March Networks -
Mass Transit Industry Embraces Video Surveillance Technology
By Marc Holden

The mass transportation industry is one of the fastest growing markets for digital video recording technology. Transit agencies around the world are discovering the value of using video surveillance to effectively manage their risks on buses, subways, light rail and in transit stations. A fully monitored transit system increases public and employee safety, assists in identifying terrorist threats, supports liability defense and increases operational efficiency.

The terrorist incidents in London and the role that video surveillance evidence played in the subsequent police investigation have raised the profile of digital video surveillance and demonstrated its value in resolving incidents. At the same time, the lower cost of ownership made possible by wireless communications and advanced software is encouraging more and more transit companies to incorporate live and recorded video into their security operations. Using wireless hot spots located at fueling depots or service facilities, transit authorities are able to easily download video, check camera positioning, confirm the health status of system components and execute software upgrades.

In the past, when maintaining an analog or first generation DVR system, owners had to actually visit each vehicle and visually check all the cameras to make sure they were in focus, pointed in the right direction, and working properly. With new visual intelligence mobile products from March Networks, the system automatically schedules a periodic camera check by taking a 10-second clip off each camera and wirelessly transmitting it to a designated system administrator. Now, instead of chasing vehicles, transit staff can go to work in the morning and quickly flip through the emailed clips right at their desks.

Downloading video to store recorded event files is just as easy. To investigate an incident, security staff at transit headquarters can schedule a download by selecting a vehicle and identifying a period of time. When the bus or rail car pulls into a hot spot or recording area, the video is automatically downloaded. The system will even send the operator an email link to the video to save additional time.

Transit drivers are also able to schedule video downloads by pressing a button mounted on their dashboard. The system automatically archives video before and after an incident and puts it in a queue to be downloaded the next time the vehicle enters a hot spot.

Wireless automatic programming changes, software updates, and health monitoring of hard-drives and cameras reduce the cost of ownership and maximize system performance. In addition, advanced diagnostic capabilities can monitor hard-drive performance and alert transit security staff to schedule maintenance before a hard-drive fails.

H.263 or MPEG-4 compression allows users to download an hour’s worth of video in less than 10 minutes. This makes the use of wireless technology practical because faster incident downloads equate to more transit vehicles that can be serviced during the brief periods of time that they are available. It also simplifies wireless access point strategies, allowing them to be situated in areas like refueling stations instead of the entire depot yard.

Wireless connectivity via cellular networks allows security staff at transit headquarters to be instantly alerted to an incident in progress and view video in real-time from the vehicle in question. The wireless connection operates on a lower bandwidth, but is good enough to view live video with accompanying GPS information.

In the future, transit authorities may be able to take advantage of citywide Wi-Fi networks and hot spots for 24/7 online access to transit vehicles.

Transit authorities are showing a lot of interest in managed services, which allow a large bus fleet in California, for example, to be monitored from an operations center across the continent. With managed services and more efficient wireless technology, transit authorities with hundreds or thousands of DVR systems can scale up without having to worry about the impact of ever-mounting operating costs.

Harsh operating conditions, vibration and temperature extremes on buses, subways and rail cars require vendors to pay special attention to the design and engineering of mobile DVRs. Hard-drives, in particular, are very vulnerable to vibration, temperature extremes, shock, water, power interruptions and electromagnetic interference.

Battery reserves are vital to ensure a complete video record of events. Reserve power provides for fault tolerance, so if there is a catastrophic event such as a crash, the unit remains powered for a period of time, and continues recording — because the last thing you want is to lose power in an emergency.

The potential for catastrophic events such as accidents, shootings and terrorist attacks on the scale of recent incidents in London and Spain accounts for the continued requirement for easily removable hard-drives in the transit market. In a catastrophic event, law enforcement agencies will want the hard-drive for evidence, so designing the system for easy extraction and replacement just makes sense.

Other features transit authorities like to see in their video recording systems are audio recording and synchronized GPS and speed tracking. Audio and video together tell a more complete story and are crucial to any criminal investigation or complaint. Audio strengthens the case by allowing investigators to hear exactly what was said at a crime scene. GPS integration places the vehicle in an exact location so you know what, when and where something happened.

March Networks recently introduced a new advanced transportation solution, the R5 Visual Intelligence Mobile Suite, designed to operate on its 5000 Series Mobile Digital Video Recorders (DVRs). The system allows operators to wirelessly monitor and manage the health of the DVR network without removing vehicles from service. Alternatively, transit agencies can take advantage of March Networks Managed Video Services Solution for remote health and monitoring services.

About the Author
Marc Holden is the Vertical Business Manager for Transportation Solutions at March Networks. He can be reached at mholden@marchnetworks.com or 1-800-569-5564.

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