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Law Enforcement
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Research center improves security with wireless video
Sep 19, 2007
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by James Careless
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Located on a one square mile campus in Richland, WA, the Department of Energy’s Pacific Northwest National Laboratory looks more like a university campus than a government research and development center. Within about 35 buildings, 4,200 scientists and other staff solve complex problems in energy, national security, and the environment, and advance scientific frontiers in the chemical, biological, materials, environmental, and computational sciences.
The campus ambience is one that PNNL administrators want to maintain, which is why they decided to increase safety and security with wireless IP video surveillance, not chain-link fences.
“We want to attract the best scientists and engineers to PNNL,” explained Jerry Johnson, PNNL’s CIO. “It’s a lot easier to do this if the campus retains its look of natural open beauty, rather than a institution hemmed in by a security fence. In addition, we want to provide the best practical IT services to support the scientists’ work environment. A campus-wide Wi-Fi envelope helps make this possible.”
No Fences, No Trenches
To protect the PNNL campus using wired video cameras was out of the question. “The trenching and cabling that would have been required would have cost roughly $5 million,” said Phil George, PNNL’s network security and telephone systems portfolio manager. “We didn’t have the budget for that. But we could afford to install a wireless IP camera system for one half of that price, especially when it could be integrated into our existing Wi-Fi network.”
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| In the PNNL's Operations Center, video feeds from up to 16 cameras can be displayed on one screen at any time. |
The existing network consisted of some 300 Cisco Aironet 1130 and 1200 wireless access points located inside PNNL buildings. PNNL added nearly 100 Cisco Aironet 1500 outdoor access points to create the complete mesh network needed for the project.
Known as the Campus Public Safety Camera System, the system’s wireless connectivity enabled installation of many more cameras than otherwise possible. The beauty of mesh network technology is that any mesh access point can communicate with any neighbor within range. Loss of connectivity with a neighbor just prompts a switch to the next best path through the network.
“Redundancy is vital to any network, but particularly to one used for safety and security,” said Johnson. “The capabilities of a mesh wireless topology are best-suited for this kind of application, because it can adjust and reroute to accommodate equipment failure and/or maintenance.”
Before this project began, PNNL had about 35 fixed cameras covering entrances, exits, and other high-traffic areas. To extend coverage campus-wide, a combination of 83 Pelco stationary and PTZ cameras were installed and connected to the mesh network through individual access points. Existing outdoor lighting poles were chosen for mounting of the majority of cameras because they offer high, clear views plus access to electrical power. Real-time color video signals are converted to MPEG-4 and encrypted before transmission via Wi-Fi.
“The great advantage of using these wireless bridges for video is that no trenching across busy parking lots was involved,” explained Johnson. “We mounted them on the poles in their weatherproofed enclosures, pulled new power wires to the pole bases, installed power supply cabinets, and turned them on. Once wireless connectivity was established, the video recording equipment was configured and put online.”
The video is viewed back at PNNL’s Operations Center. Six 42-inch Sony LCD monitors are connected to Pelco Genex 16-channel video multiplexers, so up to 16 of the 135 cameras can be displayed on one screen at any given time. The video is stored in the lab’s central video processing facility, on Integral Technologies digital recorders, which store more than six months of real-time video from each camera.
To further enhance the system’s usefulness, PNNL installed 14 Voice-over-IP emergency call kiosks throughout the campus, each within viewing distance of a security camera. The kiosks serve double duty; one call button notifies the control center of an emergency, another contacts the center for other kinds of assistance, such as directions.
“The nearest camera zooms in when any of these are activated” said Johnson. “This provides the monitoring center with a clear picture of what is happening at that location in real time.”
In the future, PNNL may use this same system to track assets such as computers and lab equipment fitted with the emerging Wi-Fi radio frequency identification (RFID) transmitters. These new Wi-Fi tags allow access points to act as RFID readers and provide equipment location information.
Directing Traffic
Adding the wireless video system to an existing Cisco Aironet network was relatively straightforward. From conception to activation, the project took 18 months.
Still, there were some bugs that had to be worked out before the campus camera system was ready. “Initially, we found that the flow of IP data from the cameras overwhelmed our network at times,” Johnson recalled. “Certain access points experienced ‘traffic jams,’ simply because there were so many wireless bridges in close proximity sending video streams over the wireless network.”
The problems were sorted out within a month of turning the system on in late 2006. “Quite honestly, getting this system operational was easier than many expected,” said Johnson. “Given the complexity of the mesh networking, the number of cameras added, and the addition of VoIP emergency call kiosks, this project really went exceedingly well.”
As for the video quality? “It isn’t perfect, but it is still very good,” said George. “You can read a license plate clearly at 300 yards with a PTZ.” And the low-light cameras provide a useable picture at night.
Johnson and George can’t say enough good things about the Campus Public Safety Camera System. “Using this system, we have been able to maintain the open campus feeling here without compromising safety and security,” Johnson told GV. “We can now keep a close eye on our entire campus perimeter and interior without having to increase manpower, build fences, or spend millions on cable trenching.”
“Make no mistake: Had a trenched, cabled system been our only option, we would not have been able to construct a campus-wide video system,” added George. “Being able to use wireless and to integrate the new system into our existing network saved us a fortune and made this project possible. We are talking spending $2.8 million for wireless, instead of $5 million for wired.”
Connecting the Pelco PTZ cameras into the existing power infrastructure was part of the cost savings. Another advantage is the system’s scalable architecture. “It is easy to add more cameras as we need them,” Johnson noted. “Just plug them in and turn them on, do a bit of setup, and we’re ready to go. Compare that with the cost to install outdoor, underground wiring -- they are just not in the same ballpark.”
Wireless is definitely worth a look for facilities considering a video surveillance system, Johnson concluded, particularly if it’s adding a system into an existing facility. “For PNNL, it has solved our connectivity problems,” he said, “and at considerable savings.”
MORE INFO
Cisco cisco.com
Integral Technologies integraltech.com
Pelco pelco.com
PNNL pnl.com
Sony sony.com/government
Winsted winsted.com
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