A fuel tank farm asset at the Minneapolis-St. Paul Airport is being protected from potential threats and unwanted events by the PureActiv® Wide Area Surveillance system. Installation of the system -- from PureTech Systems Inc, manufacturer of wide-area video surveillance solutions -- was enabled by a grant from the Minnesota Dept of Public Safety for homeland security.
The Metropolitan Airports Commission, which owns and operates seven airports in the Minneapolis and St. Paul metropolitan area, down-selected three vendors and then conducted an extensive head-to-head competitive assessment using live scenarios designed to test the intelligent video analytic capabilities of each system. Scenarios were evaluated simultaneously on each system in both day and nighttime conditions, and each was rated based on its ability to detect specific events and overall performance.
Airport facilities cover immense areas, and are often surrounded by housing developments and warehouses. Both before and after Sept. 11, 2001, airports have focused on internal security measures, leaving external security vulnerable and making airport perimeters the facilities' weakest point.
The challenge is to heighten both internal and external security measures. For external areas, this means protecting perimeters, runways, airplanes, and adjacent/remote airport properties; for internal areas, it means elevating existing protocols.
The PureActiv automated surveillance solution arms airports with a powerful "command and control" system for detecting, identifying, and tracking security breaches. Integrating satellite imagery of the airport, internal and external cameras, fence detection systems, and other security variables, the system monitors internal and external locations, including perimeters, runways, airplanes, freight facilities, security screening areas, and much more. Operators can program PureActiv to account for control parameters such as speed, size, and shape, and can tag specific areas of concern, such as an unauthorized aircraft or an unused security door. The system identifies violations of designated security parameters, notifies security personnel with an alarm, tracks and records the intrusion, and provides operators with the information they need for an appropriate emergency response.
"We were seeking ways to use technology as a force multiplier; a means to more effectively utilize the security resources we have, more proactively identify possible threats, and share information more efficiently. The PureActiv® solution has the functionality to help us achieve those goals," states Commander Mike Everson, head of the Airport Police Dept's Security Div. "The system allows us to set up virtual perimeters, monitor for specific situations, detect and classify individual threats, and then automates our security policies for alarm notification. It's always on, around the clock, 24 hours a day."
