Milestone Systems Makes Newborn Rhino an Online Star
Milestone Systems, the open platform company in IP video management software (VMS), has entered a strategic collaboration with Copenhagen Zoo. One of the main aims behind this partnership is to use video as a tool to extend and enhance visitors’ experience and create new business possibilities for Copenhagen Zoo.
The first successful event using the networked video technology was the online broadcast of the birth of a male rhino calf at the zoo, on January 24 this year. The broadcast attracted more than 35,000 views on YouTube and generated further media interest. Rhino births in zoos are rare and the last delivery in Copenhagen Zoo was in 1982. The zoo has created a section on their website dedicated to the event. Holders of annual passes can now watch live video from the rhino pen and get more information on this endangered species. The video feeds from the zoo are currently only accessible to those who have an annual pass to the zoo.
"Copenhagen Zoo is very positive about the video technology possibilities in this strategic partnership with Milestone Systems,” said Steffen Straede, CEO at Copenhagen Zoo. “Milestone has opened our eyes to new uses of video and shown us marketing opportunities that we had not discovered ourselves. The video software is not only helping us with safety and protection of the animals and staff; there are so many additional possibilities as well. It is a fascinating new category of management tool that is expanding into our line of business. We see a very positive reaction from our patrons when we announce the birth of an animal. The use of video technology gives the zoo patrons the possibility to experience the animals close up and undisturbed.”
The open platform technology in Milestone XProtect enables Copenhagen Zoo to pick camera brands and models that are perfectly suited to the highly challenging environment in the park. When the rhino calf was born, the national Danish broadcaster DR requested a live video feed from the rhino pen. The open architecture of the Milestone software helped facilitate this request on short notice, and the rhino calf became an instant media darling on Danish prime time television.
“We are dedicated to furthering the benefits of open platform software to video-enable business. The use of video to enrich patrons’ experience of Copenhagen Zoo is a clear testimonial to the value of our technology, empowering through our technology to reach beyond monitoring and protecting the animals,” said Kenneth Hune Petersen, chief sales and marketing officer at Milestone Systems. “We have an excellent relationship with Copenhagen Zoo, and we look forward to developing new concepts that can further enhance the experience of parks in the future."