Top London Hotel Upgrades Security with IndigoVision

Editor / Provider: Source: IndigoVision | Updated: 2/11/2009 | Article type: Commercial Markets

IndigoVision's complete IP Video system has been installed at the prestigious London Marriott Hotel in Kensington, as part of a video security upgrade.



The seven-storey, 216 room hotel wanted to upgrade its surveillance capability with the very best available technology, to meet the ever increasing security demands of a central London hotel. By deploying the IndigoVision solution, the hotel re-used its existing analog video infrastructure while adding advanced features and superior image quality that was not available from the original system. The surveillance upgrade was installed by IndigoVision's approved partner Astro Communications.



The security threats facing a city center hotel are significant, not only does a surveillance system have to aid guest and staff safety but also has to monitor the security issues around high-profile guests and specific incidents such as walk-in-theft. It is therefore, vitally important to have a flexible surveillance solution that provides the very best image quality and analysis tools.



"The IndigoVision system provides us with an excellent tool for monitoring the security of the hotel," said Jim Fraser, Marriott Hotel Chief Engineer. "The video quality is superb and the facilities of the video management software are far superior to what was achievable with the old CCTV system."



Control Center, IndigoVision's IP Video and alarm management software is used by the security operators to view live and recorded video from all of the cameras in and around the hotel. A single PC running Control Center software replaced all of the original analog control room equipment and at the same time provided a suite of tools for viewing and analyzing the video. Over 30 days of video recording is achieved using IndigoVision's standalone rugged network video recorders (NVRs), providing a fault-tolerant recording solution.



"The analysis tools allow us to quickly identify recorded footage of an incident, even well after the fact," added Jim Fraser. "Following a recent hit-and-run incident on one of our driveways, we were able to quickly identify the relevant footage and export evidential quality video for the Police."



This project demonstrates how the benefits of an IndigoVision IP Video solution can be achieved without the need to replace much of the original investment in the existing analog surveillance. The migration from analog to digital can be achieved seamlessly, with little or no surveillance downtime. Astro Communications reused all of the original cameras and coax cable infrastructure for the Marriott hotel project. The original hardware switching matrix was replaced with IndigoVision's 8000 transmitter/receiver modules that convert the analog camera feeds into DVD quality MPEG-4 digital video for transmission over a local IP network, to which the Control Center workstation and NVRs are also connected. The combination of Control Center and the IP network creates a virtual matrix, that provides far more flexibility and scalability than a traditional hardware matrix.

Video Analytics – the Next Big Move in CCTV

Editor / Provider: Submitted by Catalyst PR | Updated: 12/10/2008 | Article type: Tech Corner

With the increased demand for the application of video analytics in both old and new CCTV systems, we set out to find some guidelines on how to future proof the investments both in terms of the transmission system and the analytics software.


There is much debate with regards to how efficient the use of CCTV is, not least in terms of crime prevention. This to a large extend is down to the fact that CCTV footage often has been of poor quality. However, it is now predicted that the use of video analytics software will significantly change the perception of CCTV. According to Graeme Gerrard, Deputy Chief Constable of Cheshire Police; "The contribution of CCTV to the detection of crime is likely to equal that of DNA and fingerprints."


The increased use of video analytics can safely be deemed the 'next big move' in CCTV and the market growth for this emerging technology bears testament. The figures are documented by the latest research from Frost & Sullivan where Dilip Sarangan, Industry Analyst for Physical Security Group explained, "Video Analytics is a relatively new technology and our research only started in 2004. However, we expect the World market to grow from US $145.7 Mill in 2008 to US$ 416.3 Mill in 2012. That equals an annual compound growth rate from 2005 to 2012 of 31.9%. If we look at the equivalent figures for Europe, Middle East and Africa they show an annual compound growth from 2005 to 2012 of 29.9%."


As with any emerging technology there is much confusion; when is the right time to invest, where should the video analytics be located, how do you gain the most from investing in video analytics applications -  are just some of the issues the end users as faced with.


We have spoken to Chris Gomersall, CEO of Ipsotek, a UK based company specialised in the development of Intelligent Video Analytics Software and Dr. Alan Hayes, Founder and MD of AMG Systems, a manufacturer of CCTV transmission systems, to get some guidelines with regards to what users should be looking for when considering the implementation of video analytics on existing or new CCTV systems.


Image quality: alpha and omega for scene analysis software
Chris Gomersall said "Let's start by looking at where to apply the software. Basically there are 2 options: At the camera point or in the control room. Add to this the consideration that good analysis requires maximum video content."


"Video analytics can help to enhance the CCTV operator's effectiveness by alerting them to events, live as they happen, allowing them to take action quickly to intervene or call the authorities. However, it is vital for the effectiveness of any software solution that the quality of the image is useful for the purpose", Chris Gomersall explained. "It is worth pointing out that the 'quality of image' issue not only applies to existing CCTV installations, where an upgrade with video analytics software can increase the efficiency in terms of using CCTV images for forensic evidence to help solve crimes. Likewise, for new CCTV projects there is a requirement to ensure that future proofing takes high priority. This becomes even more important because - as has already been pointed out - the push towards IP based CCTV systems in itself, creates a limitation because of the compression which is introduced to the video signal."


Compression limits the usability of CCTV Systems
"It is evident that for systems where pre-event analysis takes place, either using traditional security operators in a control room or the more recent pixel based analysis software, the reduction in video quality caused by compression can severely limit the usability of the CCTV system", said Chris Gomersall.


Dr. Hayes supplemented, "Video compression unfortunately compromises what you can do. In a highways system for example it affects traffic management capabilities and others such as security, which is where the market is heading right now. When you compress CCTV images for transmission, you're essentially throwing away low value information. If nothing changes from frame to frame, then a compression-based system will see no reason to re-send an image. If you get motion then you send the changes. Hence with compressed video you get basic motion detection. What you don't get is pixel-based recognition. This is why Ethernet based solutions need analytics at the camera, not in the control room."


Chris Gomersall: "The motion detection approach is fine if you can do what you need to when you buy a system. But it means that upgrades are a problem, because as processing power increases, eventually you will have to upgrade on a per camera basis - and that could potentially become a very costly affair".


Consider the security aspect
 "Another important consideration from the security aspect is that Ethernet systems can be hacked. It is possible to break into a system at any point and inject your own feeds - there are actually documents on the internet describing how to do this. Of course you can put firewalls in place but these can also be penetrated", said Dr.Hayes. "It is also worth considering that Ethernet systems require skilled maintenance distributed to all the remote locations. If the system breaks down, it can take a very long time to get the network up and running again. Further, migrating to next generation you could potentially be looking at a complete swap of remote equipment."


"For the transmission system there is good news. Even for large wide area networks it is now possible to use uncompressed digital video transmission, such as recently implemented by the Museum of Islamic Art in Doha in Qatar. This transmission technology replicates the capabilities of an Ethernet system and transmits the entire content of the video images back to the control room. It also allows for drop-and-insert of camera signals - as and when required - as well as dual redundancy. It even carries Ethernet which for example could be used for simultaneous retrieval of DVR images", said Dr. Hayes.


"There is a significant point to be made with regards to what you want the analytics to detect for you", said Chris Gomersall. "This is why we prefer to talk about intelligent video analytic. If for example you want to track a drug deal in a nightclub – where it is noisy, dark, and full of people behaving slightly silly, you can actually program the analytics for each individual camera to track certain behaviour. One camera might be equipped with software capable of tracking behaviour associated with handing over drugs, whilst other cameras might be equipped with software tracking for other things such as aggression, facial recognition of wanted criminals etc. Compare this to an application which could, to some extent, be considered exceedingly boring for an operator – watching the London Eye 24/7 in order to make sure no-one attempts to climb it. Now, there is obviously motion in the picture already as the Eye is moving, so you need an intelligent solution capable of recognizing a human climbing the wheel which will then raise an alarm in order for the operator to take appropriate measures."  


Dr. Hayes concluded, "For 'observation critical' infrastructure and security applications, AMG always recommends that the CCTV images are brought back to the control room in uncompressed format. This approach future proofs the CCTV solution and caters for the application of Intelligent Video Analytics."


The Video Analytics Check List

1. If you are looking to increase the level of surveillance without increasing manpower Video Analytics is a cost effective solution as it allows you to install more CCTV cameras and monitor them without increasing manpower.

2. Video analytics works best on uncompressed video in the control room.

3. Video analytics can often retrofit into existing systems, using existing cameras.  Hence it improves the ROI and efficiency of existing CCTV installations.

4. Video analytics is good for camera views where there is little regular activity. It allows an activity to be flagged up for the attention of the operator and thereby reduces the risk of overlooking a "dull" camera point.

5. Intelligent video analytics systems are individually programmable on a per camera basis. This reduces the number of false alarms as the built in intelligence know how to deal with  a busy scene.

6. If you have a system which requires monitoring of several events simultaneously, effective analytics systems have an ability to intelligently decide if an alarm should be triggered or not. 

Crisis? What Crisis?!

Editor / Provider: Submitted by Catalyst Communications | Updated: 9/30/2008 | Article type: Hot Topics

As the term credit crunch has entered our daily vocabulary and as the so-called crunch more and more takes on the full measures of a "crisis," we found it prudent to investigate how the British security industry is coping.


It is evident that the housing market in Britain has taken a decided downturn with falling property prices and hard-to-get (and expensive) mortgages for first-time buyers. Topped with ever-increasing food and fuel prices, the average family economy is certainly more than influenced  it is stretched!


But it is a different story as to how well the security industry is coping.


"As the U.K. faces this financial crisis, the effects on the industry are not yet known," commented Alex Carmichael, Technical Director for the British Security Industry Association (BSIA). "While there will be increased costs as prices increase, security should still remain a fundamental priority for businesses."


Domestically, there is the potential risk of an increase in crime; consequently, this is the time that businesses should be ensuring stringent security measures are in place to aid crime prevention. "In the long term, projects like the London 2012 Olympics will bring revenue to the industry," continued Carmichael. "However, exporters will be faced with many challenges over the coming months, depending on how international markets cope with this global issue."


Looking to London 2012
After the Beijing Olympics successfully concluded, the British security industry is now eagerly looking into the first tenders of the 2012 Games. On July 21, the Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA) began the process of inviting expression of interest for its command and perimeter security system (CPSS).


The CPSS contract comprises the design, manufacture, supply, installation, integration, works and site testing, commissioning, maintenance and training for a range of systems. The total investment in security in connection with the 2012 Games started out with an initial budget of US$400 million in 2005 and has now spiraled to more than $2 billion.


According to a BBC report, the Metropolitan Police Service wants to pool its 10,000 cameras with the thousands of exiting traffic and congestion cameras across the city. This would give the police control over a network of up to half a million surveillance cameras, making it the largest of its kind in the world. The network would then be controlled by a $200-million, bombproof command bunker operated jointly by the military, police and intelligence services, brought together under the Olympic Security Directorate.


Itˇs a gamble
According to Chris Gomersall, CEO of Ipsotek, the financial downturn does not seem to have generated any impact in the industry  so far. "Weˇve seen strong demand over the past 12 months; coincidentally, this is through the duration of the crunch."


There is, however, one area where Gomersall noticed a slight influence. "Casinos are supposed to be immune to financial downturns. It seems that the punters have been tightening the belt and we have seen a couple of casino projects postponed." Overall, though, Gomersall thinks it is far too early to take stock.

Survival of the Fittest

Editor / Provider: Hayden Hsu | Updated: 9/23/2008 | Article type: Hot Topics

After the subprime mortgage, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac crises in the United States, fears of credit crunch and hard landing seem to have swept the world over. ASMAG.com looks into how these financial issues might have affected or will affect the security business.


The U.S. Federal Reserve (FED) lowered interest rates in 2001 to stem economic and financial crises after Sept. 11th. The move attracted investors to invest in real estate en masse, leading to a boom in housing construction as borrowers with low incomes and bad credits were encouraged to sign subprime mortgage agreements with high default rates.


Unfortunately, starting from 2006, house prices decreased dramatically which in turn made refinancing more and more difficult, resulting in the painfully felt credit crunch. "Many defaulted and their houses were acquired by lenders, who tried to sell these houses in a hurry to pay their debts to government-backed banks like Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac," Kilic continued. "House prices went down further, causing the housing bubble to burst. And the subprime crisis emerged."


In the beginning, most economists thought that the crisis was a local problem within the United States. "Ripple effects in the international arena soon appeared with the Northern Rock bank run. Bank of China then had one of its biggest drops as the bank was holding almost US$9.7 billion of securities backed by U.S. subprime loans," Kilic recounted. Now the crisis goes global.



North America
"Declines in new construction sites, high levels of house inventories and the degradation of subprime markets will continue to adversely affect the U.S. residential security market for the near future," said Tom Brigham, President of Brigham Scully Public Relations.


"However, the security industry is not a typical industry," Brigham clarified. For instance, government controlled entities, from transportation hubs and schools to military bases and embassies, will continue to add security systems to protect staff and attendees.


"It's often claimed that security is a recession-proof business. Security may be, but security products certainly are not," cautioned John Honovich, President of ipvideomarket.info. "The subprime meltdown is clearly evolving into a general debt crisis where accessing capital will become significantly harder for everyone."


Since security products are capital expenditures and capital is tightening, organizations are going to find it more painful to purchase new security products. "Just the talk of a downturn is enough to trigger a more conservative approach to budgeting," said Adam Stroud, Director of Sales and Marketing for Paxton Access. "Identifying a budget for installing and/or expanding security systems will be challenged fully by management during tougher economic times, by the question of the system's return on investment (ROI)," said Dave Tynan, Vice President of Global Sales at Canada-based Avigilon.


"Essentially, the recession will motivate companies to delay purchases and keep their existing systems for a few more years," Honovich predicted. This will have a severe impact on the security business, with possibly many security companies going out of business.


Europe and the Middle East
The strength of the Euro, at a record high versus the dollar, is becoming a problem for Europe's exporters. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) already lowered its 2008 GDP growth forecasts for Britain and Germany: from 1.75 percent to 1.4 percent and from 2 percent to 1.5 percent, respectively. "Our main concern as a European manufacturer is the weakening U.S. dollar," said Fabrizio Colciago, CEO of Italy-based Cieffe (a March Networks company). With around 70 percent of its revenue coming from abroad, the increasingly strong Euro has put a brake to Cieffe's otherwise healthy growth. "We are hoping for a more stable American economy."


In the Middle East, rising labor and material costs have made products more expensive to end users, said Itamar Yaar, CEO of Yaar Strategic Consultancy & Management. "The weak dollar works against us as most of our expenses are paid in Shekels while we used to price our systems in dollars," said Almog Aley-Raz, cofounder and CEO of Israel-based PerSay, also facing Colciago's conundrum. "We have moved to Euros (outside the United States) in order to compensate for this."


According to Archana Rao, Senior Research Analyst at Frost & Sullivan (EMEA), there are two possible outcomes as to how security will be affected. "The first is a mild recession causing a slowdown in the economy, slowdown in the construction sector and mild rise in unemployment which are expected to slow down the growth of the security market." A more serious impact on low-end segments will be witnessed, whereas high-end segments such as banking and corporate will still maintain or increase their security investments to maximize their ROI.


"The other possible scenario is a major recession," said Rao, "which causes business shutdowns, an increase in unemployment, total collapse in the housing sector and drastic reduction in security budgets, thereby posing significant challenges to all segments."


 "Demand will go down slightly, but effects on electronic security will be minimal and short-term," Yaar predicted. On July 21st, the British Olympic Delivery Authority began the process of inviting expression of interest for its command and perimeter security system (CPSS). The total investment in security in connection with the 2012 London Games started out with an initial budget of $400 million and has now spiraled to more than $2 billion.


Asia
The U.S. economic slump is definitely having an effect on the Southeast Asian economies, David Rees, Regional Manager, APAC, Salto Systems, believes. "There seems to be a slowdown in many of the region's countries." Singapore might be the only exception as high-end office and residential buildings are currently at record prices. "However, this may turn very quickly if the global share markets continue to weaken or experience a sharp drop in the near future," warned Stewart Yen, CEO of Secom Singapore. "When the economy is bad, the first thing people try to save on is security, especially in Singapore where it is generally perceived to be a safe city."


In India, the local economy is more integrated with the global one than ever before, said Yash Kansal, Senior Commercial Specialist, U.S. Commercial Service (Delhi, India). "The slump in the United States is severely impacting the Indian manufacturing and services market where companies are experiencing a dip in their profits, with the Sensex dropping by 40 percent in the last two to three months." With increasing inflation and interest rates, consumer spending is reducing, further impacting the demand for goods and services. "As businesses aim to cut costs to remain competitive, spending on budget heads such as security equipment is being deferred," Kansal observed.


China is not faring much better, either. Recent surveys done by ASMAG.com China indicate that the financial and economic crises have cast a shadow over the minds of many Chinese manufacturers and exporters, who are worrying about delayed payments and projects. Whether China will be able to escape the fate of a post-Olympics "economic hangover" remains to be seen.


WORDS OF ADVICE
"Corporate and high-end users will probably not be affected as much, as their security systems have other value-added functions like monitoring productivity and improving efficiency," said Sarangan. People who deploy security equipment solely for security purposes, on the other hand, will treat security as a cost and are more likely cut it when there might be cash flow problems.


"Thatˇs why we are counseling our clients to sell the 'payback' side of security systems and show how they increase profits and ROIs," Brigham suggested. Businesses should be asking: Will additional investments reduce the amount of investigation time, or improve response time so that investigations are conducted more effectively? "If we assume that short response time equals greater percentage of successful investigations, then there's improved ROI," illustrated Tynan. "Only higher performing systems will meet the needs of organizations during an economic downturn."


The government's Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae rescue plan should be a good sign, Brigham reassured. "It sends a signal to investors worldwide that the U.S. government is prepared to take all necessary steps to prevent the credit troubles from engulfing financial markets and further weakening the economy and housing markets."

U.K. Educational Institutions Relying on Camera Technology

Editor / Provider: SUBMITTED BY DALLMEIER, AXIS COMMUNICATIONS AND MIRASYS | Updated: 7/21/2008 | Article type: Education

Both modern and historic, centuries-old universities in the U.K. are using the latest surveillance and recording methods to keep an eye on property, staff and students.


Some 13,000 students attend Croydon College in South London. Classes continue into the evening and security is a priority. Barriers and swipe cards ensure that access is strictly controlled. OCS Security Systems provided a network of more than 60 cameras as well as Dallmeier recorders to keep watch over activity in and around the busy main building, particularly at key areas such as the perimeter, entrance, corridors and IT rooms.


The college has no need for full-time monitoring, but all camera views are captured by recorders and can be viewed in near-real time if required or called up later from recordings. Output from cameras is recorded to a trio of Dallmeier DLS 24 hard-disk recorders, and the college will soon be adopting Dallmeier's advanced Leonardo technology. The system includes H.264 high-standard video compression and simultaneous real-time recording of video and audio for all camera inputs at all frame rates. Leonardo also includes the option to view a real-time split display of all cameras connected to the recorder.


The switch to the Leonardo system will coincide with changes to the layout of the CCTV network. Recorders are grouped into a single location, from which they feed recordings to a bank of nine screens in the main control room. Without careful planning, the CCTV cabling layout would have needed frequent alterations during construction. OCS worked closely with college staff to come up with a solution that keeps cabling changes to a minimum by locating recorders close to cameras.

Managing a Growing University

Scotland's University of Aberdeen is going through rapid expansion with three new buildings due to be opened in the next few years. It is also partway through the second-largest WiFi deployment in the U.K., with some 1,000 Trapeze WiFi access points installed. Thirty personnel provide surveillance monitoring and physical patrolling throughout the campus, round the clock.


The University decided to rationalize four stand-alone analog CCTV systems and establish a central control room. The four systems varied in age and the University wanted a single system which would feature new cameras as well as existing analog cameras. The system would have to offer flexibility to cope with future expansion, and eliminate stand-alone proprietary systems that risked obsolescence.


Systems integrator Arthur McKay was appointed; and installed 20 Axis 233D network cameras, and 10 Axis 241Q video encoders were deployed to convert 35 existing analog CCTV cameras. A new virtual local area network (VLAN) carries video data from 55 cameras. The University's extensive network supplies 100 megabits per second of bandwidth to all cameras via a one-gigabit (GB) link at the server end. Images are stored on a RAID-5 SCSI device with 12 terabytes of data capacity, with Milestone Enterprise network video recording software Version 6.0e with Smart Client used for management and viewing of images.

Sixth Form College and Secondary School Protected

Students leaving the premises without clearance at England's The Campion School in Hornchurch, Essex, had become a growing problem. Video surveillance also acts as a powerful deterrent against vandalism, such as broken windows and graffiti. The costs from repairing and cleaning mount up over the years, eroding budgets and taking money away from other investments. If needed, recorded video can also be used to provide clear evidence in disciplinary situations, and discourage common student misdemeanours such as smoking, bullying, rowdiness and truancy.


The Mirasys V series was installed, together with IP and analog PTZ cameras and two Arecont 8 Megapixel 360? cameras. The megapixel cameras offer panoramic views and cinema-compatible, high-frame rates. An AV8306 camera can substitute up to 24 analog cameras, thereby reducing the cost of installation. The standard V series DVR can be enhanced to become a hybrid DVR/NVR system by adding network camera channels to the basic unit.


All Mirasys V series user inter faces are designed with usability as the utmost concern. The interfaces are designed from the users' perspectives to match ways of using software and security equipment to which they are already accustomed. The significant advantage of the Mirasys network video system is that viewing can be done remotely form anywhere over LAN, WAN or the Internet, as well as from several different locations simultaneously. PCs with a web browser or installed client software can retrieve images from any of the cameras in the system, based on their user access rights.

Threats in Airport Security

Editor / Provider: by a&s International | Updated: 7/16/2008 | Article type: Infrastructure

As airports are vast complexes filled with people, timely identification of threats is crucial to ensuring everyone's safety. A&S examines how various security systems from central management platforms to alarms.


Imagine being aboard an airplane, when a voice announces that the flight has been hijacked. This type of threat is exactly what aviation security aims to prevent. A complete threat assessment starts long before takeoff. Sabotage on the ground has potential to be deadly, but an airborne attack would almost certainly kill all.


While densely populated airports are also targets, their size and easy access make speedy evacuation possible and lower the risk of casualties. This accessibility also makes airports open to attack, requiring checkpoints to identify potential threats.Controlling access to airport facilities is a crucial step in screening passengers with malicious intent. No single piece of equipment, however, can serve as a magic bullet.


Airports are an undeniably big market for security, with some estimates putting worldwide air protection costs at US$5.6 billion each year. The amount of hardware required is significant. Cameras and explosive detection scanners are the most noticeable, but a host of other products form a total solution.


"We observe globally that there is a trend for ID biometrics and whole-body imagers," said Marie-France Mann, Consultant, Frost & Sullivan.


Other experts also see increasing deployment of biometrics. "Airports appreciate fingerprint and iris, as the technologies are more precise and established for one-to-one or one-to-many identification," said Victor Lee, Senior Consultant for the International Biometric Group. "Facial recognition has improved tremendously but has challenges that are out of its control, such as environmental conditions."


As airports require established solutions for a wide range of needs, major U.S. and European providers dominate the market. Frost & Sullivan named, without order, GE Security, Smiths, L-3, Rapiscan and Lockheed Martin as the main players for airports worldwide.


Terrorist Threat


One of the biggest threats facing airports is terrorism. With the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001 and the attempted 2005 London liquid-bomb plot, nearly all interviewees named deliberate acts of violence as threats that they hoped to eliminate. While the targets could be crowds in the airport terminal, mission-critical facilities like control towers or onboard planes, the possibility of suicide bombs is an undeniable fact.


"A successful suicide bomb attempt would devastate the airline industry," said Gary Tryon, Sales Manager for Europe, Middle East, Africa (EMEA) at Brijot Imaging Systems. "Among the latest terrorist threats is use of triacetone triperoxide (TATP) in the manufacturing of improvised explosive devices (IEDs), primarily comprised of hydrogen peroxide and acetone."


As hydrogen peroxide and acetone are widely available the first a common household antiseptic and the other found in nail polish remover they arouse no suspicion, Gary Tryon, Sales Manager for Europe, Middle East, Africa (EMEA) at Brijot Imaging System said. "TATP is the underlying issue behind the recent focus on the carrying of liquids aboard commercial airliners, and was used in the 2005 London bombings and other terrorist attacks." While material s for bomb making are widely available, they are difficult to prepare. "TATP bomb materials are readily available, but the process of converting them into an explosive can be delicate and often results in injury to the bomb maker," Tryon said. "But with all the disadvantages of a dangerous (for the terrorist) preparation, acetone peroxide has one definite advantage over other types of explosives it cannot be discovered by dogs or metal detectors."


To combat terrorism or other acts of violence, access control is deployed. This includes managing access to sensitive areas, such as the tarmac, control room or hangars, to reduce safety threats.


"One of the major applications that we see is border control," Lee said. "Many people are concerned about someone going to the tarmac or other sensitive areas. Airports use biometrics to discourage this."


Another access control threat is theft of valuable equipment or resources. "With fuel prices increasing rapidly throughout the world, there is increasing need for airports to secure fuel storage facilities to reduce risk of theft," said Daniel McVeagh, Cardax Product Manager for Gallagher Security Management Systems.


Integrated Solution


The advent of networking has heralded the age of integration, helping achieve situational awareness. Integration allows operators to instantly understand what incidents are happening and decide what action needs to be taken, uniting disparate systems as a complementary whole.


"Uncoordinated response to security-relevant incidents has led to wrong and excessive reactions, up to complete shutdown of terminals or the whole airport," said Uwe Karl, Vertical Market Manager of Airports, Siemens Building Technologies. "An integrated security solution combines security operations with access control, perimeter security systems and a local area network; it also integrates intelligence support, digital trunk radio system, multiple command centers and software applications for information dissemination, incident and resource management."


Ideally, this reduces costs with a general - purpose network infrastructure, said James Mihaychuk, Product Manager and Applications Engineer at Lumenera. Other benefits for greatly enhanced performance are improved response times, remote monitoring of airport buildings, interoperability and scalability to more locations and to new functions.


"While integrated safety solutions can be efficient, we may remain skeptical about centralized security as it encompasses passenger behavior and sensitive issues," Kenneth Chan, Research Analyst, Frost & Sullivan said. "Once again, privacy concerns play a pivotal role in influencing any policies, consequently affecting employment of converged solutions products and services."


The complexity of converging large projects makes integration tough to deploy in existing airports. "Due to slow adoption of IP cameras, coupled with the fact that most airports are just beginning to integrate converged solutions into their security programs, we do not see any dramatic change at this time," said Melchior Baltazar, Vice President of Critical Infrastructure Protection, ObjectVideo. "We do, however, see opportunity for business intelligence solutions in addition to traditional security solutions. Queue length monitoring and people counting solutions are being used more and are becoming well-positioned in a variety of airport scenarios, including ticketing and security lines."



to be continued...

U.K. Grammar School Keeps to High Standards

Editor / Provider: SUBMITTED BY CEM | Updated: 6/24/2008 | Article type: Education

British grammar schools are secondary schools known for their selectiveness. Historic Latmyer School demonstrates its selectiveness in other areas too.


Established in 1624, Latmyer, whose students follow the U.K. secondary 11 to 18 age group educational system, aims to provide a broad and stimulating educational experience. Situated in London's Hammersmith, the prestigious school features many listed buildings and includes a Great Hall as well as state-of-the-art technology, science and specialist ICT rooms.


The school required a high security solution to control access to the school site and building. Having installed a fiber optic network, the school required a complete IP access control solution to complement existing infrastructure. To meet this requirement, Tom Fisher, the school's Facilities Manager, opted to install the CEM AC2000 SE (Standard Edition) security management system. A complete IP solution was provided, including the innovative CEM DIU 220 (Power over Ethernet Door Interface Units), CEM IP intelligent MiFare card readers and smart cards. The system was installed by ADT.

Advanced IP Card Readers

CEM EtherProx readers are the industry's smallest intelligent Ethernet card readers. With a keypad for optional PIN security, an LCD display to display reader outcome messages, and an internal database for offline card validation, the readers offer intelligent decision-making at the door, even in the unforeseen event of communication being lost to the AC2000 host server. The IP readers used by Latymer feature MiFare smart card technology and continue to operate at all times.


The system eliminates the expense of bringing mains power to the door and allowed Latymer's IT department to simply allocate an IP address for the Ethernet card readers. With the DIU 220 allowing the use of the schools existing fiber optic network, this eradicated the requirement for unsightly cabling that would detract from the look and feel of the school's prestigious listed buildings.


Furthermore, with the DIU 220 installation classed as low-voltage, the school was also spared the expense of an electrical contractor. Two key areas where the school benefits from access control are the Facilities Manager's office and the IT room. With the specialist ICT suite containing over 200 modern PCs, the access control functionality has the benefit of not only protecting staff and students but also vitally protecting the school from the rising threat of theft and vandalism.


For more information, please visit the company's Web site at www.cemsys.com

London and Moscow Play It Safe with Surveillance

Editor / Provider: Submitted By Catalyst Communications and Axxon | Updated: 2/14/2008 | Article type: Infrastructure

Keeping an eye out for public safety and receiving real-time alerts are paramount for effective city surveillance. This article examines how municipal surveillance is implemented in Britain and Russia from the eyes of local installers.

The Real London Eye

Keeping the streets of London safe for its 10 million workers and residents is no mean feat. In the heart of the capital, in the bustling West End around Oxford Street and Regent Street, the sheer number of pedestrians and vehicles on the move can make effective surveillance a seemingly impossible task.

AMG Systems was asked to design and install a fiber optic transmission backbone to support a surveillance network. This would not only cover the shopping heartland of Oxford Street and Regent Street, but extend to the tourist hotspots of Trafalgar Square and Hungerford Bridge. With such a high-profile area, reliability, resilience and sophistication were paramount.

Implementation

The West End of London, with its retail outlets, theaters, tourist attractions and government buildings, has changed over the past five years. A buoyant economy and many tourists have increased pedestrian traffic in the commercial areas. Recent political events have made the areaˇs security and surveillance a higher priority.

Surveillance in the West End is not new. Westminster City Council (WCC) has been a driving force for public monitoring since London's first surveillance system in 1997. WCC worked with the Oxford Street Association, building a monitoring facility at Marylebone Police Station. Working together with their surveillance consultants, Aver Consulting Sola Consulting (ACSC), it was integrated into their surveillance system based in the Trocadero Centre, Piccadilly.

¨AMG designed and supplied the fiber optic network for the original 17 cameras in Oxford Street,〃 said Trevor Aver of ACSC. ¨Our confidence in the AMG equipment led the WCC and ourselves to nominate AMG to provide the links and equipment for the integration into the WCC Control Room.〃

WCCˇs own system has extensive coverage throughout the West End. They encompass more than 10 square miles, surveying landmarks such as Piccadilly Circus, Leicester Square and Trafalgar Square. Six of Londonˇs busiest underground railway stations fall within the area.

Centralized Control

The existing camera infrastructure had been installed using AMG's Vision 2000 single channel transmission system. Vision 2000 equipment high powered variant was chosen for the new link. Available in single or dual fiber variants, Vision 2000 is a cost-effective solution for local area camera networks. It transmits video, audio and data signals over multimode optical fiber for distances up to eight kilometers.

Additional Capabilities

A new matrix was installed in the Trocadero to integrate the entire system, which consists of 115 cameras throughout central London, with more planned. As a result, the Oxford Street cameras were upgraded and the existing Vision 2000 transmission equipment modified to operate with the new matrix.

The control room incorporated video feeds from a nine-camera system monitoring the Hungerford Bridge installed by ATEC. The bridge forms a vital link in London's train network, carrying every train arriving at or leaving from Charing Cross Station.

With the new integrated monitoring center at Trocadero, the cameras were linked to the network. AMG Vision 2000 transmission equipment was deployed at either end of a two-kilometer fiber link between the Trocadero and the bridge.

All the camera feeds are archived to an array of digital video recorders. Footage is retained for 31 days and may be retrieved and viewed by control room operators during this period. Because the AMG equipment transmits full bandwidth, uncompressed video over the network, WCC and other agencies can store high quality video.

Security and Surveillance

The West End of London does not resemble a vast, high security compound, but the demands on the AMG system are similar. Continuous coverage, backup, scalability, resilience and high-quality video are all necessary in both situations.

¨The majority of our systems operate in highly stressed environments where information content and availability are paramount,〃 said Alan Hayes, Managing Director of AMG Systems. ¨Working on the West End camera network, we were acutely aware that we would not only be first in line in helping the authorities manage crowds passing through these major tourist spots, our network would also be in the first line of defense for the capital.〃

Simon Adcock, Managing Director of ATEC said, ¨AMG proved to be the right partner for this important metropolitan wide surveillance scheme. Similarly, there are new security considerations with heightened terrorist threats necessitating ever more sophisticated and reliable surveillance systems. The advanced capability of AMGˇs Vision Series allows Westminster to meet these needs and be sure that it can continue to keep its streets safe in the years to come.〃

Safecity Moscow

Todayˇs municipal security goes beyond the monitoring of selected sites. Modern integrated security systems must not only record and stream video, but analyze it intelligently, monitor all types of sensors and provide automatic responses.

SafeCity combines hardware, software and operational measures to provide video security, technical safety, and manage utilities and other distributed services. SafeCity is a multifunctional expandable solution built on an integrated modular distributed platform  Axxon Intellect  with embedded intelligent data analysis.

Key Challenges

High crime rates, as well as a hostage situation at the Dubrovka Theater Center, threatened Moscow. Two-thirds of its residents felt unsafe in the face of crime. As a result, the city launched a program called Safety for Moscow and Muscovites. A city-wide electronic monitoring and response system was a critical part of this program, with specific requirements such as interoperability, centralized and remote control, scalability, integration, reliability and stability.

Implementation

In March 2002, Planir Holdings Group worked on the SafeCity project in the Tverskoy district, using Axxon Intellect. Other districts launched projects based on alternative platforms, but were less functional. As a result, Axxon Intellect was selected as Moscowˇs citywide platform.

Initially SafeCity was to cover Moscow with a distributed video surveillance network. Additional considerations prompted a more comprehensive, multilevel system. SafeCity also protects sites such as group dwellings, life support systems, schools, mass circulation areas, airports and railway stations, trains and subways, transportation and motorways, and television towers.

The SafeCity implementation included more than 26,000 cameras in Moscow, along with controlling more than 10,000 doorways and mass circulation areas in 10 districts. These sites are now covered by a single system controlled from one center, using the Axxon Intellect platform.

Vandal-resistant cameras monitor public areas, while access control prevents unauthorized entry. Flood, fire and smoke sensors alert emergency personnel of problems. Water, gas and electricity consumption are monitored to provide accurate billing and planning, as well as preventing leakage, overloads and short circuits.

Panic buttons and emergency hotlines provide access to the police and militia. Facial recognition enables identification and tracking of criminal suspects at airports and railway stations.

Train and subway safety is ensured through video surveillance, as well as a permanent online link between drivers and transport police officers. All stations and cars are equipped with firefighting systems, such as automatic fog scanners and ventilation units.

PTZ cameras on motorways assist the police in resolving accident disputes, and surveillance of parking and business centers reduces theft. If vehicles are stolen, license plate recognition at key roads enables police to locate them.

Results

According to the Main Internal Affairs Directorate of Moscow, the SafeCity implementation has reduced burglaries and vandalism  drops of 12.5 percent and 33 percent respectively in the first six months of operation.

Crime-solving rates have also increased. Alexander Chumachenko, Deputy Executive of Moscow Main Internal Affairs Directorate, said, ¨The presence of CCTV cameras makes people more disciplined and provides an excellent deterrent to crime.〃

Implementation uncovered other unseen benefits. The government can now monitor the quality of work from utility service providers. Building control systems allow for personnel management, leading to more accurate accounting and technical supervision. And the number of actual residents can be calculated from utility resource usage  useful for checking migration law and tax compliance.

SafeCity was recognized at the InterPolyTech 2004 International Exhibition with a ¨Guaranteed Quality and Safety〃 nomination diploma ¨for the development of the SafeCity digital integrated security system as the basis of the centralized citywide video monitoring solution in Moscow.〃

The Future

SafeCity will soon incorporate the Auto-Intellect subsystem, which provides traffic control and automated license plate recognition. Ian Yafayev, SafeCity CTO, said Auto-Intellect is ¨a very effective tool to deal with traffic congestion."

All doorways in Moscow will be equipped with cameras by 2007 as well. Deployments of SafeCity in other cities include a rollout in St. Petersburg.

City Surveillance e-Guarding Lives

Editor / Provider: a&s International | Updated: 2/14/2008 | Article type: Infrastructure

Rapid urbanization occurred during the 20th century, with the percentage of people living in urban areas rising dramatically from 29 percent (732 million) in 1950 to 49 percent (3.2 billion) in 2005; this will rise to 60 percent (4.9 billion) by 2030. While cities provide better job opportunities, education and healthcare, they also suffer from social problems. As police are often not able to address these problems, 24-hour e-bodyguards are taking their place.

Terrorist attacks, traffic control and crime are three major reasons for city surveillance systems, but nowhere in the world have surveillance systems been used so widely as in the U.K. ¨Britain started installing CCTV systems in the 1980s in major cities such as London, Manchester and Liverpool due to threats from the Irish Republican Army,〃 said Danny Weber, Product Marketing Manager at Nice. Even today, Britain still suffers from the threat of terrorist attacks. The lesson of the London underground bombing attack in 2005 is that strengthening of city surveillance networks is still needed.

Managing traffic is another important issue. ¨In Malaysia, surveillance systems were first implemented by the Kuala Lumpur City Hall in the early 1990s to monitor traffic in the city center,〃 said Samin Wahid, IT Manager at Turbine Technique. ¨In 2003, the Integrated Transport Information System (ITIS) project was initiated within the larger Klang Valley area to monitor traffic, along with other ITIS subsystems such as those for vehicle detection, traffic control and surveillance.〃

Third, high crime rates are common in developing countries. Take China. Migrant workers from inner cities have caused severe security problems in prosperous cities such as Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Shenzhen and Dongguan. The Chinese government, therefore, implemented a nationwide e-Police project in 2004. The aims are threefold: to inject the police force with much-needed manpower and financial resources, to make extensive efforts in the areas of IT and IT security, and to install electronic surveillance systems.

Some 180 cities have been divided into the three following tiers: economically developed and densely populated cities are Tier I; less significant cities are Tiers II and III. In 2006, the Chinese government initiated Safe City projects along the same lines to make cities safer through installation of surveillance systems and e-security networks.

Funding and Implementation

In Britain, the central government is responsible for providing funding for such projects. ¨In the last 10 years, the Home Office has spent more than three quarters of its crime prevention budget on recording technologies with US$500 million spent since 1994 on surveillance systems alone,〃 said Vibeke Ulmann, Partner and Director at Catalyst Communications.

In Malaysia, surveillance systems are affordable only to well-to-do local councils, mainly in the Klang Valley; Kuala Lumpur is the main market for city surveillance. In China, the central and local governments work together. The central government sets the guidelines, with local governments paying for major construction.

Telecom corporations, system integrators and surveillance manufacturers install the systems. In Malaysia, system integrators are responsible for most installations. ¨When surveillance systems were first introduced in Kuala Lumpur in the early 1990s, black-white cameras were connected with direct cables and leased lines," said Wahid. "Now, in line with the maturity and affordability of outdoor wireless systems, more and more installations are using IP-based surveillance systems running on wireless networks.〃

In China, local telecom companies in Dongguan are responsible for installing and maintaining surveillance systems, with the local government footing the bill. The authorities in Dongguan have taken a holistic approach. Not only do local police bureaus conduct surveys with regard to city surveillance needs, but also city hall regulates purchase and deployment. Implementation of Safe City projects in Dongguan, therefore, is both efficient and cost-effective.

National Policies and Standards

Not all countries have national policies and unified standards. Money and manpower, however, can be saved if authorities adopt holistic approaches, standardizing product and installation specifications.

Initially in the U.K., there was no overall strategy linking systems; each was the responsibility of a local authority. Not until September 2005 did the Joint Association of Chief Police Officers and Home Office Project Team finally publish its National CCTV Strategy Report that was first endorsed by the (then) Crime Reduction Delivery Board. No fewer than 44 recommendations were proposed, encompassing standards, inspection, training, police use of CCTV, storage, archiving and retention.

For inspection, the National CCTV Strategy Report recommends that the role of information commissioner needs to include greater powers to enforce licensing requirements of both systems and people. The Home Office ought to be considering development of more legislative powers to inspect CCTV systems, it said.

E-Police and Safe City projects are national policies in China. With clear objectives and guidelines, the plans were executed in 2004 and 2006, respectively. The central government, however, is responsible only for making overall plans; the local governments are in charge of implementation, installation and most funding. Due to lack of standards and experience, Chinese municipal governments face many challenges.

Challenges

Although the U.K. government has achieved a unique level of support from the public, there are critics, especially from human rights groups because of the prevalence of surveillance systems. Their opposition stems in part from a survey by Martin Gill, a criminology professor at the University of Leicester. His 2005 study of 13 CCTV community initiatives found that, in a majority of neighborhoods, criminal activity actually increased. The astonishing result has led to calls on the government to figure out more effective ways of protecting people rather than monitoring them. Striking a balance between security and privacy has become a critical issue.

In Malaysia, system integrators are struggling with transmission systems. Most modern outdoor surveillance systems are comprised of three major parts: cameras, control systems and transmission systems. Cameras and control systems are tested by designers and manufacturers. Not all transmission systems, however, are. ¨A few sites have tried using broadband Internet, but without much success. Quite often, bandwidth fluctuates beyond the minimum requirement, giving bad video or no video at all,〃 said Wahid.

¨Some sites,〃 he continued, ¨are using point-to-multipoint wireless, others mesh wireless, but the latter has yet to be proved in large-scale implementations. Most sites that implement point-to-point wireless transmission acquire the best-quality video.〃 Good solutions can be provided only by people who fully understand the systems.

In China, both the Safe City and e-Police projects are brand-new experiences for most of the people involved. Due to lack of knowledge of product functions, it has not been easy for the authorities to make sound purchasing decisions. It is no surprise that some have found that new security systems do not correspond to expectations. Consequently, trial and error has been one of the most common approaches.

Insufficient technical backgrounds have also plagued the projects. Chinese municipal governments have never been exposed to the security industry to this extent; they are unaware of the ins and outs of cost-efficient security systems. Take integration. Old systems cannot integrate with new ones because of different standards. In a worst-case scenario, different cameras installed on the same street block may be controlled by different government agencies, causing unnecessary waste of both new and old equipment, funding and manpower.

Outcome

City surveillance projects by their very nature are huge, costly and time-consuming. The Scottish Office conducted research on Airdrie  a town of 36,000 people  in 1993 to evaluate the effectiveness of CCTV in combating crime and the fear of crime in town centers. The survey indicated 21 percent fewer offenses, a 48 percent reduction in crime, 19 percent fewer fires and a 16 percent improvement in cases cleared. Interestingly, the survey showed no evidence that crimes were displaced from the town center to areas without surveillance systems.

Statistics from Kuala Lumpur are similar. There was a more than 30 percent reduction in theft in areas installed with CCTV cameras on a year-by-year comparison. One interesting phenomenon, however, was that criminals migrated to the other areas without CCTV surveillance systems, which is very different from the case in the U.K.

The Future: Integration and IP -based Technology

No doubt, integration and IP-based technology are two key trends. The U.K. has made great efforts on traffic management and monitoring. The Highway Agency (HA) has assumed responsibility for managing traffic on Englandˇs 5,800 miles of motorway and truck roads. In doing so, it replaces 33 independently managed police control rooms with seven linked regional control centers to consolidate data.

The centers will be linked with the National Roads Telecommunications Service (NRTS)  a $1 billion scheme that forms a major part of the governmentˇs 10-year plan for transport. When completed, the NRTS project will provide a national digital system linking more than 14,000 roadside devices, including message signs, emergency telephones, and up to 4,000 cameras and traffic monitoring systems to the Highway Agencyˇs network of traffic control centers.

A Safe City project in Shenyang faces similar problems. Each district is responsible for implementation and installation of surveillance system with projects divided into sectors such as schools, communities, streets, and command and control centers. One installer is responsible for one sector. To ensure all installers involved are using the same standard, Shenyang city officials have required that all use the same brand of network DVRs so that different districts have the same compression and transmission formats.

¨City surveillance is increasingly about IP-based systems running on wireless transmission systems, with video recording first done at camera sites then centralized," said Wahid. "Additionally, automatic network recovery has been proven crucial when networks are down." Malaysia is now installing IP-based transmission networking nationwide so that data can be transmitted back to Kuala Lumpur for storage and analysis.

Railway Security Presents Unique Challenges

Editor / Provider: The Editorial Team | Updated: 1/22/2008 | Article type: Hot Topics

Given that railway infrastructure is vast and open, with more access points than airports, it is virtually impossible to be completely secure. There is a need to screen large numbers of passengers at vast railway stations, and rail cars need to be secured while making frequent and open stops. These rail security issues have to be addressed while maintaining convenience, on  time performance, accessibility, frequency of service and affordability.

After the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, airports implemented tougher security checks, such as putting air marshals on flights. Railways, however, are much harder to protect. Convenience, not security, is the primary objective. Stations are built for huge numbers of people to pass through every day. In addition, railway lines, tunnels and bridges are easily accessible and vulnerable.

Subsequent attacks in Madrid and London propelled governments to take action. In the U.K., while enhanced surveillance and explosive detection measures were implemented, authorities realized that there was little that they could do to prevent vandals or terrorists from throwing mechanical devices onto tracks.

Railways, said Bharat Singh, Head of Vertical Solutions at Honeywell India, involve multiple points of entry and exit on multiple platforms. ¨The challenge, especially in developing countries, is to mange access points in terms of security. Unrestricted entry and exit of passengers makes it very difficult to identify possible threats.〃

Mariann McDonagh, Senior Vice President of Global Marketing for Verint, cited two major security challenges for rail transit authorities: ¨First, they must put security measures into place to ensure the safety of passengers and employees, while avoiding interference with the free flow of high volumes of passenger traffic. Second, they must deploy reliable solutions that are capable of securing the diverse and geographically distributed assets that make up a rail transit system, including stations, passenger platforms, switching facilities and miles of unmanned railways, tunnels and bridges.〃

Singh found it difficult to imagine a baggage checking system that could actually be deployed in each station to check each and every piece of luggage entering the station and then the railway car. ¨Passengers with bags are boarding and alighting from trains constantly. How do you implement a central baggage management system to check for possible threats and have them board or disembark from the train in separate compartments, similar to the airplane process?〃 He further noted that unattended baggage, people in groups and vendors all muddy up the inspection process.

In addition, as railway stations are typically near civilian areas, differentiating possible movements outside the station to identify a possible security threat becomes difficult. ¨Many points like canteens, bookstores and billboards are critical points that can trigger possible security threats,〃 Singh said. ¨Weak law enforcement can also add to the threat and challenge of securing railway stations.〃

Then, Singh said, there is the fact that there is no uniformity of railway coaches, because different countries have different setups. ¨This depends on the type and number of travelers using the railways. All this adds to the complexity, as one solution that works very well in one country may not be appropriate in another. Think of the difference in securing a railway in the U.S. and one in India.〃

Other major challenges facing railway (light-rail and freight) operators, said Tony Jenkins, Vice President, March Networks Transportation Division, involve enhancing passenger and employee safety, and protecting operations from crime, vandalism and acts of terrorism. ¨Preventing accidents at level crossings is another focus.〃

Singh agreed: ¨Security equipment is prone to sabotage and damage inside railway coaches. The cost of securing each coach for higher-end terrorist attacks (bombs planted in railway coaches) is very high. Ideally, every coach would require a bomb detection device.〃

As railway requirements are increasingly standardized, bureaucratic obstacles have arisen, mostly in the form of regulations. One major area has been U.S. Transportation Security Act (TSA) proposals on transport of hazardous materials. This affects both freight and mass transit carriers in high-threat urban areas.

The TSA suggested prohibiting unattended interchanges of highly hazardous materials between rail roads within high-threat urban areas or outside if railcars might subsequently enter them. Additionally, railroads will not be able to leave cars with shipment receivers unattended and in nonsecure areas. According to one industry player, it was ¨simply impractical〃 because of the distances and number of trains and cars involved. Furthermore, security guards would frequently have their views blocked by passing trains.

Derailing Sales

The most significant factor preventing rapid adoption of video management technologies, said McDonagh, is market education. ¨Leading vendors must invest the time and resources to educate security integrators and end users on the tangible benefits of these technologies. End users must understand how to deploy new solutions, while leveraging existing infrastructure and that a complete forklift upgrade is not required to enjoy the powerful benefits of networked video security solutions.〃

Other experts agree. Many transit authorities are not sure which solutions are best suited to their needs. Many are confused about the numerous solutions being promoted. Often, agency employees simply do not have the level of technical expertise to understand what is needed.

Cost is another constraint. ¨Video surveillance tops the list of electronic security products by far with IP video for fixed locations and onboard mobile digital video recorders (MDVRs) for trains and locomotives,〃 Jenkins said. ¨New technology will include wider adoption of video analytics, and greater use of broadband wireless links, but the budgets involved for this are heavily dependent on public and federal funding.〃

¨ There are low levels of investment by railway authorities,〃 said Frost & Sullivan Industry Analyst Farheen Pasha. ¨Because they rely primarily on federal budgets, rail security funding is restricted.〃 This is partly due to the disproportionate focus on security for air infrastructure, insufficient fare revenue generation and the precedence of essential maintenance and basic expansion works in capital improvement budgets.

Singh agreed: ¨Cost is a major factor for large railway operating countries like India. Lack of skilled manpower can lead to bottlenecks as can existing infrastructure in remote areas. It is hard to adapt this for use with an enterprise-wide integrated security system.〃

Another industry player noted the difficulty of incorporating technology into rail security solutions in India. With 18,000 kilometers of tracks, setting up a good surveillance system or a checking system is extremely difficult, if not impossible. Given that Indian Railways carries 12 million passengers a day, management does not have the ability to check everyone. Despite the advent of many technological marvels, manned guards will ironically be a fact of life for the foreseeable future.