BTP builds a platform for London 2012

British Transport Police (BTP) is implementing a unified enterprise platform for managing and serving large volumes of geospatial data across the organisation.

The new platform will help BTP to increase efficiency and enable interoperability with other national agencies, including security and government organisations, and deliver geospatial data to multiple remote locations.

The Erdas Apollo system from Infoterra will also integrate all BTP’s imagery and provide access for a wide range of business requirements, including operational and strategic planning, crime analysis and civil contingency planning.

For example, having all imagery and maps in one place and easily accessible will increase the efficiency of event operation planning – particularly when many thousands arrive for the London Marathon and 2012 Olympics.

The Erdas Apollo ‘image manager’ will be implemented to store and enable rapid delivery of gigabytes of imagery by streaming data via the web and secure networks.

A server will securely organise and catalogue all geospatial data, imagery and maps for efficient delivery using open-standard web services.

“Previously, only 50 per cent of BTP’s imagery could be stored on a server,” said Richard Smith, BTP’s force information manager. “Additionally, retrieving these images was often problematic. We needed a solution to store and distribute imagery securely and in a timely manner.”

The new system will be incorporated within BTP’s existing infrastructure.

“Erdas Apollo allows BTP to adequately prepare for London 2012, providing tools to efficiently store and quickly share massive amounts of geospatial data throughout the organisation, using various domain specific applications,” said Thomas Bayer, Vice-President, Europe, Middle East and Africa, Erdas.