race, EIA accessed poles designated by the NYPD's counterterrorism office to install Sony IP cameras, and also to the nodes and antennas of Firetide's wireless mesh network over the park.

Milestone open platform

The mesh network allowed IP cameras to be connected to a temporary, private wireless video network without making permanent alterations to New York's infrastructure.. EIA integrated the various technologies with open platform video management software Milestone Systems.

Surveillance system started on the streets surrounding Central Park, It spread throughout the park and ended at the marathon operations center. Members of the FBI's counterterrorism task force were in the operations center., NYPD officers and EIA executives.

Both marathon administrators and police officers used the diverse video images offered by Sony IP cameras to improve their situational awareness in different areas of the race., both inside and outside Central Park. Besides, the system was integrated into the largest marathon security network ever deployed by the NYPD, allowing critical visual information to be shared on a broader scale. EIA's Adam Roth said Sony IP cameras were chosen for their Full HD image quality, its ease of installation and its ability to transmit wirelessly over a mesh network.

Both marathon administrators and police officers used the diverse video images provided by Sony IP cameras to improve their situational awareness both inside and outside Central Park..