Cameras on board

In areas such as transportation, the use of IP cameras can be crucial, reducing cabling and streamlining installation.

If a company is already providing a network on a train, for instance, it is a natural step to add cameras for both operating safety and security from crime.

One company that has specialised in this area is March Networks, which has had its mobile video surveillance selected by a giant in the world of passenger railways.

Bombardier Transportation is the global leader in manufacturing and servicing of rail and other transit systems. It is using the March Networks video surveillance as part of its Sekurflo system which is on trains on many railway networks worldwide, including plans for new trains on the London Underground.

Sekurflo provides both IP and analogue cameras, bi directional wireless communication and video analytics. Using IP cameras will reduce the amount of cabling and streamline installation.

"If you're already providing a network infrastructure on a train, it makes sense to add cameras to it," said Chris Crawford, Bombardier's director of transit security solutions and products.

Wireless communication is through integration with Bombardier's Train Control Management System and its Mobile Communications Gateway, a wireless system that accommodates GSM and WiFi.

Obstructed camera alert

Basic video analytics will alert train personnel to cameras that have been obstructed, and more advanced analytics will be offered to meet specific transit needs.

"Instead of sending transit security personnel to confirm that every train going out of service is empty, you could use video analytics," says Crawford. "If you have a fleet of 2,800 cars, that's a big saving."

Video analytics on the Sekurflo security system proved its effectiveness at a trade show when a booth attendant's mobile phone went missing.

"He checked the security system and, sure enough, there was an alarm," says Crawford. "When he double-clicked on it to pull up the video, you could clearly see the person picking up the phone and walking away with it."

Police were provided with a photograph and an arrest was made. Gunshot analytics is also being considered for the Sekurflo system, alerting train personnel instantly to the discharge of a firearm. Said Crawford: "The objective is to respond as quickly as possible to an event both to mitigate it and return to a state of normal operations with as little delay as possible."

March Networks was selected for the sole source relationship because of its expertise in networking, its track record in OEM relationships, and its ability to use video recording R&D knowledge gained in other markets for the benefit of the transit sector.

Streetcar named safety

The company has also entered into a similar agreement with Wabtec Corporation to supply locomotive DVRs for freight rail and, in another transport application, is helping Helsinki City Transport to get people out of their gas guzzling cars and on to the streetcar fleet.

Finland's capital city began cracking down on graffiti on its streetcar system in 1998.

Helsinki's anti-graffiti project director, Kauko Haantie, said "We were one of the worst cities in Europe. Now we're the cleanest".

March Networks 5308 MDVRs have been effective in combating graffiti, and savings made in the fight against vandalism have helped cover the cost of the systems. Helsinki is the fourth coldest capital city in the world with temperatures plunging to -25ºC (-13º F) in winter.

Heavy snowfall and extreme conditions meant the MDVRs had to be compliant with the IP-65 standard for protection against vibration, shock, dust, water and electromagnetic interference.

Eight cameras on board

Security systems integrator Tele-Projekti Oy installed the MDVRs to the fleet of 131 trams for the HKL transit authority in 2005 and completed a second phase last year. The MDVRs record video from up to eight cameras spaced throughout the articulated, two-wagon vehicles.

When cleaners find fresh graffiti or windows damaged by vandals using sharp instruments, security staff pull the removable hard-drive, search for evidence and provide video clips to police.

With a video system able to identify them and with prison terms of up to two years, vandalism has decreased dramatically. The savings in cleaning costs alone add up to 200,000 euros per year. The systems have also been used successfully in investigations of several incidents in which drivers were robbed. Signage informing the public of video recording also helps with deterrence. Kimmo Luoto, MD of security systems integrator Tele-Projekti Oy, says there are plans for a wireless LAN that would allow security staff to schedule automatic downloads of video in the evening when the trams return to the service depot.

"Maintenance and software updates will also be much easier with wireless," says Luoto.

Founded in 1975, Tele-Projekti Oy is a security system integrator based in Turku, Finland. The company specialises in installing CCTV, access control, alarms and communication systems.

And at the airport...

March Networks DVRs are also central to CCTV security of air cargo handling.

Alliance Air has more than one million sq. ft. of air cargo handling facilities at international airports in Chicago, New York, Miami and Atlanta, and operates a road feeder service to more than 225 cities across the US and Canada.

From its control room in Chicago, security staff can monitor activities at cargo handling facilities at the airports.

Alliance Air was one of the first air cargo handlers to establish a dedicated in-house security department to oversee its access control and video surveillance systems. It began replacing an old system with 20 March Networks 4000 Series DVRs in 2005. These provide three months of high quality video storage.

Air cargo is usually delivered on large aluminium pallets. Cargo handlers sort and store it for customs clearance and pickup, or shipment to another destination via a road feeder service. Outbound cargo is consolidated by destination and loaded on pallets for delivery to aircraft.

Security staff primarily review archived video after an incident has been reported.

Alliance Air’s Florida-based security system supplier, Benham Security, recommended March Networks DVRs.

They have a Linux operating system stored in flash memory and the docking station allows a user to service a unit without having to disassemble the camera inputs or other cabling.

Says Alliance Air secury supervisor, Will Truesdale: “If a hard-drive fails in a March Networks DVR, you just replace the drive and you're back up and running”.

He also liked the onscreen navigation system controlling ptz via the computer mouse, and the docking station.

“Having to unhook and then reconnect multiple cables without mixing them up can be very time-consuming. The docking station design will make it a lot easier. It's more or less plug and play”.

More information: www.marchnetworks.com