Birmingham City University – Simbulance

Requirements

The University sought to integrate advanced camera and recording capabilities into their newly commissioned Simbulance facility, located in the Seacole Building at the City South Campus.

The objective was to expand the existing CSKILLS infrastructure to meet the following requirements:

• Visual Capture: Strategic placement of cameras within the Simbulance and the surrounding room to capture events both inside and outside the vehicle
• Audio Integration: High-fidelity microphones positioned to enable clear audio capture across the entire simulation area
• Centralized Monitoring: Seamless live viewing and playback functionality accessible throughout the facility
• Clinical Data Sync: A vital signs interface to connect iSimulate iPad systems, allowing for the real-time capture of patient monitor data

The Solution

To meet these requirements, we implemented the following hardware configuration:

• Simbulance Interior: Two 1080p mini-dome wide-angle cameras and one overhead microphone, cabled directly to a digital mixer
• Exterior Simulation Area: Two CSKILLS 1080p cameras and two overhead microphones cabled to the digital mixer
• Vital Signs Interface: A dedicated CSKILLS Vital Signs Interface installed at the front of the Simbulance, featuring an HDMI connection for patient monitor integration
• Enhanced Audio: To improve pickup quality, we installed a dedicated connection point and supplied a roaming lapel microphone kit. This can be used in conjunction with the overhead microphones to suit specific training scenarios

Summary

Leveraging the university's existing infrastructure made the expansion of the CSKILLS system a streamlined process. Utilizing the Cat-6 data cabling provided by the main contractor, we connected the new hardware to the primary network switch.

Using the CSKILLS Management Software, we quickly configured a new recording and streaming group for the area. Users can now select, view, and record any combination of the two internal cameras, the two external cameras, and the Vital Signs feed simultaneously.