Construction Control Using Time-Lapse Camera

Vigilant control over the construction of a residential building using time-lapse cameras is sometimes necessary, not only to monitor the progress of construction, but also to avoid accidentally ending up among hundreds of thousands of defrauded equity holders. Many large developers in this regard try to meet their clients halfway, using modern long-term time-lapse systems for public control over the construction, as well as for the representatives of the developer company themselves, to monitor the progress of construction and the work of contractors through online cameras installed at construction sites.

Nowadays, time-lapse cameras at construction sites, as open information about the progress of construction, are a competitive advantage and a guarantee of trust from clients, potential buyers and investors. Equity holders will not need to visit the construction site so often, as they can watch the construction process of their home online every day. At the same time, you can watch the construction both on the screen of your computer and mobile phone. This is especially convenient when you are in another city or country - to see what's happening on the construction site, you only need Internet access.

What to consider when installing time-lapse outdoor cameras at a construction site? Since construction is a constantly growing object, the video surveillance system must be mobile in order not to lose its relevance and wired solutions are not very suitable here. And it is also necessary to take into account that wireless solutions such as 4G LTE online cameras are subject to interference from various power equipment, welding work, etc.

Therefore, the optimal solution for video surveillance at a construction site would be a set consisting of:

• Time-lapse cameras;

• A router with Wi-Fi support and a 4G LTE modem which will allow not only to service the connected cameras, but also to connect to it from various mobile devices;

• GSM modem, providing remote viewing via the Internet;

• All-weather Junction Box for equipment protection.

In such a system, you can deal without a video recorder NVR. And the data can be stored in a cloud service or on a SSD drive, which can be installed in the time-lapse camera. The cloud allows several users to connect at once, which is very convenient.

Advantages of time-lapse service at a construction site:

• provide investors, clients, supervisory authorities and other interested parties with the opportunity to monitor the situation at the site at any time;

• consumption of construction materials;

• prevention of theft and sloppiness;

• control over the acceptance of materials, checking its quantity and quality;

• compliance with the technological sequence of construction;

• prevention or recording of cases of illegal entry;

• compliance with safety requirements and prevention of accidents;

• compliance with deadlines at each stage of construction.

Nowadays, most construction sites of socially significant facilities are equipped with cameras, and even city heads can use them to monitor the construction process. Developers in the region may also be required to install cameras for violating deadlines for the delivery of houses. In addition to informing citizens about the pace of construction, cameras can record violations at construction sites.

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One of the most accessible methods of control is considered to be the installation of a time-lapse camera by the developer, the broadcast from which can be viewed at any convenient time on the project website. Thus, the progress of work on the construction site can be monitored from home in real time. It is important that the camera is installed in a good place and covers most of the construction, or that there are several devices.

With the development of technology, traditional webcam connection schemes, in which each user connects to the camera directly and thereby allocates for themselves a part of the Internet channel to which it is connected, are becoming a thing of the past. When several users simultaneously access the camera, the access speed drops sharply, which is especially critical when using a radio channel. Instead, today a connection scheme is used in which the video stream from the camera is transmitted to a video server located on a high-speed channel on the Internet. When accessing an online broadcast, users connect not directly to the webcam, but to the server, while maintaining the entire width of the Internet channel between the server and the camera.

Traditionally, when working with web cameras, broadcasts are carried out in motion jpeg format. This format is essentially a set of rapidly changing images. The speed and quality of the broadcast in this case leaves much to be desired. Modern systems, in turn, are equipped with new software and hardware that allow broadcasting a full-fledged video stream in 4K format.

To conduct online broadcasts through special servers, the JS HTML5 Player software is sufficient, which is installed by more than 99% of users. This allows site visitors to watch broadcasts without installing any additional software components. Online broadcasts can be watched on all types of mobile devices: computers, iPhone, iPad, Android devices, etc.