Community Networking
IP network upgrade helps college enter new age in campus security technology
- By Del V. Salvi
- Feb 01, 2010
To make campus life safer for its nearly 50,000 students, LaGuardia
Community College in Long Island City, N.Y., upgraded its campuswide
security system with intelligent mini-dome cameras. The rugged
cameras are mounted across campus to aid in the patrol of building
corridors, streets and parking lots.
Out with the Old
The campus police department consulted with David Gonzalez,
area specialist for Northern Video Systems, who collaborated with
Tom McGuire, vice president of business development for Electronic
Interface Associates, the system integrator, to improve the
existing system’s reliability and image quality. The upgrade includes
replacing most of the campus’ 200 analog cameras with a mix of
Sony IP network models. EIA used the existing campus network
infrastructure and integrated the intelligent mini-dome cameras.
“The wide dynamic range of Sony’s IP network cameras is
ideal for capturing images in dark corridors,” Gonzalez said. “By
replacing infrared-cut filters with clear filters, they seamlessly
switch from day (color) to night (black-and-white) mode with
virtually zero loss of image quality.”
Captured images can be viewed in real time by security personnel
from anywhere on campus, 24/7. The transmitted images also
are recorded for potential use as forensic evidence by network
video recorders. Now campus security is equipped at multiple
locations to view events in real time and respond quicker.
The Sony cameras offer DynaView technology, which improves
the dynamic range of electronic shutters. The first image
is taken with a standard exposure time, and the second is taken
with a very short exposure time. The dark areas in the scene are
clearly reproduced in the first image, and the bright areas are reproduced
without being washed out in the second image. The two
images are then combined into one by using an advanced DSP
LSI to reproduce a clear, high-contrast image. Dynamic frame
integration reproduces clear images that contain both still and
moving objects.
Getting Proactive
LaGuardia Community College Police Chief Ed Sisco said the
campus recognized the immense value of surveillance cameras
several years ago when they provided evidence that helped solve
an after-hours on-campus assault. Positive identification through
video images led to the assailant’s capture. The incident was recorded
by an existing campus surveillance system that included
200 Sony analog cameras.
“The campus and student population continue to grow, extending
operating hours to early mornings and weekends,” Sisco
said. “We need our system to be durable and ready for future
planned upgrades, such as facial recognition and building access
control. The Sony cameras are highly compatible with devices
made by other manufacturers and will help bring us into the new
age of technology.”
Additional features that appealed to Sisco included the cameras’
aluminum die-cast enclosures and impact-resistant polycarbonate
domes, which make them vandal resistant.
The weather-resistant design guards against damage from dust
and water in outdoor applications. The cameras incorporate advanced
compression technologies to transmit image data in three
different formats -- JPEG, MPEG and H.264 -- so users can choose
the best compression format depending on their applications.
Security for All
Since LaGuardia Community College is the world’s largest community
college, security is always top of mind. With more than
50,000 students, faculty and staff, it is a truly a diverse community.
This presents many day-to-day challenges both internally
and externally. Since the campus is integrated into the local community,
there are vulnerabilities of which campus security is constantly
vigilant.
The goal is to provide peace of mind to the students and visitors
by continually evaluating the latest technologies in an effort
to keep the campus safe and secure. In an attempt to leverage
existing infrastructure, some enhancements under consideration
include analytical software, license plate recognition software and
traffic management systems. These software-based applications
ride on the existing network using many different types of Sony
IP cameras at the endpoint.
The Public Safety Department at LaGuardia Community
College has installed approximately 190 CCTV cameras on campus.
Half of these cameras have been installed in the past five
years. Student enrollment has increased in the last two years, so
the college began to look for additional real estate to build new
classrooms, labs and office space for faculty and staff. The administrative
division has been very supportive to the needs of public
safety and new technology initiatives. The public safety CCTV
program has been a top priority and has funded projects for new
camera installations.
Five new camera locations and a server have been funded and
installation has been scheduled with EIA in the very near future,
with the installation of an additional seven cameras when construction
is completed early this year. Public safety is working
with EIA project developers on several other projects. These include
nine cameras and a wireless feed in the new outdoor college
parking lot that will provide parking for about 350 vehicles, as
well as the installation of 30 cameras on two additional floors,
each covering 60,000 square feet to secure classrooms, labs and
faculty office space.
Sony camera technology will be used for both projects and
be integrated in the present camera monitoring program. As the
CCTV program continues to grow with additional camera locations
and recorders, the Public Safety Department will present a
proposal and demonstration to the administration division on an
advance camera monitoring management software.
It will allow public safety to manage camera locations and
configurations, notify the desk officer of alarm and monitor
the travel activity from camera to camera to pinpoint a troubled
location for a quick response.
This article originally appeared in the February 2010 issue of Network-Centric Security.
About the Author
Del V. Salvi is a freelance writer based in New York.