WHAT WORKS
Video analytics operate in real-time at New Jersey Transit
New Jersey Transit (NJT) is the United States’ largest statewide public transportation system. It covers a service area of 5,325 square miles and manages more than 800,000 daily trips on 240 bus routes, three light rail lines and 11 commuter rail lines linking major points in New Jersey, New York and Philadelphia. Exemplary organization and management skills are required to operate efficiently and safely. Securing an operation of this magnitude requires endurance and determination — and the right equipment.
The new Secaucus Transfer Station implements Nice-Vision digital video and audio recording solutions. Located midway between New York and Newark’s Penn Stations, the Secaucus Transfer Station is a multi-level rail station built on 28 acres in Secaucus, N.J. The Secaucus Transfer Station has been the most complex station construction project in NJT history. The station and supporting infrastructure are built above three active rail lines, including the electrified Northeast Corridor — one of the busiest rail corridors in the world.
NJT selected the NiceVision digital video and audio recording solution for the new station with more than 200 cameras currently integrated with 16 digital video recorders, providing security throughout the passenger terminal.
The NiceVision solution meets requirements for public safety without affecting the ultimate goal of efficiently moving large numbers of passengers. Under today’s pressure for heightened security, the system’s high video quality and wide range of storage options are important features as is its ability to monitor, record and analyze data from various cameras simultaneously. An open architecture platform provides a safe and easy-to-manage operating environment by easily integrating with supplementary security and communication systems.
Analytical video programs are designed to detect and call attention to predetermined behaviors such as erratic movements; people or cars converging on each other; a person or vehicle or an object staying in one place for an extended period; a person or vehicle traveling against the normal flow; and objects newly appearing on the scene. The software behind these systems can also automatically recall video from a few minutes before these incidents occurred and capture an image of the person who left the vehicle or the package, allowing security personnel to circulate the photo to patrolling officers over networked handheld computers.
NICE Systems, Ra’anana, Israel
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Video on track in Cape Town
On rail platforms in Cape Town, South Africa, video images are transmitted from two pan/tilt/zoom cameras traveling along an aluminum rail mounted on the ceiling or wall of a passenger platform. The camera carriage — The SentryVision SmartTrack system by Sentry Technology Corp. — travels at speeds of up to 13 feet per second and provides unobstructed views of passenger activity. SmartTrack can be operated using a conventional video console as well as a wireless handheld terminal that frees the operator to patrol a passenger platform while maintaining viewing, control and recording of video images. Software features enable many programmable operations including alarming inputs and tours of up to 60 stops along the track and 64 presets per camera.
“The system was recently installed on rail platforms in Cape Town at the junction of rail, bus and taxi services to manage public safety and security threats,” says Peter Murdoch, president and CEO of Sentry Technology Corp., Ronkonkoma, N.Y. “The project is ongoing and will include a total of 10 stations.”
Sentry Technology has more than 2,500 SmartTrack systems installed in large retail, distribution and freight companies worldwide and is bidding business in the U.S. public transportation sector. Sentry Technology Corp., Ronkonkoma, N.Y.
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Pre-approve travelers and video-on-the-go
Vancouver International Airport has installed a converged network for its support operations in the past two years. It is used to update the security system and install IP telephony for new applications.
The airport features a self-serve check-in system, with security including Nexus Air to allow pre-approved travelers to verify identity with biometric iris recognition. The Nexus Air application uses the wireless/wired network Cisco infrastructure. The airport also uses more than 1,000 CCTV cameras, which are routed back to a command center. Video can be pulled up on PDAs to allow officers to track an incident easily. “These updates have increased efficiency and prepared Vancouver for the large volume of travelers at the Winter Olympics in 2010, without having the expense of building out infrastructure,” says Judy May, industry solution manager for Transportation Solutions at Cisco Systems Inc.
Every camera is digital and is recorded onto a hard drive in the control room. Passengers and airlines may request to see a certain camera.
Nexus Air is a partnership with the Canadian border allowing passengers to pre-register and perform a background check. “Our challenge is to maintain security and safety without inhibiting the passenger’s experience,” says Kevin Molloy, vice president of simplified passenger travel and chief information officer. “We believe we have a more secure environment and improved communications. We will continue to push this system to move ahead and to improve services to passengers.” Cisco Systems, San Jose, Calif.
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Smart cards, smarter video at Port Everglades
In 1998, Port Everglades in Florida saw more cocaine importation than any other port in the world, according to U.S. customs. The plan to enhance security at the port included instituting criminal background checks for employees, and hiring Ross and Baruzzini, St. Louis, Mo., to improve technical security.
After the Sept. 11 attacks, other threats became an issue at the port. As a result, the security project budget increased from $12 million to a $45 million program, including a camera system, an access control system and additional staff. The port built a command-and-control center for security and emergency operations in order to enhance security domain awareness for better response to security breaches.
“Security at Port Everglades is high compared to rest of U.S. ports,” says Jeff Brown, director of business development of critical infrastructure at Ross and Baruzzini.
For the security system, the Object-Video camera system was selected to provide general surveillance, cameras at all entry control points and cameras covering the perimeter of the port using intelligent video detection. A camera spotting a specific, predefined event sets off an alarm to alert the security staff to dispatch a sheriff’s deputy to respond to the event. A Lenel Systems access control system combines access control and digital video monitoring on one computer monitor.
The access control system uses readers that recognize a biometric smart card that is part of the Transportation Worker Identification Card (TWIC) pilot program for the TSA.
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