After a thorough evaluation, Martin and his team chose to work with Monaco-based system integrator I2S Security to install over 100 i-PRO cameras, including fisheye and multi-sensors with advanced AI-based analytics.

Managing Occupancy and Visitor Flow

Because i-PRO fisheye cameras offer a wide field of view, they are ideally suited to monitor large areas in the Forum. Hence, they were strategically placed at each of the building’s entrances and at major axes to maximize their field of view.

The i-PRO network cameras use an AI engine to detect congestion, providing data that can be used to direct visitor traffic flow in advance or help staff work more efficiently.

“One of the reasons we selected the i-PRO Fisheye cameras was for the advanced AI analytics that come standard with all cameras," said Martin. "In the re-opening days after the pandemic, we had to limit the number of people who could be in the facility at any given time. The i-PRO cameras allowed us to set up zones and limits and count the number of people moving in a specified direction or crossed a specified threshold.”

Using the area counting feature, the cameras are also able to count the number of people in a set area and help manage the flow of visitors and ensure that queues are not forming. Additionally, the heat map tool provides statistical information about traffic flow and keeps counts for people passing through and loitering in the area.

Protecting Valuable Works of Art

The Grimaldi Forum also implemented i-PRO’s Scene Change Detection, an AI-based analytic application that automatically sends an alert to security and operations teams in the VMS when anomalies occur within the camera’s field of view.

Unlike traditional AI-based object detection analytics, which alert or flag when objects cross lines or enter predefined zones, scene change detection allows users to teach a surveillance camera what an entire scene looks like in a normal state. The analytic then flags an anomaly whenever any preselected part of the scene varies from normal. This might include a door that gets propped open longer than normal, or in the case of an art exhibition, noticing if people are getting too close to a valuable painting. Because of the customized threshold settings, brief changes in the scene can be ignored if the scene returns to normal within an acceptable timeframe. This ability to set thresholds unique to each situation is something that traditional motion detection analytics can’t do.

At the Grimaldi Forum, the Scene Change Detection app is operated simultaneously with other apps such as AI Video Motion Detection (VMD) of objects, allowing the security team to conduct multiple detections with one camera. i-PRO’s AI VMD can send security guards an alarm when an intruder enters a specified area or if that person loiters in an area where they are not supposed to be. It can also trigger an alarm if a specific threshold is crossed. AI-based object detection minimizes false alarms due to changes of light or passing shadows.

Real-time, Proactive Monitoring

Using the i-PRO Active Guard plug-in, the GFM security team can use their VMS to conduct real-time searches during an incident or deep forensic analysis post-event. The plug-in integrates seamlessly into the existing UI of the VMS, appearing as just another function tab. With Active Guard, security operators at GFM no longer have to spend time looking at multiple screens for persons of interest or watch hours of recorded video to search for important events. Operators can register specific characteristics in their watch lists (for instance “male wearing a red shirt and blue pants”), and the VMS will send them a real-time alarm whenever a match is identified, a feature that is unique to i-PRO. This enhances real-time situational awareness and enables proactive security. The same process can be set up for fast data mining of events during forensic investigations.

Protecting valuable works of art takes the best in technology. That’s why the Grimaldi Forum also chose i-PRO’s latest multi-sensor cameras. Combining exceptional imaging performance with wide-area surveillance and IR LED lighting, these multi-sensor cameras allow the GFM security teams to monitor the activity across a large room while also enabling them to focus with great precision on a precise area of interest, such as individual paintings, any time of day or night. Plus, the cameras’ uniquely thin design makes them some of the most discreet cameras on the market. Because they are able to be placed discreetly in the ceiling, they do not interfere with the design and aesthetics of the room, nor do they intrude on the visitor experience. 

“If it wasn’t for the wide range of coverage offered by i-PRO’s multi-sensor cameras, we would have had to add another 77 cameras,” said Martin. Not only do they offer wider coverage capabilities with a larger tilt range than other multi-sensor cameras on the market, but they are small and discreet so they can blend into the design of our beautiful facility.

The Grimaldi Forum Monaco has implemented advanced security technology to enhance visitor safety, protect valuable artworks, and ensure a seamless and secure experience during high-profile events like the Monet exhibition. “The technology we have implemented has precisely met the objectives we set at the beginning of this project,” says Martin. “But the human aspect cannot be understated; the teams at i-PRO, and i2S have been amazing to work with.”

The Monet exhibit is now over, but the infrastructure that the GFM security team has put in place is well poised to handle a wide variety of upcoming events and ready to support the Forum’s ambitious expansion plans in the years to come.