Underwater surveillance brought to life
Jukka Riivari, CEO of Mirasys.
Busy ports create many issues for the authorities, and differences in opinion can often end up in court, writes Jukka Riivari, CEO of Finland based Mirasys, which develops and supplies software that helps organisations manage the information captured by digital video and CCTV cameras.
There has been an unmet need for systems that can faithfully report on conditions below the surface. At the port of San Francisco, divers hooked up to microphones and cameras can be dispatched to inspect the hulls of incoming vessels, or indeed the condition of the pier. Corrosion and wear and tear can take quite a toll on the structure of the port.
Crucially, the integrity of the data captured in this way is safeguarded by modern watermarking and compression standards, and with the latest management systems, video and audio feeds from the divers can be synchronized with notes from the operators in the control room to ensure that as much information as possible is gleaned from each mission.
Clearly, such a system has utility beyond the realm of maintenance and hull inspections. Homeland security and customs officials could also monitor incoming vessels from below the surface of the water to ensure that no weapons or unauthorized cargo were being brought ashore. At this moment in time, the visibility that can be achieved using state of the art cameras even in clear, deep water ports is not sufficient for static cameras to be in operation. But the potential of mobile surveillance systems has only just begun to be realised and port operators are continually innovating in this field.
In tandem with underwater monitoring of vessels and equipment, shipping services are increasingly relying on intelligent surveillance systems above deck and on the surface. The use of camera footage and RFID tags together means that containers on freight liners can be located and tracked from source to destination, allowing for swift unloading and onward distribution.
In fact, ports and harbours around the world are hotbeds of technological innovation, and today surveillance systems are enabling remarkable improvements in efficiency and workflow management. These gains are trickling down into other sectors of the economy, as lessons learned at ports are adapted elsewhere.
As for traditional surveillance challenges, the harbourside environment provides a variety of terrain for the security specifier. For starters, the interface between the land and water is an extremely busy one, requiring real-time recording at high frame rates so as to capture information on traffic into and out of the port. By contrast, at the port perimeters, which consist of purely dry land interfaces, much less activity will be observed. Marrying the very different needs of these areas places unique demands on today’s surveillance systems. User friendly, flexible control systems have made it possible, and all at high resolution with the advent of the megapixel camera.
CCTV cameras may be becoming all-pervasive, but the benefits to the shipping industry are undeniable: in security, maintenance and logistics they are helping to make ports safer and more efficient. Where ports have led, others will follow.
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