Improving Student Safety at a Private University’s Urban Campus

Clark Atlanta University (CAU) is a private university established in 1865. With nearly 3,500 undergraduate students and hundreds of faculty members, CAU is the largest school in the Atlanta University System. Its urban campus spans 126 acres near downtown Atlanta, Georgia, and provides official student housing via residential dorm buildings.

The Challenges

Clark Atlanta University uses video surveillance proactively. To effectively monitor and respond to safety threats, they needed a fast, reliable, and smart system—and their previous system wasn't up to their standards.

Before switching to Rhombus, Clark Atlanta University was using Genetec for video surveillance. As the system aged, CAU began looking for a cloud-based solution with technology that would stand the test of time and help them proactively protect students and faculty.

Insufficient Live Monitoring Performance

Clark Atlanta University has a team of safety officers who monitor live video feeds around the clock. Because they watch footage in real-time, it’s vital that the system streamlines the process by analyzing the video and providing dynamic alerts. However, CAU’s prior video surveillance system couldn't provide the intelligent alerts and analytics they needed.

Time-Consuming, Frame-by-Frame Investigations

Without effective video analytics, security officers had to go over footage frame-by-frame to obtain useful details about an event. For example, if they wanted to identify a suspicious individual entering a building, they had to examine each image manually. It made investigations time-consuming and more prone to error, especially at scale.

“When incidents occurred, our previous system would miss critical images. The video resolution and frame rate weren’t powerful enough to reliably capture the information we needed.”

– Dr. Bo Tang, Director of Enterprise Architecture at Clark Atlanta University

The Solution

Led by Dr. Bo Tang, Director of Enterprise Architecture, Clark Atlanta University is deploying hundreds of Rhombus cameras across their campus buildings. By using Rhombus’ intelligent video analytics and remote access capabilities, security officers can quickly identify and respond to threats and manage security proactively.

The Benefits

Proactive Live Monitoring with Smart & Dynamic Alerts

Clark Atlanta University uses Rhombus’ AI video analytics and real-time notifications to instantly notify safety officers of suspicious activity. The Rhombus platform automatically analyzes security footage and sends custom alerts based on what the cameras detect. These intelligent alerts allow the officers—who typically monitor hundreds of live feeds simultaneously—to quickly and reliably direct their attention where it’s most needed.

Facial Recognition Secures Building Entrances

Because CAU is a public campus in an urban area, many non-student visitors are on and around the main campus. CAU uses Rhombus' facial recognition technology to monitor buildings for unauthorized individuals. They upload photos of local criminals and unauthorized persons, and their patrol officers are immediately alerted if one of these suspicious individuals enters any campus building secured by Rhombus.

Unlimited Users & Flexible Remote Access

With Rhombus, CAU has the freedom and flexibility to extend system access to everyone who needs it. Rhombus allows unlimited users and devices, which Dr. Tang says is a significant benefit compared to the strict licensing rules and device limits found with most software solutions.

Equipping Safety Officers with an Intuitive Mobile App

As part of CAU’s security strategy, Dr. Tang coordinates with the public safety department. Nearly every campus safety officer has the Rhombus Mobile App installed on their college-issued phone—including the president. With the Mobile App, safety officers can view camera livestreams from anywhere and receive real-time alerts with synchronized footage while on patrol. They can rapidly gain context when an incident occurs and take immediate action to protect students.

Easy, Straightforward Deployment

Clark Atlanta University plans hardware deployments around the school year. For the initial installation, Dr. Tang needed their new video security system to be ready by the time students came back from summer break. The Rhombus team led the entire deployment and got CAU’s new system up and running within that limited timeframe.

Beginning with Heritage Commons

Rhombus was first added to CAU’s student housing facility, Heritage Commons. Because this housing complex is located closest to the city’s urban center, the security team prioritized improving student safety at this location.

Unparalleled Quality of Service

Dr. Tang was looking for a video surveillance solution with long-term viability. Rhombus' 10-year warranty provides him with peace of mind, and they love the responsive and knowledgeable support team.

Embracing a Long-Term Partnership

For CAU, partnering with Rhombus is a long-term commitment that involves trust and strong communication. “During the whole process, I’ve been extremely impressed with the Rhombus team,” says Dr. Tang. “They are very professional, responsive to our needs, and the level of support we receive goes above and beyond.