Protecting Naval Ordnance

Protecting Naval Ordnance

Video surveillance gets an upgrade

The Naval Ordnance Test Unit (NOTU) at the Cape Canaveral, Fla., Air Force Station supports and tests sea-based weapons in a safe environment. The unit also operates the Navy Port at Port Canaveral, supporting submarines and surface ships of the U.S. Atlantic Fleet and of foreign navies, as well as the assets of the Military Sealift Command.

The unit’s location, which is surrounded by ocean on three sides, poses a challenge for electronic devices to operate dependably due to its corrosive, salt-water environment.

Video surveillance at NOTU previously consisted of an outdated system using four black-and-white PTZ cameras, a PTZ controller and four black-and-white video displays tied to VCRs. The system needed to be updated, and new NOTU turned to Millennium Communications of Melbourne, Fla., to design and install a new system. Founded by Angel Echevarria,

Millennium has a 10-year history of providing surveillance and two-way radio systems to commercial, hospitality, educational and federal facilities throughout Brevard County. Echevarria and Mark Soliman, president of the company, designed the NOTU system and oversaw its installation.

Millennium designed NOTU’s new system based on Samsung technology for its security and efficiency benefits. Faced with the outdated black-and-white cameras, their overall goal was to improve image clarity. Additionally, the Samsung solution provided automatic PTZ tours and vastly improved video storage capacity.

Millennium opted not to use IP-based network cameras but decided instead on the proven capabilities of Samsung’s analog technology, which fully met NOTU’s needs. The new system includes four Samsung weather-resistant PTZ cameras, which capture high-resolution images and are protected by integrated housings.

The PTZ line of cameras come equipped with features such as a 128x wide dynamic range and digital image stabilization with a 37x optical zoom lens and auto-tracking capabilities. These cameras also incorporate Samsung’s super noise reduction to minimize random and fixed noise under low illumination in order to achieve excellent low-light performance while reducing DVR storage space by as much as 70 percent.

“We knew that the installation at the Naval Ordnance Test Unit required cameras that combined high performance with outstanding value,” Soliman said. “The Samsung PTZ camera with its integrated housing fit the application well and provided a high-end product at a good mid-range price.”

The cameras at NOTU provide video across fiber-optic cabling to a Samsung DVR/storage system. The DVR provides high-resolution real-time recording capability and provides smart thumbnail and bookmark search capabilities, fast DVD backup—with a DVD writer included as a standard feature—and easy control with intuitive graphical user interface and mouse. It can also accommodate up to two internal SATA HDD disk drives.

NOTU systems also use a Samsung keyboard PTZ controller to provide system compatibility with multiple protocols. Its intuitive keypad, large LCD window and ergonomic design provide for easy operation. The system is monitored locally on base and uses fiber/ RS-485 transmission to control the cameras.

The video surveillance system is one of several security and surveillance systems deployed at the site. Soliman says the benefits of the Samsung system cannot be easily quantified beyond the benefits of security to protect a military dock.

“Mission-critical applications like that of the Naval Ordnance Test Unit clearly demonstrate the performance and value advantages of Samsung technology for high-end applications,” said Frank DeFina, senior vice president of sales and marketing at Samsung. “As we continue to develop new imaging and recording technologies, we are applying them across our entire product line of IP and analog solutions.”

This article originally appeared in the December 2011 issue of Security Today.

About the Author

Del V. Salvi is a freelance writer based in New York.

Featured

  • Gaining a Competitive Edge

    Ask most companies about their future technology plans and the answers will most likely include AI. Then ask how they plan to deploy it, and that is where the responses may start to vary. Every company has unique surveillance requirements that are based on market focus, scale, scope, risk tolerance, geographic area and, of course, budget. Those factors all play a role in deciding how to configure a surveillance system, and how to effectively implement technologies like AI. Read Now

  • 6 Ways Security Awareness Training Empowers Human Risk Management

    Organizations are realizing that their greatest vulnerability often comes from within – their own people. Human error remains a significant factor in cybersecurity breaches, making it imperative for organizations to address human risk effectively. As a result, security awareness training (SAT) has emerged as a cornerstone in this endeavor because it offers a multifaceted approach to managing human risk. Read Now

  • The Stage is Set

    The security industry spans the entire globe, with manufacturers, developers and suppliers on every continent (well, almost—sorry, Antarctica). That means when regulations pop up in one area, they often have a ripple effect that impacts the entire supply chain. Recent data privacy regulations like GDPR in Europe and CPRA in California made waves when they first went into effect, forcing businesses to change the way they approach data collection and storage to continue operating in those markets. Even highly specific regulations like the U.S.’s National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) can have international reverberations – and this growing volume of legislation has continued to affect global supply chains in a variety of different ways. Read Now

  • Access Control Technology

    As we move swiftly toward the end of 2024, the security industry is looking at the trends in play, what might be on the horizon, and how they will impact business opportunities and projections. Read Now

Featured Cybersecurity

Webinars

New Products

  • ResponderLink

    ResponderLink

    Shooter Detection Systems (SDS), an Alarm.com company and a global leader in gunshot detection solutions, has introduced ResponderLink, a groundbreaking new 911 notification service for gunshot events. ResponderLink completes the circle from detection to 911 notification to first responder awareness, giving law enforcement enhanced situational intelligence they urgently need to save lives. Integrating SDS’s proven gunshot detection system with Noonlight’s SendPolice platform, ResponderLink is the first solution to automatically deliver real-time gunshot detection data to 911 call centers and first responders. When shots are detected, the 911 dispatching center, also known as the Public Safety Answering Point or PSAP, is contacted based on the gunfire location, enabling faster initiation of life-saving emergency protocols. 3

  • 4K Video Decoder

    3xLOGIC’s VH-DECODER-4K is perfect for use in organizations of all sizes in diverse vertical sectors such as retail, leisure and hospitality, education and commercial premises. 3

  • Luma x20

    Luma x20

    Snap One has announced its popular Luma x20 family of surveillance products now offers even greater security and privacy for home and business owners across the globe by giving them full control over integrators’ system access to view live and recorded video. According to Snap One Product Manager Derek Webb, the new “customer handoff” feature provides enhanced user control after initial installation, allowing the owners to have total privacy while also making it easy to reinstate integrator access when maintenance or assistance is required. This new feature is now available to all Luma x20 users globally. “The Luma x20 family of surveillance solutions provides excellent image and audio capture, and with the new customer handoff feature, it now offers absolute privacy for camera feeds and recordings,” Webb said. “With notifications and integrator access controlled through the powerful OvrC remote system management platform, it’s easy for integrators to give their clients full control of their footage and then to get temporary access from the client for any troubleshooting needs.” 3