The municipality of Como in Northern Italy recently decided to install a CCTV system taking advantage of the innovative Videomesh wireless technology, developed by Fluidmesh Networks, a Boston-based MIT spin-off. The first dome camera with Videomesh transmission was installed at the beginning of January 2006. By April 2006, the municipaly plans to install other 11 cameras, creating the largest wireless mesh CCTV system in Europe.

Based on advanced mesh networking algorithms, Videomesh technology is able to optimize the transmission through the optimal path, performing intelligent routing of packets in real time. Videomesh 2200 is the first wireless mesh product specifically designed for video surveillance applications.

“The municipality of Como wanted to be able to easily move and reposition the cameras and the wireless transmitters to meet its changing needs in terms of security and video-control,” said Umberto Malesci, Fluidmesh president and founder. “No traditional Wi-Fi or Hiperlan product would be capable to meet this requirement.”

“The municipality of Como gave us a complex set of requirements because they needed to install cameras in two different areas of the city center: on the coast of the lake of Como and in the most central and luxurious street in town, via Vittorio Emanuele,” said Andrea Orioli, chief engineer of WBS S.r.l., the engineering company hired by the city to design the system. “Our association with the Incubator of the Politecnico of Milan allowed us to create a close partnership with Fluidmesh Networks and to offer to the municipality of Como a solution that integrates state-of-the-art technologies. Our Videomesh-based CCTV system has an extremely low visual impact but it is clearly a step ahead of what we could have done with a standard Wi-Fi solution in terms of mobility, flexibility and reliability.”