Diebold, Incorporated announced that it is working with the Panama Canal Authority (ACP), Diebold designed a 20-screen, high-resolution video wall for the canal's Marine Traffic Control Center. Diebold's solution enables controllers to view multiple surveillance camera feeds at once, as well as ships' Global Positioning System (GPS) signals, providing high visibility of vessels traversing the canal. Serving as the gateway between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, the Panama Canal uses a system of locks to raise ships from sea level to the level of Gatun Lake.

Ships then sail the channel through the Continental Divide, completing their 50-mile journey. Over 3,000 container ships, cruise ships, tankers, submarines and other vessels cross the canal each year. Maneuvering the canal requires precise traffic control to ensure the safety of vessels, their occupants and the canal itself.

Using the Diebold-designed video wall, Marine Traffic Control Center operators will monitor the location, direction, speed and maneuvers required for a ship to enter, navigate and exit the canal. Diebold designed, installed and implemented the video wall and its video processing matrix. The video wall measures nearly 300 square feet, with 67-inch monitors mounted four high by five wide.

Monitors display feeds from 24 cameras covering critical points of the Panama Canal site, including its three main locks, two lakes, primary waterway and two staging areas. In the future, the scalable system may accommodate 40 camera views as part of the canal expansion. In addition to surveillance camera feeds, the high-resolution video wall monitors also display telemetry and GPS signals from ships in transit, as well as from the ACP tugboats maneuvering ships through the site's staging areas.

This information helps officials accurately monitor every move of every ship to ensure safety and mitigate the potential for accidents.