IFUSP increases security and decreases costs

The University of São Paulo campus encompasses 1.4 square miles. In addition to the Physics Institute, there are other teaching units, advanced research institutes and museums that function as an educational center. There is also an open park for the inhabitants of theSão Paulo. Therefore, security and access control to the buildings are essential to preserve the good use of the space by both students and visitors. 

“One of the challenges for the security team was the theft of bikes and bike parts,” says David Bärg Filho, Systems Analyst at the Physics Institute of the University of São Paulo. Just the presence of cameras was enough to reduce the thefts. From the video images managed by Digifort VMS, the IFUSP security team was able to identify patterns of behavior of people with no ties to the university committing infractions, which include theft or illegal activities. This led to changing the position of the bicycle rack to minimize possible thefts or damage to property. 

Administrators were unsure of the value of a new IP system and hesitant at first to invest. However, once they witnessed the image quality of Axis network cameras and the ease of installation and expansion, they committed to the IP solution as the right choice. 

Before installation, Ziva performed a Proof of Concept with the Axis video intercom and access controller, plus the Polycom VVX VoIP phone, where the guards could see the video intercom image, talk to the visitor, and release access remotely. The test also showed that entry could be granted via the University's QR Code system only to students, faculty and staff, or in other cases, the doorman could talk to the person and grant access remotely, like a remote gatekeeper. 

The University of São Paulo is ranked #9 in the world for producing the most amount of research, according to the Center for Studies in Science and Technology of Leiden University in Holland. At the Institute of Physics, professors, researchers and undergraduate students participate in research groups to develop Brazilian science. The task requires High Performance Computing (HPC) machines that are allocated in the Data Center of IFUSP. 

The solution was to automate the access doors with permissions according to hierarchy, so that only employees and those responsible for each computer cluster could have access, even at night or on weekends. An Axis Network Door Controller, which offer the benefits of open architecture IP, made the project possible by being a smarter, more flexible alternative to traditional access control. Still, Axis network cameras capture who has entered and left the room.

"Ziva already has a history of projects with USP and we always present players that offer more than just cameras, but solutions that will add value in the long term, adding new services and features. We understand the difficulty of obtaining public resources and, therefore, our task is always to present a solution that we know the customer is able to expand, change, evolve the project with us or with another partner," says Paulo Alexandre Dias Oliveira, Account Manager at Ziva. 

"The next day we integrated three Axis video surveillance cameras into Zoom. I like new things, but with each new project, I enter new terrain that I must carefully assess so as not to waste public resources. However, because I knew the quality of Axis and also of the Digifort software, I was put at ease”, concludes Bärg. Today, four of the Institute's six auditoriums already have Axis cameras integrated into remote teaching platforms for hybrid activities. The fact that the solution can be used concurrently with property surveillance has brought versatility and savings both in terms of camera acquisition, as well as infrastructure for installation and use.