Axis Cameras Chosen to Improve Safety on Madrid's Buses

MADRID, March 22, 2010 /PRNewswire/ --

- 9,000 Surveillance Cameras Will be Installed Across Madrid's Public Bus Service

- The Network Cameras Include High Resolution Real Time Monitoring

The Municipal Transport Company of Madrid (EMT) has chosen Axis Communications (http://www.axis.com/), the global leader in the network video market(1), to deliver network surveillance cameras for Madrid's public bus service. EMT has chosen Axis to help support its aim to become Europe's best public transport company. The EUR20 million project will involve the installation of more than 9,000 cameras in 2,300 buses.

The surveillance system includes high resolution real time recording and monitoring, and also features a panic button which is connected to EMT's Central Alarm Station. In the event of an emergency the Control Centre Operator can notify the relevant emergency service. Each bus also includes GPS so it is easy to locate the bus quickly.

The network surveillance cameras have already been installed in 400 buses, and it's expected that all buses will support the technology by the end of this year. The tender was won by a consortium formed by Spanish IT and security companies GRUPO ETRA (http://www.grupoetra.com/eng/home.aspx), IECISA (http://www.ieci.es/) and PLETTAC (http://www.plettac-electronics.es/index.jsp) who presented a project based on Axis network cameras and video encoders.

Axis has supplied cameras that are robust, easy to install and compact, yet also deliver high resolution images and include vibration resistance and tampering alarms. Each bus will include three AXIS M3113-R (http://www.axis.com/products/cam_m3113r/) network cameras and one AXIS Q7401 (http://www.axis.com/products/cam_q7401/) video encoder. The cameras support SVGA (800x600) resolution, which provides enough detail to make it possible to identify people, or objects.

The cameras also offer H.264 and Motion JPG compression formats. H.264 compression optimizes bandwidth use (critical for 3G mobile communications) and storage requirements by considerably reducing the binary speed. The cameras also support standard Power over Ethernet and can be integrated with other devices and security systems.

Juan Luis Brizuela, Axis Communications Iberia Country Manager said, "This project presented us with a challenge which resulted in a new range of cameras that are well suited to the demands of public transport. We look forward to continuing to work with the Municipal Transport Company of Madrid this year and completing Europe's leading transport surveillance solution."

Ignacio Uria, Head of the VEA System Implementation Project (Security Department of EMT) said, "For this pioneering project, it has been very important to be able to rely on a camera vendor such as Axis Communications, which has demonstrated a proven ability to support its customers closely. Axis took full account of our previous experience with onboard video surveillance and the specifications of the bus fleet. The network cameras are ideally suited to our project's objectives, and we believe that, in view of the similarities between urban bus transport systems, they could be well-suited to the majority of transport systems in Spain, or the world."

Notes to editors

(1) Axis Communications is the global market leader in the network video market with a market share of network cameras of 31.2 per cent. The world market for network cameras alone is forecast to be worth more than $2.5 billion by 2013. The network camera market is set to have a CAGR of more than 28 per cent per year over the next five years, according to industry analyst house IMS Research (www.imsresearch.com) in its latest market report entitled 'The World Market for CCTV and Video Surveillance Equipment 2009 Edition' published in August 2009.

About Axis Communications

Axis is an IT company offering network video solutions for professional installations. The company is the global market leader in network video, driving the ongoing shift from analogue to digital video surveillance. Axis products and solutions focus on security surveillance and remote monitoring and are based on innovative, open technology platforms.

Axis is a Swedish-based company, operating worldwide with offices in more than 20 countries and cooperating with partners in more than 70 countries. Founded in 1984, Axis is listed on the NASDAQ OMX Stockholm Exchange under the ticker AXIS. For more information about Axis, please visit our website at http://www.axis.com

About EMT

Empresa Municipal de Transportes de Madrid, S.A. (EMT) was founded in 1947 and is responsible for the scheduled mass transit service for bus passengers in the city of Madrid. EMT maintains a fleet of almost 2,100 buses and relies on more than 8,000 employees, around 6,000 of whom are bus drivers. EMT transports 425 million passengers per year and its vehicles cover routes of more than 100 million kilometers per year.

SOURCE Axis Communications