Control Microsystems ClearSCADA and Longwatch video platform

Control Microsystems and Longwatch have announced the ability of the Control Microsystems SCADA host platform, ClearSCADA, can now be integrated with the Longwatch Video Surveillance platform and Video Historian Platform to provide video surveillance of remote processes and assets over the SCADA communication infrastructure.

The video surveillance uses Modbus protocol and is event driven to conserve bandwidth. The Longwatch system continuously takes and stores video locally. When motion is detected, an alarm is raised and a video ‘snippet’ is attached to the alarm message and sent to the central control site, showing what happened before and after the event. Through a graphic display in ClearSCADA, operators are able to view what is occurring on site, preventing the need for sending someone to investigate the alarm.

Communications between the Longwatch Video Control Center and the Remote Video Engines, deployed in the field and host locations, can be either ethernet or Modbus over serial communications. The Longwatch video platform interfaces to ClearSCADA primarily via OPC, with Longwatch acting as the OPC server and ClearSCADA the OPC client. Video alarms, camera status and camera control can then be achieved from ClearSCADA via the OPC interface.