Video surveillance enhancements for Airport security

Supplying proper airport security measures has become an unending debate of national significance after being faced by the reality of a post 9/11 environment. Practically no one can forget the ghostly sight of a blank sky during the following days post the most villainous attack in the nation's criminal attack record.
Virtually any individual having flown on a commercial airline before could rapidly sympathize with the guiltless and destined passengers aboard those historic flights of terror. On the other hand what is more difficult to cope with is identifying with the thousands of innocent U.S. civilians who went to work that day without realizing that they would never come back home again. Can you visualize their momentary, confused moments of terror? Despite the fact that the human tragedy of that day was extraordinary, the size of issues surrounding airport security and surveillance extend far deeper than security airline passengers and civilians on the land.
The capability to move both people and cargo at top speed which represents the essence of Air travel is extremely vital. It is undoubtedly very significant to the any nation's ever-growing global economy especially to that of the US. The capacity of nations all around the globe to defend modern air traffic and travel just can not be over emphasized enough. Without a safe and effective airline procedure, the world would rapidly come to a resounding stop. There are basically four regions modern video surveillance technology must continue to enhance upon in order to maintain a vital role in protecting the airport and airline industry in general. Just like every other regulation in the broader security industry, suppliers must all continue to do their jobs at a more efficient standard.

Resolution of the devices
The technology governing the camera resolution must persist on improving and evolving. This is especially the case since surveillance is all about what can be viewed and observed. The ability to see begins with resolution of the camera which actually captures the footage. The resolution of the camera not only assists in what the human eye can obviously observe, but also with what highly superior, algorithmatic-driven software can define and/or spot. Think about the following scenario for instance.
Every person is excited about the innovative intelligent video security systems. Numerous companies and corporations are spending millions of research dollars into these innovative security devices. One such technology within the category of intelligent video is a software facial verification. This software of Facial recognition is the product of highly advanced mathematical algorithms that recognize and connect specific points from one footage taken at the time of surveillance, with that of another footage saved as a reference spot. Once fully this technology is fully developed it will undoubtedly have massive benefits to law enforcement to aid find missing or abducted civilians, locate fugitives and track actions of potential criminals.
With the arrival of intelligent video systems, advanced camera and recording resolution capabilities become vital to a greater extent as security professionals attempt to distinguish and define objects of significance. Technology of Facial recognition, in some aspects, can only be as precise as the detailed definition enabled by the clarity and resolution of the primary footage. At the same time as camera images become clearer through the utilization of higher resolution technology, intelligent video algorithms become even more accurate and dependable. These same types of algorithms can be utilized to spot objects left without supervision, track objects of particular importance, observe directional behaviors in traffic flow and verify anomalies to acceptable values. Obviously algorithms become more precise when higher resolution images are utilized.

Compression of Images
Although increased resolution does help, it also establishes its own complications, which basically revolve around transmission constraints and storage compression. Ironically, this becomes the second vital area of development required by video surveillance technology to supply the airport security with. As the technology improves to attain more and more information (higher resolutions add exponentially to the sum of digital information contained in a file), so does the interfaces utilized to compress, store and exchange information.
It can be easily judged that the higher the resolution, the more raw digital information is established in the footage. The more information that is collected, the larger the file size will be. The collected files must be transmitted over high-speed information lines and network infrastructure so the footage can be viewed by all relevant individuals. As far as airport security applications are concerned, response time is the most essential part of the whole security process. The longer it takes to transmit significant data to field operatives, the less secure the building will be.
In almost all airports throughout the entire world, one leading concern is the time it takes to make critical judgments such as terminal closes. The exclusion of unnecessary terminal shutdowns or at the very least, reducing shutdown time is even more vital for those watching monetary budgets of airport procedures. As an attempt to attain these goals in cases where video surveillance technology is utilized, the rate at which technology is made available is very decisive.
In a usual airport situation, as soon as a danger is sensed, TSA has about two and a half minutes to decide if a threat is a real on before a full airport shutdown takes place. A fake alarm can generate considerable delays, unnecessary concerns and considerable loss of financial assets. Regrettably, the situations are all too common and very expensive. This is where video security comes in the picture. Rapid access to saved or real-time video can decide on who triggered the security alarm. It also can display a visual footage of a person's activity to bear out the hazard. Avoiding a complete airport shutdown through rapid authentication of a hazard can save millions of dollars each time a threat takes place. When suspicious occurrences take place, advanced technologies are required in order to classify and alert the security guards. The more rapid the technology operates, the faster the response time and the more secure the airports becomes.
Imagine for example a video security interface converged with PDA technology for wireless uploading of footages utilized by field operations employees. The rate at which data is transferred is a function of video compression technology. As small pieces of data within a file pile up (due to higher resolution technology and recording rates), so does the file size. The currently video systems that employ only MPEG or MPEG-4 technology are just not going to perform at satisfactory speed rates. The comparatively new H.264 compression interface can elevate the speed of video transmission and/or storage by more than three to four times compared with MPEG-4 interface. Quicker response times translate to freeing up security resources to the threat more rapidly and more competently. Administering security breaches rapidly and in real time, while resolving developing situations promptly, is determined by how rapid vital data gets to the hands of the security authorities in charge of the airport surveillance.
Enhancing compression technology is a component of the next stage of video surveillance, which may incorporate video cameras in airplane cabins and cargo holds in order to monitor what happens when the plane is on the land. In view of the fact that an airplane is most vulnerable during this time, intelligent, efficient video surveillance can assist in verifying and confirming a threat and drive appropriate response.

Enhanced Convergence
The third vicinity of advancement comes in the need to facilitate better integration with other supportive interfaces. When average civilians think about video surveillance in an airport, they think about areas of traffic related to passenger checkpoints. Especially since each of the 9/11 terrorists passed through a security area similar to it before entering on their doomed flights. The reality of the matter is that the video surveillance systems are now utilized at airports for a variety of purposes. This may consist of monitoring of particular areas in terminals, cargo loading docks, tenant access points, roadway and curbside baggage, airport operations area (AOA), baggage handling area access points to the security identification display area (SIDA), and other vulnerable locations. These security cameras can also be utilized for surveying passenger traffic within the SIDA, in addition to passenger gate activities, vehicle traffic management, rental car locations, fuel farm vicinities as well as passenger/staff parking facilities.
As expected, with all of the components involved in airport security, the video surveillance interfaces of the future must be highly stout in order to guard vital quarters. The capacity of video surveillance to converge with various technologies, such as access management, biometrics, serial information transmission, wireless, even enhanced input and output system management, vital for maximizing advantages to security interfaces.
For example, as soon as a driver's license is scanned by an airport detector, verification information saved in a law enforcement database should be connected to the scan, matched to the real-time video of the occurrence, then checked and sorted with individuals known as potential security threats and fed instantly to field agents at the security checkpoint at critical entry locations.
Analogous convergence with license plate detection software is required. When a vehicle owned or linked to a suspected individual drives on airport property, video technology operating with license plate identification application needs to be converged with federal law enforcement database data in order to rapidly access and alert security guards. The key to this security procedure is communication through incorporation. And that really displays the power of technology integration and convergence especially the field of security. And it's where convergence needs to go in terms of video surveillance interfaces. A number of interfaces are already capable of conducting such duties. Without a doubt more effort needs to be granted in order to enhance these types of performance capabilities.

Administering the data
The major fourth area in which video surveillance interfaces must advance is in the ability to matrix, observe and administer multiple cameras at a single instant. A lot of surveillance systems in our day and age boast of "central station monitoring" abilities. The reality is that there is only a handful who truly have any real capability of competently providing managed monitoring services. Nearly all video surveillance systems can survey only a few hundred security cameras. With the capability to survey several thousand cameras from a central location using a common security protocol established specifically for airport security, several facilities can be monitored one at a time, thus establishing large economies of scale in both performance and cost of installment.
Remote surveillance also can free up space limitation issues presently not available in many airport facilities. Unlike casinos, Airports were never built with the idea to deploy big, full scale, professional video security surveillance departments and security staff. Even though the necessity for localized surveillance may never entirely be abolished, offsite help can act as a back up in a number of circumstances. However in other events, it can perform as an immediate increase of eyes monitoring the occurrence. As soon as accurate, reliable security threat data is in provided through confirmed law enforcement gateways, and is pointed at particular airport facilities, a phone call can turn on remote central station video surveillance and add a large number of dedicated eyes to observe critical areas of concern across multiple target vicinities.
This feature establishes considerable economies of scale, grants law enforcement and airport facility security personnel the ability to collect their assets and resources and direct them to a real-time calamity and grant the exact quantity of their resources according to the size and severity that the incident demands. To sum up, it grants that desirable excess in trained surveillance personnel when and wherever they are required without stretching the already tense budget worries.
Ever since the tragic events of 9/11, countless amounts of US dollars have been spent on improving video surveillance capabilities throughout airport facilities all throughout the nation. While video surveillance technology continues to enhance, airport security decision makers also must get used to absorbing constant improvement expenses in regards to their facilities protection and security. Despite the fact that it would be nice to carry out the final protective technology of our time and benefit from it for many years to come, that's just not how things operate. The technology of our time is growing at an amazingly exponential rate. This will require airport security staff, together with those in the industry, to continually invest in improved technologies, as well as those dealing with video surveillance systems.