The Customer
Israel operates a modern 24/7 Rescue Coordination Centre (RCC) in Haifa to assist all vessels in distress and investigate cases of pollution of the marine environment, in accordance with the IMO Conventions.
In the spirit of the maritime community, Israel strongly supports a lawful, free, safe and environmentally friendly maritime trade. Its fleet consists of fifty registered vessels with an average age of ten years, totaling 3.2 million tons. All are subjected to rigorous standards through the supervision of The Administration of Shipping and Ports.
With its highly professional Port State Control (Member of the Med-MOU) Israel strives to become a Flag-bearer which represents the most advanced values of free maritime trade, fully committed to the standards of International Conventions of the Safety of Life at Sea and the Protection of the Marine Environment Membership of the IMO Council. This offers Israel the opportunity to contribute its best to the international maritime community.
The Challenge
In a recent redevelopment of the RCC, latest technology was selected to satisfy the highest standards of maritime safety, with mission-critical signal distribution maintaining high resilience. A new system was developed, based around KVM technology. As all applications needed to be controlled by Crestron touchscreens and iPads a highly flexible KVM matrix was required to enable interconnections for a large range of devices.
HD video signals needed to be distributed to screens and projectors in the control rooms and conference rooms. A feedback channel was necessary for video data generated by cameras in the conference rooms. The installation of an advanced audio distribution system also switched by the KVM matrix was required as well.
The Solution
The decision was made to deploy an IHSE KVM system, based on a 64 port Draco tera compact matrix switch. This powerful compact switch is able to route all required computer signals throughout the RCC. Its intelligent design makes it possible to use any port either as input or as output; all connected devices are automatically recognized by the matrix with no need for extra configuration. Peripheral devices (keyboards, mice, monitors, projectors, output devices, etc.) as well as the remotely located sources (e.g. PCs and cameras for interactive video conferences) are connected to the matrix via KVM extenders.
A dedicated video conferencing system is directly connected through a CON Unit and a CPU Unit, enabling bidirectional data distribution. Digital KVM signals, received from remotely located sources, can be transferred to an Extron sound system, while video data produced in the conference rooms, is transmitted to the matrix providing access for all receiving devices.
Connection over long distances between the matrix and display points is made by Cat X cabling, providing for a high level of transmission integrity and security. System management and control is made possible over an IP network. To achieve this, a separate IP switch is connected to the central Draco tera compact matrix, providing wireless access to the control devices from an interconnected Crestron controller. The whole facility can be controlled by an iPad. Crestron touch panels are also used in the main conference room enabling control of projectors and screens from the podium.
The Benefit
The KVM solution delivered enhanced functionality to control multimedia within the RCC and has performed without fail since it was integrated. A variety of sources can be switched instantly to different screens, projectors and management stations with no latency and without introducing any image artefacts.
IHSE’s KVM system provided a high level of flexibility and gave us the ability to use only one large matrix that will switch everything and can be controlled with touchscreens and iPads. – Eran Mariem, project manager at DM Engineering, IHSE‘s Israeli distribution partner
IHSE KVM technology is backing the Israeli sea rescue operations, making a major contribution to the maritime safety in the Mediterranean. In mission critical applications, like rescue coordination, highest standards and cutting-edge technology are absolutely essential.
