Airports / Seaports / Railroads

Port Arthur, Sabine-Neches Waterway Improve Video Security

Port Arthur featured With high-level national security implications, live-camera views and the ability to quickly check recorded video is essential to the port’s operational standards for efficiency. As the fourth largest port in the U.S., Port Arthur in Texas’ Jefferson County is the number-one crude oil destination for foreign tankers, as well as the number-one commercial and military out-load port. Hundreds of vessels are processed through the channel each day, making their way from other domestic ports and from all over the globe into the Gulf of Mexico and up the Sabine-Neches Waterway.   With oil refineries and other critical infrastructure lining the 55 miles of river bank through Jefferson County, the sheriff’s department required a sophisticated security surveillance system to monitor waterway traffic and incidents. Deputies needed to ensure the safety of those working and traveling through the port, and to keep commercial and military traffic flowing.   A vast waterway traffic-monitoring network has been deployed at Sabine-Neches to ensure all vessels can safely navigate the waters. The new surveillance system also monitors the many petroleum refineries that line the channel. Backed by a Verizon Wireless 4G connection, the county cameras alongside the waterway are networked through the use of Milestone XProtect Enterprise surveillance software.   “Milestone’s open platform IP software integrates with all of the cameras seamlessly” said Mark Nolan of Knight Security Systems, the designer and integrator of the Sabine-Neches Waterway monitoring and surveillance project. “Milestone XProtect provides the sheriff’s department with more high-definition screen images […]

Canadian Border ?Most Likely Entry Point? For Terrorists, U.S. Congress Hears

U.S. Border Patrol agents talk while at a marina on the Niagara River at the U.S.-Canada border on June 3, 2013 in Beaver Island State Park, New York. U.S. Customs and Border Protection, which includes the Border Patrol, monitors the 5,525 mile long border, including Alaska, forming the longest international border between two countries in the world. OTTAWA — Canada represents the greatest threat from terrorists trying to enter the United States, a top U.S. border agent told congressional lawmakers this week. “As far as I am aware, all recent threat assessments have pointed to the northern border as the most likely point of entry into our country for terrorists,” Brandon Judd, president of the National Border Patrol Council, told a House of Representatives’ subcommittee on national security. Judd, who represents more than 17,000 unionized Border Patrol agents, offered no specifics in his prepared statement to the committee, hearing testimony about reforming the agents’ pay system. Still, he warned the panel that U.S. officials must not become complacent about the dangers that lurk along the border with Canada and “the ongoing threat … to the safety of the American public.” “In the early to mid-1990s, San Diego and El Paso were ground zero for both illegal immigration and drug smuggling,” he said. “In response, the border patrol threw all of its resources at those two areas without also strengthening the other areas of the border.” The thinking was that Arizona’s inhospitable climate and terrain would help deter other illegal […]

Vision-Box Deploys Biometric eGates At Lisbon International Airport

vision-box November 7, 2013 –  Vision-Box  has announced that it has set up biometric Automated Border Control eGates at the Lisbon International Airport. In particular, the gates that have been deployed are the company’s vb i-match 5, which can process the Portuguese ePassports as well as the Portuguese National Citizen Card and holders of diplomatic or special passports as part of recently implemented pilot projects for Brazilian and Angolan nationals. To verify the identity of users passing through the gates, vb i-match 5 uses biometrics, including iris, fingerprint and facial recognition. This particular gate design has been in production since 2007. “Today, as in 2007, Portugal continues in the forefront of automated border control and Vision-Box is delighted to continue to support SEF and have a positive impact in keeping Portuguese borders safe while at the same time providing a good passenger experience,” Miguel Leitmann, Senior Vice President of Vision-Box said. Reported previously , Vision-Box also recently deployed eGates at the Hamad International Airport in Qatar. Earlier this year, Vision-Box launched what it was calling a ‘ biometric periscope ,’ for long distance capture of face and iris in self-service eGates. The device is capable of capturing biometrics from a distance of 1 metre. Leave a Comment comments

PureTech Systems Delivers Geospatial Surveillance System In Spanish

[October 23, 2013] (ENP Newswire Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) ENP Newswire – 23 October 2013 Release date- 23102013 – PHOENIX, Ariz.-PureTech Systems specializing in geospatial video surveillance software, has announced the release of the latest version of its PureActiv system including a new Spanish language GUI. The new version, recently deployed for an undisclosed maritime border protection location, marks the first deployment of the Spanish version of the company’s map-based command and control. The installation is a coastal deployment and will provide border protection for both landside and water side intrusions. The system also provides for monitoring and response to potential pirating activity. PureTech Systems’ recent installation showcases its new Spanish language user interface. The deployment includes a variety of perimeter detection sensors all integrated within the PureActiv geospatial command and control. ‘The addition of the Spanish language user interface to our product is an important milestone,’ states Kevin Campbell, vice president of sales at PureTech Systems. ‘The need for geospatial video surveillance is worldwide, and this new capability is an added convenience for our Spanish speaking customers.’ This installation includes a variety of sensors, including cctv cameras, long range thermal detection, radars, long range acoustic hailing devices, fence intrusion systems and PureTech Systems’ video analytics, advanced auto camera tracking and geospatial (map-based) command and control. The system achieves the added sophistication of providing detection over both land and water environments. The new Spanish interface is a configurable option in the latest version of the PureActiv command and control […]

Oncam Grandeye 360-Degree Technology Chosen To Protect Ireland’s Shannon Airport

Oncam Grandeye, the global innovator in technology, security solutions and 360-degree surveillance cameras, has been awarded a contract for the Shannon Airport Authority. Glasgow-based Video Management Systems (VMS), which selected Oncam Grandeye’s technology, will be the local integrator on the project, and the cameras will be controlled and managed through Titan Vision, VMS’ IP CCTV video management and PSIM solution. Shannon Airport is located on the western-most part of Ireland and is considered to be the gateway between Europe and the Americas. It handles approximately 3 million people a year, and nearly 50,000 metric tons of freight gets transported through its cargo area. The facility is enormous, with 40 check-in desks, 5 baggage carousels and 14 boarding gates (including 6 air bridges). There are nearly 40 aircraft parking stands. The car-parks can hold more than 5,000 cars. John Francis, the security manager at Shannon Airport, faces myriad challenges, and he tackled the terminal first. 360-degree cameras have been placed at the boarding gates in the large, congested area used by low-cost airlines. The main reason for surveillance here is health and safety. “We’re looking for slips and trips,” says Francis. Other cameras are positioned in the arrivals area, which houses vending machines, ATM’s, car-hire desks and pay stations for the car park. “The PTZ (pan-tilt-zoom camera) was always looking the wrong way when something happened, and was sometimes left zoomed in by an operator,” he said. “This is never the case with the 360; we see everything.” Shannon needed […]