Rapidly deployable security systems.

Quickly deployable security systems.

Alexander Ivanovich Larin, Candidate of Technical Sciences

QUICKLY DEPLOYABLE SECURITY SYSTEMS

Source: Special Equipment magazine

The presented review does not in any way claim to fully cover the world market of rapidly deployable systems, however, I hope that this material will help to determine the development trends of this class of security equipment both on the domestic market and abroad.

The significant differences between rapidly deployable security systems, as a class, and traditional perimeter security systems are:

• short installation time of system elements on site (usually no more than 1.5 hours for a standard set of equipment);
• the ability to quickly change the location of sensors on the ground, and therefore the configuration of the controlled boundary (area) depending on changes in the situation;
• the ability to install on terrain that is not prepared in terms of engineering.

These differences determine that rapidly deployable systems are intended to warn of an intruder approaching an object or of his presence in a certain controlled area.

Therefore, such systems can be used both independently and together with traditional perimeter security systems.

This class of security equipment has been most developed in the USA and a number of European countries, where state programs for the creation of such equipment have been implemented for several decades.

For example, the state program MPASS (USA) provides support for the RFPI and TRSS programs, which use a set of unattended ground sensors ANGSQ-257, containing seismic, magnetic and IR detectors.

The MPASS program also develops a technique for combining data from distributed sensors and their collective use by network subscribers. The sensors will be integrated into the Sensor Array Management network, designed to solve the following problems: matching sensors, combining their data, transmitting data and visually assessing the situation.

Initially conceived as equipment for government security agencies, rapidly deployable systems are now enjoying increasing commercial success.

As of the end of 1999, such systems were sold in more than 50 countries worldwide.

1. Analysis of the composition of foreign rapidly deployable detection systems.

The TASS (Tactical Automated Security System) was adopted by the US Electronic System Center (ESC) in 1995.

The TASS system includes:

• tactical relocatable sensors;
• signaling devices with personal computers of portable (Laptop) and desktop (Desktop) type and hand-held monitors;
• hand-held thermal imaging sensors AN/PAS-19 from Hughes Defense Cummunications;
• AGEMA Infrared System Thermovision 6-24 UC tripod-mounted sensors capable of detecting people at distances of up to 1.5 km and vehicles at distances of up to 3 km or more;
• software, communications hardware, interfaces, and ancillary components.

TRW System Integration Group (USA) has supplied the US Air Force with 12 TASS systems (worth $47 million) for deployment in the Middle East. Based on field testing, the TASS system was estimated to increase personnel protection by 16 times. The company has been awarded contracts to continue the work for five years from 1997 for $495 million.

TASS includes: Mini Intrusion Defection System or Enhanced MIDS.

Developed by Qual-Tron (USA), which has manufactured hundreds of thousands of unattended ground sensors UGS.

The EMIDS system has the same form, layout and functionality as MIDS, but unlike the latter, it contains a frequency synthesizer that allows communication in preferred frequency ranges in any part of the globe (manufactured in hundreds of thousands, used in more than 50 countries). The weight of a complete EMIDS set is 5.5 kg.

It includes: seismic, magnetic, infrared active and passive sensors, as well as traps in the form of stretched wires.

The sensor signals after analog-to-digital conversion and coding are sent to a transmitter in the 138-153 MHz range with an output power of 1 W. The EMIDS system has an output via a personal computer to an interface with other communication channels — telephone and satellite (allowing signals to be received at all points on earth).

The system can interact with other existing CLASSIC or REMBASS/IREMBASS systems.

The developer claims that its system is 10 times cheaper than known analogues with the same functionality, with the exception of classifying violators, but a trained operator can distinguish between wheeled and tracked vehicles by comparing their signatures measured by different types of sensors.

MIDS/EMIDS systems may include the following sensors:

• Remote Observation and Conforming Sensor (RO/CS), developed by NVESD USA (Night Vision Electronic Sensors Directoral). The sensor enables visual identification of violations served by MIDS/EMIDS systems and consists of one or more television cameras operating in low-light conditions and camouflaged to match the surrounding environment, a transmitter buried 10 cm in the ground, and a base station. When one of the sensors detects movement of an intruder, the MIDS/EMIDS system sends a signal to the transmitting module of the RO/CS sensor, which turns on the power of the corresponding television camera, and the images formed are transmitted in real time during a specified time period. At the base station, a video recorder is turned on and the received images are observed on the monitor screen;

• a portable sensor with a reconfigurable signal transmission line PRLS (Portable Reconfigurable Line Sensor), manufactured by Racon (USA);

• an external AES sensor (Advanced Exterior Sensor), which combines visible and IR imaging sensors and low-power radar detection and tracking sensors. A typical configuration for using such sensors consists of four remote modules with sensors located at the corners of a square area of ​​terrain with a side of 1 km. The processing module contains a tracking device that reduces the frequency of false alarms and increases the detection ability of the sensors. The AES sensor head is mounted on a tripod and rotates at a frequency of 360 0/s. Overall dimensions of the installation: height 80 cm, diameter 80 cm, weight 2.3 kg. It contains a matrix with 160×1 IR radiation detectors (3.4-5 μm) based on lead selenide. The matrix field of view is 3600 in the horizontal and 8.50 in the vertical planes. The matrix produces 21600×160 image elements per head rotation. In addition, the sensor head contains: a linear matrix with 512×96 visible radiation detectors and the same field of view as the IR detector matrix; a radar sensor with a central frequency of 17 GHz, an output power of less than 100 mW and a radiation beam with a solution of 30 in the horizontal and 110 in the vertical planes. The maximum range is 1500 m. The sensor is designed to detect a walking person at a distance of at least 500 m (in rain 300 m), a crawling person — 250 m (200 m), a moving vehicle — 1000 m (800 m).

Man-Portable Networked Sensor System.

The central control station of this system with a personal computer of the Laptop type controls portable sets of sensors (up to 3).

The kits can be installed on a light truck or an unmanned aerial vehicle.

A typical set of system sensors includes:

• a video camera with a varifocal lens and a thermal imaging camera;
• a laser rangefinder;
• a GPS receiver;
• azimuth and tilt sensors;
• a port for inputting acoustic data.

The elements included in the kit are connected to the radio network with automatic repeaters. Inputs for signals from external sensors such as IREMBASS or TRSS (Tactical Remote Sensor System) are provided.

The IREMBASS (Improved Remotely Monitored Battlefield Sensor System) system developed by L-3 COM (USA) consists of sensors (passive IR, magnetic, seismic, acoustic), as in the previous REMBASS system, but it is more compact and has less weight.

It includes an AN/PSQ-7 monitor/programmer and a lightweight radio transmitter with a nominal range of 15 km.

Covert Local Area Sensor System for Intruder Classification CLASSIC.

Manufacturer — division Racal Radio Ltd. of the well-known Racal concern (Great Britain). The system has been supplied to 36 countries since 1982.

In 1997, the company released a modernized system CLASSIC 2000, which was announced as a “ground sensor system for remote control of terrain, object surveillance, perimeter protection and route monitoring.”

Advanced modular design of the system, advanced technical solutions to the most important problems of this class of security equipment — minimization of weight and size characteristics and provision of autonomous modules with power supply, unconditional commercial success, all this requires a more detailed story about the stop on the features of the system design.

The system equipment is intended primarily for use by the army, paramilitary units, police and special services.

The CLASSIC 2000 system is characterized by rapid deployment, a simple user interface, and high information content.

The system is compatible with all previously released sensors, but its main elements are made programmable, which has reduced their size, weight and cost.

The main elements of the system are: RA4310 monitor (photo 1), RTA4311 repeater, TA4312 multifunctional sensor, TA4314 magnetic sensor with built-in converter.

Photo 1. RA4310 monitor of the CLASSIC 2000 system

To increase the flexibility of the system as a whole, all sensors, relays and monitors are programmed using Classic 2000 software.

The programs run in WindowsO on IBM-compatible PCs.

Sensors and repeaters can be programmed directly from a PC. The software allows for the improvement of signal processing algorithms.

Each system monitor measuring 9.5×16.6×6.3 cm and weighing 1 kg can receive input signals from 99 sensors in the 148…155 MHz range and programmable channel selection. Signals are input either directly or via 3 repeaters.

The RA4310 monitor stores databases in non-volatile memory, and the serial interface allows for the transmission of intrusion data for processing by software using a terrain map and various data processing programs.

The database of sensors and repeaters is loaded from an IBM-compatible PC using the Classic 2000 software and contains the following information: equipment type (repeater, sensor, etc.), confidence interval (from 1 to 24 hours), channel number, transmission frequency. The monitor is used not only to transmit information to the operator, but also to transmit software information to sensors and repeaters.

The main source of information in the system is the multifunctional sensor TA4312, which can work with the following types of converters:

• MA4320 geophone (photo 2);
• 455912 piezoelectric cable (photo 3);
• MA4323 IR detectors (short range up to 15 m), MA4321 (medium range up to 50 m), MA4322 (long range up to 100 m) (photo 4);
• contact sensors (break wires, pressure sensors, etc.).

Photo 2. Geophone MA4320

Photo 3. Piezoelectric cable 455912

Photo 4. MA4323 IR Detectors

The TA4312 sensor automatically detects the type of transducer when connected and has all the algorithms necessary to recognize the nature of seismic signals (from a geophone or piezoelectric cable): people or vehicles, tracked or wheeled, as well as the target azimuth.

The sensor has dimensions of 12x12x5.2 cm and a weight of 0.85 kg with batteries (8 “AA” batteries in the MA4330 block) and an inconspicuous pin antenna.

Racal Radio Ltd. also offers a special module for magnetic sensors with a built-in converter. In addition, other sensors can be used in the CLASSIC 2000 system: water level and radiation sensors, as well as various chemical sensors.

Features of converter operation.

Signals generated by the MA4320 geophone ensure recognition and classification of human and vehicle intrusion.

The operation of the geophone is significantly affected by the type of soil on which it is located. The difference in detection range for wet compacted soil and dry loose soil can be up to 100 m.

The multifunctional sensor allows the operator to adjust seismic sensitivity with several settings, and the algorithm has an adaptive threshold to reduce the level of false alarms caused, for example, by soil vibrations during rain.

The 455912 piezoelectric cable functions similarly to a geophone, but detection is performed along the entire length of the cable (the 455912 is a distributed sensor, while the MA4320 is a concentrated sensor). The cable transducer is available in lengths from 25 to 1000 m and provides a detection range of up to 50 m in favorable conditions.

The CLASSIC 2000 MA4321-4323 passive infrared sensors are sophisticated dual-beam pyrometers with high-precision optics. Their signals are processed using algorithms adapted to the soil type and use joint data processing to determine the correlation between two observation zones, while it is possible to determine the direction of intrusion.

All types of IR sensors are interchangeable, since they use the same interface cable.

The Unibeam single-beam laser detection system is a portable laser barrier designed for the protection of local objects and installation at checkpoints, manufactured by Blomme Automation (France).

Unibeam consists of a transmitter, a receiver and a 9V alkaline battery. All components are sealed in black anodized aluminum alloy housings and have universal mounting devices. The transmitter is a GaAs laser diode with an infrared filter, and the receiver is a silicon Pin diode also with an infrared filter. The transmitter and receiver can be separated by a distance of up to 100 m.

Continuous operation time is 10-15 hours, from a battery of dry lithium cells — 20-50 hours. The overall dimensions of each component are 104x56x23 mm, weight 160 g.

Autonomous, quickly deployable portable passive IR system from RDS (UK) is equipped with a 12 V battery, operates for 500 hours. The detection zone is 40×10 m (model 5000) and 20×20 m (model 2000).

Within the zone, the system reacts to movement and temperature changes interpreted as human intrusion. The first signal transmitted by the system reports the coordinates of the location of the violation, and the second informs about an attempt to intrude or damage the system.

Analysis of the composition of domestic rapidly deployable security equipment

According to the reduced installation time (up to 1.5 hours), the following domestic means can be classified as quickly deployable security systems:

• radio beam alarm systems «Vitim» (SS-84RLB) (Elektrokhimpribor) and the «Mobil-RL» system under development (NIKIRET);
• wire-wave detection device «Gazon» (NIKIRET);
• portable security means of the breakaway principle of action (Ros, Krab-1, etc.).

Radio beam quick-deployable security systems

The most well-known is the serially produced, rapidly deployable radio beam signaling system “Vitim”, which is designed to protect local areas, temporary locations of people or vehicles, communication nodes, helipads, control points with the transmission of information via radio channel about the fact and location of a violation of the protected boundary.

The system can be used for operational or stationary organization of protection of objects or for the protection of damaged areas of stationary perimeter security systems.

Photo 5. External appearance of the transceiver

The Vitim system consists of a number of transceivers located on special portable stands (photo 5), a data processing and transmission unit and a remote indication unit (photo 6), which displays signals about a violation of the controlled area with an indication of the location of the violation and equipment malfunction signals.

The signals are transmitted to the remote indication unit via a radio channel or a wired communication line at a distance of up to 15 or up to 3 km, respectively.

The system is powered autonomously (10НКГЦ1б battery) or using a group power supply kit.

Installation of transceivers on special racks allows creating a continuous security line on the ground with a length of up to 1.0 … 1.5 km by means of 10 sections. A radio beam is used to transmit information about a violation of a section, which actually forms the detection zone.

The last receiving stand is equipped with a VHF transceiver, which provides communication with the remote indication unit via one of five fixed frequency channels (photo 6).

Photo 6. Remote indication unit VBI-R with antenna

Mobile quickly deployable radio beam security system with information transmission via radio channelMobil-RLD, developed by NIKIRET (Zarechny), is in many ways an analogue of the Vitim system, although it has significant differences. The system allows for the rapid organization of perimeter protection of a territory, extending from 0.05 to 1.25 km, with the possibility of increasing the extent by increasing the number of blocked areas.