Enhanced perimeter intrusion detection with VCA, thermal cameras and radar.

The objective of security is to protect people, locations & assets & for the threats organizations face daily, early detection of potential problems is crucial.

Perimeter intrusion detection systems (PIDS) exist to alert security personnel of potential perimeter breaches, in order to keep unauthorized individuals out. A number of environmental challenges, such as harsh weather and low or no light scenarios can pose a significant obstacle to the efficacy of traditional PIDS systems.

Why do you need a perimeter intrusion detection system (PIDS)?

• Provides you with advance notice if trespassers are on your property.
• Have adequate time to react after the invader is quickly discovered.
• Avoid big losses & feel secure knowing that your investments are safe.
• Since certain devices are not immediately noticeable, you can discreetly keep an eye on your property.
• Reduce the number of people needed to protect a sizable area of land. This saves time & money because fewer employees are required to stand by & continuously monitor security.
• As the majority of PIDS are compatible with existing fences or walls, you can increase protection without incurring significant additional costs.
• PIDS gives you a greater picture & more time to evaluate security issues if you have a large site or property.

There are a number of technologies typically deployed for perimeter intrusion detection, including visible light cameras & motion detection technologies like fence-mounted sensors, microwave, etc. While each has its strengths, there are also a number of drawbacks to using any one of these solutions in a standalone capacity.

Video surveillance systems produce massive amounts of video. Due to lack of time or resources however, most of this footage never gets watched or reviewed. As a result, security incidents get missed & suspicious behavior is not detected in time to prevent incidents. These challenges have played a large part in the development of video analytics. Video Content Analytics (VCA) is used to automate the job of watching hours of footage in search of potential threats, such as intruders. Integrating video analytics can help security operators to identify incidents during long shifts, where they have to stay alert & monitor multiple camera feeds at once.?

VCA works independently of a control server & operates independently on each camera. It does not detect & determine an events based on just a single image. It is an automated process similar to a human’s ability to see objects & activities & ascribe meaning to them. Essentially, the technology does the work of a human operator & can detect when things are amiss in any way.

CCTV operators are required to monitor several screens at once. Though most are trained in what to look for, after staring at a screen for as little as 17 minutes, they lose concentration & miss certain activity. In fact, many operators miss as much as 90% of activity in a scene after so many hours of surveillance have passed.

This is crucial when security team members have to monitor 25-50 CCTV cameras. According to a blog from 3S Security Systems, quoted by Security & IoT magazine asmag.com, research in the US has suggested that staff watching video systems can experience fatigue “in as little as 12 minutes, overlooking up to 45% of activity in the camera scenes. After 17 minutes, that increases up to 90% of overlooked activity.”

With intelligent digital image processing & the ability to keep a constant & unblinking eye on every area monitored, the productivity of security systems is increased by as much as 90% - in effect making up for the 90% of footage missed when a human operator is manning the cameras.

With video analytics, end users get a machine that never sleeps, never calls in sick, does not need a salary & gives everything 100% of its attention, around the clock.

VCA allows system owners to set alerts for certain activities & assists the operator by lending an extra pair of eyes. If a camera identifies an alert condition, it will notify the operator so that appropriate action can be swiftly taken. VCA is widely used in security applications in which a CCTV camera is aimed at secure entrances. The system would attempt to pinpoint a security breach by analyzing a person's movements, which would be different from a routine ID card swipe versus breaking down the door. The system can also be programmed to trigger an alarm if an authenticated person went through the door but was followed immediately by someone not identified.?

Leveraging analytics technology enables a single individual to monitor many more cameras & reduce the amount of missed critical events, therefore enabling a prompt response to prevent a crime rather than just respond to it after the incident.

Long stretches of fencing, gates & other perimeter technologies including?video surveillance, have been the mainstays for applications ranging from critical infrastructure facilities & data centers.

Security personnel rely on alerts generated by intrusion detection technologies. However, the unfortunate reality is the number of false alerts from intrusion detection solutions can quickly become overwhelming for onsite security personnel, central monitoring station operators & law enforcement. Weather, animals, foliage & other factors can easily generate false positives.

The best approach to mitigate?false alarms is to ensure accurate identification, which not only helps identify valid threats but also increases the effectiveness & efficiency of response. The sooner a response can be put into action, the more likely for an incident to be averted.

Verification is another major pain point that creates significant challenges for organizations by delaying & hindering critical response. A way to reduce nuisance alarms through accurate intrusion classification & visual alarm assessment is the application of remote monitoring with thermal analytics.

Thermal Cameras

Thermal imaging or thermographic imaging cameras are able to see when there is absolutely no visible light. These cameras are sensitive to heat radiation that comes from an object that’s warmer than the surrounding environment.?They can see the heat coming from a person or animal.?Thermal imaging cameras can detect emitted energy through smoke, dust, fog, blowing sand, rain & snow. Visible light wavelengths bounce or are reflected off the obscurant particles due to the wavelength being short.?The long wavelength of the infrared spectrum can pass through obscurants allowing a thermal imager to detect the emitted energy.

Thermal imaging cameras are sometimes referred to as FLIR (Forward Looking InfraRed) cameras. The resolution of thermal imaging cameras is considerably lower than that of optical cameras.?Thermal cameras have a resolution of 320x 240 or 640 x 480 pixels. These thermographic?cameras are much more expensive than their visible-spectrum counterparts, and higher-end models are often export-restricted. The newest technologies use low cost & uncooled micro-bolometers FPA sensors - a specific type of bolometer used as a detector in a thermal camera.?Infrared radiation with wavelengths between 8-13 μm strikes the detector material, heating it & changing its electrical resistance.?This resistance change is measured & processed into electrical signals which can be used to create an image. Unlike other types of infrared detecting equipment, micro-bolometers do not require cooling.

One of the original uses for thermal imaging were to detect perimeter breach threats during nighttime & other low-light conditions. Thermal cameras produce images based on radiated heat rather than reflected light. All living things & inanimate objects emit some degree of heat naturally, making them apparent to thermal imagers, even if the human eye may not be able to perceive them.

By relying on emitted heat, thermal cameras produce images with greater scene detail in many challenging conditions. Detection ranges of 1 kilometer or more are common with thermal cameras, making them an effective pairing with radars. Similar to radar, thermal cameras can see through moderate weather & foliage to detect intruders.

Thermal security cameras use a combination of specialized sensors & lenses to convert infrared energy, or heat emissions, from the objects it monitors into visible light colors or shades to show temperature variances. Since the human eye can only see in visible light scale, this gives a deeper insight into what the broader spectrum of infrared energy provides for scene content.

Thermal sensors have the ability to detect heat signatures in complete darkness or harsh environments like fog, smoke, dust, snow, rain & many other challenging conditions.

For mission-critical applications where 24/7 monitoring is a necessity, traditional visible light camera without image enhancing features only provide dark images that make forensic review &?video analytics difficult, if not impossible.

Deploying?thermal security cameras?that use heat signatures instead of light to produce video is a different ballgame. Thermal makes all the difference for threat detection, real-time response & crime prevention. Thermal cameras are a 24/7 monitoring solution, not reliant on external light or favorable conditions. The thermal sensor allows for decision-making based on where the object of interest is within the scene.

There are 3 classification ranges for thermal cameras:

• Detection range provides the ability to detect something moving within the scene.
• Recognition is the ability to know that it is a person, vehicle or animal.
• Identification allows for additional assessment of the person to see they have a hat, coat or other basic details.

The image does not allow the operator to recognize the person’s identity. However, it shows there is someone in the scene within a variety of challenging environments that other cameras do not perform well in. The defining characteristic of a thermal sensor is the detection of heat, reflecting the minute differences among heat signatures in images.

Typically, thermal security cameras display objects in shades of grey, black & white based on how much or little energy the object give off.

As a result, thermal cameras can deliver clear images regardless of rain, shine or complete darkness. Thermal images with their high contrast, are ideal for video analytics & result in more accurate detection.?The thermal sensors can be tied into the local VMS & part of the overall video solution, or used independently to allow for a standalone detection source whose output could be tied or integrated to the alarm system.

Some alarm monitored applications may also benefit from the redundancy of a CCTV camera covering the same area of single or multiple thermal cameras for greater forensic details.

In shorter range field of views, it can be covered by 1 camera, but what also becomes a great advantage is to tie a PTZ camera with predefined positions to activate on an event trigger from a designated thermal sensor zone. This allows the higher level of detection.

While alternative perimeter solutions like motion detectors or buried cable systems require additional devices to verify alerts, thermal cameras can both detect & provide visuals of approaching targets for assessment. They also reduce infrastructure by eliminating the need for exterior lights.

Thermal imaging cameras equipped with onboard video analytics are capable of classifying human or vehicular perimeter intrusions, resulting in fewer false alarms.

The primary drawback to traditional cameras is their reliance on the amount of available light. In sunshine or a brightly lit scene, visible light cameras perform fairly well. But in shadows, at night or in another situation where lighting is less than ideal, objects can appear faint, if they appear at all.

Another limitation is visual contrast. Because they capture only visible light, they can easily be fooled by visual camouflage or situations where similar patterns or colors blend together to obscure people & objects. Therefore, these cameras are easily fooled by naturally occurring phenomena such as trees, shadows, animals & other factors.

Thermal imaging provides clear visuals in complete darkness. Furthermore, as thermal radiation can penetrate visible barriers like smoke, dust, fog & other phenomena, thermal imaging is largely immune to their presence. For these reasons, thermal imaging is one of the most effective 24/7 surveillance technologies available today.

Thermal security cameras let people see what their eyes cannot: invisible heat radiation either emitted or reflected by all objects, regardless of lighting conditions. Because they see heat, not light, thermal cameras are effective tools in any security setting. They can easily detect intruders & other potential hazards in any weather, as well as day & night.

With thermal cameras, facilities can detect intruders from greater distances regardless of light and environmental factors, giving security forces more time to react & respond.

Reliable Detection Capability

The reliability of any camera as an intrusion detection solution lies in video analytics, which employ predetermined algorithms to process digital images in an attempt to identify objects or activities of interest. Video analytics can be helpful but it does depend on the quality of the video, which is contingent on the available light & can be problematic for traditional security cameras.

Reliability is significantly compromised when there is a fluctuation in lighting, low-light conditions or common natural occurrences such as wind, precipitation or the presence of insects, especially at night. This has a direct impact on the number of false alarms generated by visible light & IR-illuminated cameras.

Thermal’s unique ability to provide high-contrast imaging, regardless of light or environment, minimizes normally troublesome issues. In other words, thermal enables high-performance video analytics & overcomes the blindness of motion-detection solutions.

With thermal cameras, wind-blown branches, animals bumping against a fence or insects on a camera lens no longer trigger unwanted alarms.

Ease of Deployment

In addition to its technological capabilities, thermal cameras require less infrastructure for deployment than other perimeter intrusion detection systems.

Thermal imaging require fewer cameras than would be necessary with visible light cameras. This reduction translates into cost savings on mounting, power, video feedback connection & installation expense.

The effectiveness of thermal imaging cameras for intrusion detection is indisputable. However, their performance can be further enhanced by integrating video analytics & other sensors to form a more powerful solution, including situations where thermal cameras can be used to augment existing technologies.

Buried RF cable or fence-mounted fiber-optic sensors bring the potential for a high rate of nuisance alarms. Where these solutions are deployed, thermal cameras can be integrated to work in cooperation with these technologies to significantly lower their level of vulnerability while rejecting potential alarms generated by innocuous disturbances.

Today, there are thermal cameras built for smaller perimeters, where wide area monitoring & intrusion detection within 150 feet are the priority.

Thermal Security Applications

Thermal cameras’ 24-hour monitoring capabilities & deployment advantages are some of the key factors that have led to the broader adoption of these solutions.

Thermal has become the preferred monitoring solution for nuclear power plants, electrical substations, oil & gas refineries & airports. Marinas, construction sites & remote storage facilities are some locations which have leveraged on thermal to reduce false alarms, provide wide area protection & enhance perimeter defence.

Resolution & Detection Ranges

For critical infrastructure deployments where human detection beyond the fence line is a must, cameras with full thermal resolution of 640×480 are optimal. They can give you up to 16x as many pixels as the standard thermal camera, yielding much longer detection ranges & greater image detail. On the other hand, for commercial installations where wide-area monitoring is the priority & the needed detection range is within 50 meters, 320×120 resolution is sufficient.

Built-in Analytics

Besides sending alerts, thermal cameras can also classify alerts. In this era of?AI & deep learning, superior thermal cameras are those that provide reliable human & vehicle detection. Backed with image enhancing features, these thermal cameras create sharper, crisp edges that are optimized for classification analytics. These technologies help to ensure accurate, actionable alerts that reduce false positives.

Interoperability

A key part of security system design is ensuring the edge devices are compatible with the head end, or video management system. To ensure interoperability & immediate adoption by 3rd-party providers, look for thermal cameras that are?ONVIF-compliant & that stream digital video in H.264. (H.264 is a video compression standard & format that uses advanced compression techniques to deliver high-quality video at low bit rates. It is part of the MPEG-4 standard & is also known as MPEG-4 Part 10, Advanced Video Coding (AVC). It is a popular format for delivering high-quality video content over the internet & for storing video in memory-limited devices such as mobile phones, digital cameras & security cameras.)

Ideally, a perimeter security strategy should incorporate multiple tiers. It should include early detection of a potential threat & analysis of that threat to assist security staff in determining the most appropriate response.

Radar

A radar’s long detection range allows security personnel to be alerted to an approaching intruder before the suspect reaches the perimeter. In a nutshell, radars gives security personnel more time to react to intrusion activity.?Radar detection systems have evolved considerably in recent years, becoming the go-to solution for reliable, cost-effective perimeter protection for facilities traditionally underserved by video surveillance & fences alone.

Radar has been a go-to technology as part of a rings of defense strategy for many years for utilities, airports & military installations. However, radar has been unable to provide any additional intelligence about the threat, whether it is human or animal, friend or foe.

The basic operation of a radar system involves transmitting a high-frequency electromagnetic signal towards the location of an expected target, then measuring the radiation of its reflections. As a radar takes a snapshot picture of the area, it learns the fixed environment. After several scans are recorded, the radar compares the most recent picture with the fixed environment & notes what is different. On the next revolution, it measures any change in the location of any abnormality, & if the difference meets 1 or more of the criteria for an intruder, it generates an alarm.

When integrated with sophisticated management software, the radar displays this data on a dynamic map, delivering real-time insights to security personnel monitoring the device; it then sends coordinates to integrated cameras & initiates slew-to-cue functionality, using the cameras for visual assessment of intruders. This layering of intrusion detection sensors enables redundancy & prevents false alarms by verifying intrusion events with 2 data points; it also prioritizes multiple targets to provide PTZ cameras with logic, such as “follow closest” or “follow furthest,” taking the operator out of the equation & allowing personnel to focus their time on response efforts.

By integrating thermal cameras with radar, operators improve target tracking & alarm verification. When a radar detects a human on the premises, a thermal camera is automatically guided to the same area, zooming into the exact location so that the operator can see & track the individual at all times.

Another benefit of the thermal-radar pairing is that each solution backs up the other’s conclusion. Having both thermal & radar perspectives of the event helps operators prioritize events & response accordingly.

Being able to detect movement & generate images even in challenging weather & environmental conditions makes the thermal-radar combination best suited for monitoring of critical sites & assets. End users find that they receive better continuity of monitoring when using these technologies together, as they can both provide data to operators in scenarios where traditional video cameras & analytics fail.

Ground-Based Security Radar to Perimeter Systems have been successfully deployed at the following:

• Substations: As reported by Conseil International des Grands Réseaux Electriques (Council on Large Electric Systems or CIGRE), 88% of substations experience at least 1 break-in every year. For substations without any onsite security personnel, early intrusion detection is critical for crime prevention. Radar can detect an intruder long before they reach the fence line, allowing a remote security personnel to quickly review alarms, verify threats by reviewing video footage & dispatch police before the situation escalates & equipment is sabotaged. Radars are also able to detect incoming drones or other aircraft.
• Data Centers: According to the 2020 State of the Data Center Report, 50% of respondents said the biggest security concern included “outside human threats.” For large enterprise DC locations, multiple DCs are built within a single perimeter in a remote environment. Integrating radar into a PIDS ensures all critical areas are monitored so that no threat goes unnoticed.
• Airports:?For large airports whose perimeters span several miles, security managers can deploy radar & experience the combined benefit of robust detection range & wide area coverage. For airports too large for the human or digital eye to effectively monitor, or where there is 24/7 activity, radar delivers a strategic advantage in its ability to monitor the perimeter & tarmac around-the-clock.
• Correctional Facilities:?A key challenge that many prisons face is the ease with which a drone can deliver contraband packages into prison grounds or an individual can approach a perimeter fence line & throw contraband packages onto the prison grounds. However, radar can monitor a perimeter continuously, detecting incoming drones or other aircraft, notifying security personnel of any drone or individual approaching the fence line for real-time response.

With a wide FOV & long-range detection, radar provides true wide-area protection & situational awareness well beyond the perimeter fence line. Radar is designed to efficiently monitor large open areas. In scenarios where multiple cameras would need to be installed to cover a 90-degree FOV, installing just one security radar together with thermal & visible cameras could deliver the same coverage with a detection range far beyond that of any visual or thermal camera alone.

While radars are almost always a superior solution for perimeter security, they are not magic boxes that can detect in any environment, through walls & fauna, & provide zero false alarms in any situation. It is recommended for both the end user & integrator to undergo basic training on radar technology to understand its advantages & where it is suitable for efficient & effective deployment.

Conclusion

A total perimeter solution must also include a strong VMS that provides tight integration among detection technologies & streamlines real-time response for crime deterrence. When a radar or thermal camera with analytics detects an intruder, a robust?VMS?will have a dynamic geographic information system (GIS) map display of all sensors & alarms for global awareness.

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Endro Sunarso is an expert in Security Management, Physical Security & Counter Terrorism. He is regularly consulted on matters pertaining to transportation security, off-shore security, critical infrastructure protection, security & threat assessments, & blast mitigation.

Besides being a Certified Protection Professional (CPP?), a Certified Identity & Access Manager (CIAM?), a Project Management Professional (PMP?) & a Certified Scrum Master (CSM?), Endro is also a Fellow of the Security Institute (FSyl) & the Institute of Strategic Risk Management (F.ISRM).

Endro has spent about 2 decades in Corporate Security (executive protection, crisis management, critical infrastructure protection, governance, business continuity, loss mitigation, due diligence, counter corporate espionage, etc). He also has more than a decade of experience in Security & Blast Consultancy work, initially in the Gulf Region & later in South East Asia.