Steatite Embedded Security Solutions

Steatite Embedded have been providing reliable and robust industrial computers for security applications for many years. We understand that security systems must be capable of running 24/7 365 days a year, often in remote locations, so we always select the best quality products when specifying a system and put every system that we ship through stringent tests to ensure long-term reliability in the field.

We can offer a full range of solutions from a compact PC for single stream video capture all the way up to systems capable of capturing, analysing and storing multiple high definition video streams

Rack and wall mount solutions
We have a large range of rack-mount systems available from compact 1U systems available with up to 4x removable hard drives up to 4U systems supporting up to 24x removable 3.5" hard drives, ideal for use as a multi-camera DVR device.

Our wall-mount embedded PCs are pack a lot of performance into a compact chassis, which can be mounted pretty much anywhere you like. Once again they can be used as to capture video from a single source, or capture video from multiple cameras and analyse it on the fly.

System reliability
Ensuring that every system that we ship provides years of faultless operation is our top priority. There are a number of processes that we work through to help us offer the most reliable solution possible:

1. Component selection is probably the most important factor when designing a reliable system. We only use industrial grade components in our security systems, which are specifically designed for 24/7 operation in critical applications and will generally have an MTBF figure in excess of 100,000 hours operation. Many of our competitors will use commercial grade products to cut costs, but this will seriously compromise the long-term stability of a system, so is something that we avoid doing.

2. System design is almost as important as choosing the right components. Ensuring that the system is kept cool maximises the operational life of most PC components, with capacitors benefiting most from a cool operating environment. We always take into account the operating environment when designing a PC, whether its to be used in a vehicle, in a dusty factory or in an equipment rack and always make sure that the final solution will operate reliably in the environment.

3. Choosing the right operating system can also have a massive impact on the reliability of a system. We always recommend using Windows XP Embedded, Windows Embedded Standard 2009 and 2011, as they offer specific features to further ruggedize a system, including the Enhanced Write Filter (EWF), which will protect the operating system from corruption if the PC is incorrectly shutdown. Windows Embedded can be tailored to run your application only, helping to prevent unauthorised programs from compromising system reliability

4. All of our systems are built in a clean, anti-static environment by our experienced engineers in the UK. For each new system design, they will work out the best assembly and cabling layouts to follow to optimise the cooling performance of the system. Each system is checked by a second engineer before it moves on to the final stage.

5. System testing is the final step in providing a reliable solution. Every system that we build will go through a 24 hour burn-in test, which includes running the entire system at 100% load, monitoring temperatures, testing all I/O and rebooting the system multiple times. If we detect any hint of a reliability issue, we will diagnose which component is causing the problem and replace it with a new one, we will then run through the full test procedure again before shipping the system out.

Long term availability
When specifying a system we always select core components (motherboard, chassis, OS etc) that will be available for a number of years (up to 7 years in some cases). Every motherboard that we sell is available for a minimum of 3 years from launch and because most of the chassis that we sell are built to our design, we can supply them for as long as required. Using an Embedded Windows OS also helps with providing a long-term solution

Having a system that is available for 3-7 years helps to minimise design costs and also simplifies support and maintenance of the device.

Features & functionality
Support for multiple analogue or IP cameras
Gigabit, Wi-Fi and 3G connectivity options
GPIO and serial I/O
Fully fanless/solid state solutions
Available with many terabytes of local or remote storage

Customisation
A custom chassis can be enough to make a product stand out from the crowd. We can create a entirely custom chassis from scratch to meet any requirements that you may have, including branding the chassis and packaging with your company logo

Windows Embedded can also be fully branded to appear as your product. It can be configured to boot straight into your software, so that the end user would not even realise that they are using a Windows based PC

Give one of our engineers a call  on 01527 406895 to learn more about the solutions that we can offer.