Farming and Agricultural Surveillance Cameras

Farming has always been a massive core component of society, so it is not surprising that every technological development has had some kind of impact on the industry. Until recently it has been largely limited to innovations in machinery where the focus was to increase productivity by reducing labor. Examples would include tractors to plow fields, pumps to milk cows, and combines to harvest crops. With so much happening on farms and fewer people operating them the access to information is more important than ever.

Today’s farmers are integrating weather and temperature sensing equipment with wireless surveillance cameras to stay abreast up to the second of all situations on the farm. Farmers need to monitor crops, dams, irrigation levels, livestock, heavy equipment, barns, and workshops. During foaling and calving season animals can be monitored from home, eliminating the need for frequent trips to the barn to check on them. Hidden mini cameras can be placed in remote areas where approach of thieves or poachers would be hard to detect otherwise, which is important when protecting high value stud animals. Cameras also allow employee productivity to be tracked and ensure that tasks are being completed up to standards.

A farm or acreage presents some unique security problems. Large open spaces with miles of border or fence to watch require utilization of many cameras, since thieves are not likely to enter and exit through the front entrance. These security cameras need to have a long and wide field of vision yet still provide a quality picture. This is why an automated system that can alert workers of trouble points instantaneously is most effective. One way of accomplishing this is to rig cameras up with infrared lasers which detect motion. When an intruder trips the motion sensor the camera begins recording and an alarm is sent out. Information can even be routed to a mobile phone, so there is no worry of missing an alert.

While information can be routed through land lines, this poses some problems. With so much movement of earth on a farm unless cables are buried deep enough breaks can occur. Overland cables are visible and can giveaway hidden camera locations to trespassers. Fixing or even locating a broken cable can be difficult. The drawback of wireless cameras is powering them. Most cameras operate at 12 volts, so a common car battery can be used, or alternatively solar panels. Batteries need to be checked regularly. Aside from being an obvious giveaway in a hidden camera situation, solar panels are prone to damage or theft. Vandal and weather proof cameras should be used at all locations.

Having all this information is great, but farming is a ‘git er done’ business. An automated security system can save farm operators and employees thousands of hours of labor per year enabling them to focus their work in the right areas at the right time.

About the Author: Mike Ward is the owner and operator of Protection Depot, a leading online provider of security cameras and wireless surveillance cameras. For more information about security cameras, please visit Protection Depot.

Predicting the Future With Automated Security Cameras

The movie “The Minority Report” is set in a future where crimes can be detected before they happen and people are arrested and charged for acts they intended to commit. Tom Cruise heads up the Pre Crime unit that is powered by psychic beings whose dreams of the future can detect murderous intent, however predicting crime before it happens may not require such a farfetched premise.

Some would argue that security cameras do not prevent crime they only assist with catching the individuals who conducted those criminal activities. While they do provide invaluable information about perpetrators the police can use to quickly apprehend suspects, new technologies combined with a stronger understanding of social behavior are quickly changing these assumptions about security. Automated security systems can prevent a crime before it even happens by recognizing threats before they have a chance to act.

An automated security system combines intelligent cameras with advanced database analysis software. These new intelligent surveillance cameras can automate and streamline security tasks. Smart cameras can track targets as well as make decisions on which targets to watch. These innovative security cameras can key in on individuals and recognize faces and objects the person is carrying. Data can be stored and cross referenced with police databases, hotel registrations, or any other pertinent data to determine the threat level of any given person. As data is collected over time the system is begins to understand how specific people behave. This allows control centers to better monitor a site by requiring fewer agents to monitor more cameras. Utilizing behavioral analysis algorithms the system can notify security monitoring personnel of any suspicious activity.

These systems are astonishingly accurate. One social experiment conducted at MIT, The Reality Mining Project, utilized hundreds of thousands of hours of proximity data collected by tracking mobile phones over a period of nine months. Researchers were then able to create algorithms that could predict a person’s next actions accurately over 85% of the time. The program was also able to determine social status and relationships. Tracking individuals as they move through their day from home to work and other key locations the program could create a list of their friends and acquaintances and be right 90% of the time.

How does this work practically speaking? Here is one example. A serious threat, such as a terrorist, is likely to conduct their own surveillance of the site before carrying out an attack. The system could track individuals as they move through the site and recognize surveillance types of behavior. The system would then alert monitoring agents to pay closer attention to them. A snapshot of the target could be used to determine identity and various databases could be cross referenced for any pertinent information about the suspect. They can then direct security teams on how to position themselves to deal with the threat in a moment’s notice should the need arise.

About the Author: Mike Ward is the owner and operator of Protection Depot, a leading online provider of security cameras and surveillance cameras. For more information about security cameras, please visit Protection Depot.

The Advantages of IP Based Data Storage

The digital age has revolutionized how security system footage is collected and utilized. Security cameras have traditionally relied on VHS tapes to store surveillance data. Even with drastic price reductions for surveillance equipment in recent years some systems still rely on old technology, which requires one to continually switch out old tapes for fresh ones. Labeling and storing tapes can become a full time job. Businesses with many security cameras may need to store hundreds or even thousands tapes at a time. Surveillance tapes are one of the first places officials go when investigating crimes and the speed of accessing them can make or break a case. With stacks of VHS tapes to go through police might spend weeks sorting through tapes as leads grow cold.

A better method of data storage utilizes digital video conversion. With this method data is converted to a digital format, such as Mpeg-4, and stored on an in house digital video recorder, or DVR. High tech networks are able to combine bullet cams, dome cams, and wireless surveillance cameras to cover all their surveillance needs. Digital camera networks can be easily expanded to implement more cameras. Wireless cameras can be placed in distant locations where it may be difficult or undesirable to run wires. One drawback with wireless is data transfer speeds may be lower, which can reduce playback quality.

Another solution is an IP based approach. Here the data is stored online and a backup DVD copy is also created and stored onsite. The advantage here is that security can be monitored from any location. Authorities can be granted permission to access data remotely to assist with an investigation. By speeding up the process for investigators there is a much higher chance of apprehending suspects. With quality footage suspects are sometimes apprehended in a few hours.

There are other advantages as well. Video data can be recorded at higher resolutions than a VHS, and the audio quality is much clearer as well. Once the equipment is setup you can drastically reduce the time spent managing data. No more having to switch out old tapes for blank tapes or having to house large archives of VHS tapes. It is much easier and quicker to search through digital data for evidence than having to fast forward and rewind a VHS tape. Data can be searched by date and time. Additional video analytics can be implemented to highlight key details in a data set. An example of this would be eliminating background noise to hear what someone is saying or enhancing part of the video footage to pickup small details.

About the Author: Mike Ward is the owner and operator of Protection Depot, a leading online provider of security cameras and wireless surveillance cameras. For more information about security cameras, please visit Protection Depot.

Security Costs at the 2010 Olympics

The city of Vancouver is bustling with preparations for the 2010 Winter Olympic Games. Intensive construction efforts directed to improve transportation, provide housing for athletes and venues for competitions have been underway for several years. Major projects such as the Sea to Sky Highway, and the Canada Line skytrain addition are just a few examples. The immense activity during a mega event such as an Olympic Games is mind boggling. For 17 days between February 12th and 18th the streets, buses, and skytrain will be congested constantly with people moving every which direction all day and night. Crowded stadiums filled with high profile VIP’s and athletes would be a tantalizing target for terrorist attacks. The logistics and costs to setup city wide surveillance and security are massive and several multi-million dollar studies are underway to strategize how best accomplish this goal.

The Vancouver Olympic Committee is expecting to spend somewhere around $177 million dollars on security for the games, however the number is likely to increase. Olympic watchdog’s “2010 Watch” spokesman Chris Shaw questions the validity of this claim. In 2002 the US spent over $500 million in Salt Lake, while the Athens Olympics ran a bill of $1.5 billion US dollars. How could a number like $177 million be realistic when other cities have spent so much more? Most of the money, approximately two thirds, will be spent on providing additional police and security personnel during the games. The next biggest expense will be surveillance equipment, voice stress analyzers, security cameras, and explosives sensing equipment. CCTV networks utilizing highly advanced hardware and software will give security officers an astounding amount of information. These networks will be able to recognize people’s faces and be able to rapidly cross check their identity with government records or hotel registrations. Rapid access to this information could give the police the edge they need to prevent a major terrorist disaster.

One concern is that the cameras will remain in place after the games, as they have in recent venues such as Salt Lake City and Sydney, and that they would infringe upon individual privacy. Indoor and outdoor cameras numbering in the thousands will be installed everywhere from Downtown Vancouver to Whistler. Others question whether or not the cameras will actually do anything to prevent even a small scale terrorist attack. Even if the presence of security cameras does not actually prevent a crime they would certainly help the Vancouver Police Department identify and apprehend perpetrators and this can help reduce crime in the long run.


About the Author: Mike Ward is the owner and operator of Protection Depot, a leading online provider of security cameras and surveillance cameras. For more information about security cameras, please visit Protection Depot.