Keeping an eye on Caravaggio: Bosch supports Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum migration from analogue to IP video surveillance

Madrid, Spain – From Renaissance to Pop Art, from Caravaggio to Rauschenberg: El Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza in Madrid features some of world’s finest pieces of art – a unique treasure trove of priceless masterpieces. Bosch is contributing to making sure these artworks stay where they belong, so thousands of art enthusiasts from all over the world can view them every day, by helping the museum in its switch from analogue video surveillance to an IP-based system. With this switch, Bosch is creating a single integrated security system out of the formerly security installations, allowing to receive and monitor all alarms centrally. The new system replaces the existing equipment with new IP cameras for the museum’s different exhibition rooms and provides recording and storage of images, and video analytics. The complete security installation is managed by a Bosch Video Management System.

Full situational awareness

Bosch IP panoramic cameras were chosen by the museum for its Temporary Exhibitions Room to maintain a watchful eye on each art installation and to eliminate blind spots. These cameras featuring a “fisheye” lens provide a full 180- or 360-degree overview of an area. The camera’s built-in dewarping functionality transforms the circular image into distortion-free rectangular images that can be easily viewed in high resolution thanks to its 12-megapixel sensor.

The chosen Bosch IP panoramic cameras have built-in Intelligent Video Analytics, which continuously analyzes all video images. If a predefined scenario is detected, an alarm is triggered. Intelligent Video Analytics continues to monitor the full image circle so that the user continues to receive alarms even if the security personnel decides to zoom in on a particular region.

As an optional feature, a special “museum mode” enables the museums’ security to predefine a perimeter around an artwork, and to create a virtual, invisible protective barrier. If an individual breaches this perimeter, in an attempt to touch or steal an artwork, an alarm is triggered and immediately received both in the control center as well as by the security personnel on their mobile devices, allowing them to react and take action quickly. This virtual barrier is a convenient alternative to conventional infrared barriers.

Additionally, for exhibits displayed in low light conditions such as the recently exhibited “Bulgari and Rome”, in the museum’s Moneo Room, the Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum selected Bosch IP 6000 series cameras featuring the latest starlight technology. Bosch starlight IP cameras are made for low light conditions, providing high quality color images in almost complete darkness. These cameras also ensure that low light areas can be properly monitored without the direct need of additional lighting and that the museum’s management does not have to compromise the exhibition’s artistic concept and ambience for security reasons.

Museum’s Security Manager, Mr. Miguel Ángel Molina expects to incorporate more technologies and innovations for security and protection in the following months. “Since the video system is equipped with an iSCSI redundant recording solution, the system stays operational even if any of the recorders are temporarily lost. With this new set up, the main benefit is that we have a back-up system for our recordings that provides a reliable, efficient security system”.