Live on stage: a networked video solution for safe concerts
Week after week, thousands of music fans head for the Ziggo Dome in Amsterdam to experience their favorite artists live. Bosch Energy and Building Solutions has helped take the concert experience to a new level. A video solution with integrated intelligent analysis functionality improves security while optimizing visitor flows and perfecting the services provided to guests.
At night, the cube of the Ziggo Dome flashes in the southeast of Amsterdam, visible from afar. Almost daily, thousands of fans beat a path to this nearly 8,000-square-meter facility in the Dutch metropolis. It is the first choice for topnotch events ranging from pop concerts across techno raves all the way to comedy performances. The arena ranks among Europe’s largest, with room for up to 17,000 people. “As the operators, we have a huge responsibility,” says Emile Rietveld, who is in charge of occupational safety and security. “The stage systems have changed a lot since the Ziggo Dome opened in 2012. The lightshows with brilliant strobes were more than the original video cameras could handle. So we decided to give our security concept a makeover.“
Where security is concerned, you can’t afford to take any risks. That’s why we’re working with Bosch.
Visitor streams in view – for greater security and better service
“We needed video solutions for the indoor and outdoor areas that met the increased requirements and delivered greater value. It’s important for us to monitor the visitor flows as precisely as possible”, Emile Rietveld explains the requirements. The team of Bosch Energy and Building Solutions in the Netherlands handled the implementation and integration of a networked video security solution that includes a people counting function. “The video cameras are literally the Ziggo Dome’s eyes. That’s why we care not only about the quality of the hardware, but also about the software and services. And we found a partner that could give us all that: Bosch Energy and Building Solutions”, says Emile Rietveld, who used to work in the aviation industry. He was also responsible for security issues there, and today draws parallels between it and the event business. “Airports and concert halls both need to manage large volumes of visitors. Here at the Ziggo Dome players are also involved that, like concert organizers, talent agencies, caterers and cleaning companies, have their own ideas and needs regarding how they want to use their areas in the Dome. My job is to identify potential security risks and develop strategies for managing them.” Emile also works closely with the in-house security team, the local police and the rescue services to accomplish this.
The new technology does more than improve security. By measuring visitor flows, it also makes it possible to coordinate services better. Food sellers, for example, can be deployed where the crowds are thickest. This results in more sales. “The data lets us see right away if, say, it takes visitors an unusually long time to purchase beverages at a bar. Then we can check to see if enough personnel has been assigned to it,” says Emile Rietveld. “If not, someone from another stand can go over to help out. The data really adds value in these cases.” The software is also able to distinguish between male and female visitors, which can be useful for reassigning toilets to prevent long lines.
An optimal overview of external and internal areas
The video cameras include integrated video analysis (IVA) functionality as a standard feature; among other things, it is able to count people. IVA uses metadata and crunches large datasets to learn to understand patterns and situations better. Then it evaluates each image based on previously defined rules. If an unauthorized individual approaches a particular area, say, or someone has left a bag unattended, the camera calls these things to the attention of the control room personnel. In and around the Ziggo Dome, more than 300 high-precision video cameras have been installed that deliver top-quality images, also of rapidly moving objects or persons and even in dim light. Latest-generation intelligent outdoor cameras were also chosen for monitoring what is going on out in front. These have been trained to quickly distinguish between harmless events and potentially dangerous situations. The images they record are consistently razor-sharp, even with strong light reflections from the gigantic LED walls, spotlight beams or the asphalt that is wet from rain. The faces of people approaching the hall are blurred for privacy reasons. “The system takes very crisp images and evaluates them very precisely,” says Emile. “As a result, now we have far fewer false alarms.”
Inside the hall, visitor flows are measured for optimizing the provided services. Cameras capture visitors entering and leaving the Dome and also notice if, for example, they spend time in the food area first before entering the concert hall to take their seats. All of this information comes together in the combined security and building management system. The data is organized on the screen to let the members of Emile Rietveld’s team easily view certain information, like how many visitors are currently present in a certain part of the building, in real time. “We can also access data from similar past events to appropriately assign service or security personnel in advance and make sure that everything goes as smoothly as possible. For example, the data can be used to estimate how long it will take for everyone to get inside the hall,” he explains.
At an event, thousands of visitors pass through the Ziggo Dome’s 15 doors at the same time and move from place to place – and the cameras capture all of it. The people are also counted with an error rate of well below one percent. “That’s exceptionally good. Bosch carried out several test runs to optimize everything – and it has paid off,” says Emile Rietveld. He regards the intensive sharing with his sparring partners at Bosch Energy and Building Solutions as a sign of quality. It is also helpful that the systems engineer assigned to this project, Ferdinand Blum, had previously spent years working in the Ziggo Dome and is therefore intimately familiar with the location. “We worked with Ferdinand and Vincent van Asselt, a solution architect at Bosch Energy and Building Solutions, to figure out point by point exactly what we needed to get a future-safe video solution. Our collaboration was really superb. And it naturally also makes a difference for us as the hall’s operator that we can consistently count on getting the top-quality service we need,” says Emile Rietveld.
About our expert Vincent van Asselt
The security and video expert has been working at Bosch Energy and Building Solutions in Nieuwegein in the Netherlands since 2012. Initially he started as a system engineer. Since 2019, he has been responsible for the design, development and implementation of customized security solutions as a Solution Architect. He deals intensively with the needs of his customers in order to be able to offer tailor-made solutions. In his work, Vincent van Asselt sees himself as a pioneer who delivers solutions that are future-proof and reliable. He says: “I always show customers clearly what is feasible and what is not. I make sure that our solutions are scalable and sustainable. I'm only satisfied with an implementation when everything works 100 percent as planned. Our customers see that – and they appreciate it.”
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