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End User: North Adams Housing Authority
Manufacturer: Fluidmesh Networks, Inc.
Integrator: BCM Controls Corporation, Woburn, Massachusetts (Steve Drapeau, Project Engineer)

OBJECTIVE:
The North Adams Housing Authority, which provides and develops quality affordable housing opportunities for individuals and families, sought to have an IP-based CCTV system installed at three of their locations. Their objective was to obtain much needed 24/7 coverage of some key areas of their properties.

CHALLENGES:
One of the locations being secured consists of a neighborhood of townhouses that had no connectivity between buildings or back to the main office where the head end of the system is located. 

SOLUTION:
Wireless technology was used to gain connectivity and avoid the expense of trenching and installing hard wired connections.

PROJECT DESCRIPTION AT A GLANCE:

The project, which got underway in August, 2010, was the initial phase of installing CCTV throughout the North Adams Housing Authority’s sites. Knowing that they plan to add cameras in the future, it made sense to install the wireless mesh at the townhouse site to accommodate connectivity of the additional cameras where hardwired connections would be very costly.

BCM Controls worked closely with the security consultant that was hired by the Housing Authority to bring them a solution that would be economical and allow them to expand the system in phases. BCM has deployed many wireless mesh networks both on large and smaller scales and recognized it was the way to go to provide the 24/7 coverage the Housing Authority required. Due to the success of the cameras that have been installed, the customer has realized the need for even more coverage.

EQUIPMENT USED:
BCM Controls installed Arecont AV8360 360 degree cameras connected to Fluidmesh FM1100E-HW with 10Mbit throughput plug-ins out in the field which are in turn connected to one FM2200E-D with two sector antennas installed on a smokestack to create the wireless mesh network. The cameras are managed and recorded by an Exacqvision server in the site manager’s office. “While this was not our first mesh network deployment, it was our first with Fluidmesh,” says Steve Drapeau, Project Engineer for BCM Controls. “With minimal training, we were able to deploy a stable and reliable mesh network fairly quickly and easily. The Fluidmesh software and alignment tools enabled us to attain maximum signal quality with minimal time and effort.”

Fluidmesh Networks is the worldwide leader in wireless systems for security, industrial, and mission-critical applications. Its range of solutions covers point-to-point, point-to-multipoint, and mesh networks with an unparalleled level of reliability, flexibility, and ease of use. The company is focused on the development of top-quality wireless products for security, video-surveillance, condition monitoring and data communication in large areas at risk. Fluidmesh Networks' target markets are municipalities, industrial plants, schools, seaports and marinas, archaeological sites, resorts, theme parks and racing tracks.Founded by a team of researchers and engineers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in Cambridge, MA and the Politecnico of Milan in Italy, Fluidmesh Networks serves its customers worldwide from its headquarters in Boston, and from its European office based in Italy.