New Tools in the Arsenal for Optimal Perimeter Security Strategies

AMicroPowerTechnologiesWhitePaper


4225ExecutiveSquare,Ste.430
LaJolla,CA92037
+18587685780
www.micropowerapp.com












NewToolsintheArsenalfor
OptimalPerimeterSecurityStrategies











ByAllynPon,DirectorofProductManagement
MicroPowerTechnologies,Inc.


(c)MicroPowerTechnologies,Inc.June2011


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Contents

Introduction


3
NumerousDetectionChoices


4
Table1DetectionTechnologiesMatrix

45
RemoteCameraVideoSurveillanceOptions
6
ProtectingthePerimeter


8
Summary


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(c)MicroPowerTechnologies,Inc.June2011


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Introduction

Whiletechnologyadvancesinphysicalsecurityforbuildingsorbuildingproximityhave
beenrapidandomnipresent,newtoolsforimprovedperimetersecurityhavenotbeen
asvisible,butyetstillplayanimportantroleinoverallsecuritysuccess.Environments
suchaslargeparkinglots,stadiumevents,nuclearfacilities,parksandrecreational
areas,constructionfacilities,correctionalfacilities,industrialfacilities,government
buildings,andmajortransportationfacilitiesstillcontinuetorepresentsignificant
securitychallengesastheidealsolutionsarecostprohibitiveduetothedifficultyofthe
terrainorvastspacesofcoveragerequired.Thenumberofvariablesandtechnology
choicestoconsiderforperimetersecurityaresignificantlygreaterthanindoorsecurity,
makingthefinaldecisionforperimetersecurityadifficultandarduoustask.


NumerousDetectionChoices

Ananalysismethodologyfordeterminingoverallperimetersecuritychoicesistodivide
thesecuritycomponentsintofourmajorcategories;access,detection,preventionand
conviction.Wherethesecurityindustryhasseenanexpansionofchoicesisinthe
numberoftechnologyoptionsforthedetectionaspect.Newtechnologieshavebrought
improvementsinrangedetectionsaswellasrapidlydecreasingoverallsystemcosts.
Beyondthetraditionalsecurityguardstopatroltheedge,themoresophisticated
optionsforaccesscontrolanddetectionsystemsforperimetersecuritynowinclude
fencemovement,microwavesensors,seismicgroundsensors,infraredsensors,photo
beamsensors,thermalimaging,andvideosurveillancewithmotiondetectionandvideo
analytics.Eachhas atradeoffbetweenoperationalbenefitsandcostsasshownbelow
inTable1.














(c)MicroPowerTechnologies,Inc.June2011


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AccessTechnology
Category
Description
* Simpleandeasytoinstallanduse
Pros
* Easytomonitorandintegrateintoexistingsecurity
system
* Onlydetectsadisturbance
FenceMovement
* Pronetofalsealarms
Cons
* Unabletoquantifyseriousnessofsecurityevent
* Moderatemaintenanceforwearandtear
* Accessible,soeasytovandalizeanddamage
RelativeCost
Low
* Simpleandeasytoinstallanduse
* Easytomonitorandintegrateintoexistingsecurity
Pros
system
* Widerange-Upto1500feet
* Canhandlesevereweatherconditions
* Typicallyrequiresacablepowersourceatremote
MicrowaveSensors
locations
* Pronetofalsealarms
Cons
* Unabletoquantifyseriousnessofsecurityevent
* Interferencefromothermicrowavesources
* Expensiveequipmentandeasyaccesstovandalizeand
damage
RelativeCost
LowtoMedium
* Protectionagainstvandalism
* Nointerferencewithlineofsightviewsandnatural
Pros
beauty
* Hiddensecurityprovidesidealnonthreatening
SeismicGroundSensors
environment
* Pronetofalsealarms
Cons
* Unabletoquantifyseriousnessofsecurityevent
* Requiresashallowtrenchingaroundthegrounds
RelativeCost
Medium- High
* Simpleandeasytoinstallanduse
* Easytomonitorandintegrateintoexistingsecurity
system
* Abilitytobetterdistinguishfalsealarmsversusvalid
Pros
humanintruderdetection
* Worksinfoggyandnightenvironments
* Effectiveevenincamouflageconditions
InfraredSensors
* Nocabledpowersourcerequired.
* Onlydetectsadisturbance
* Pronetofalsealarms
Cons
* Unabletoquantifyseriousnessofsecurityevent
* Limitedcoverageaseachinfraredsensoronlyextends
40(lowcost)to300(highcost)feet
RelativeCost
Low





(c)MicroPowerTechnologies,Inc.June2011


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AccessTechnology
Category
Description

* Quickandeasytoinstall
* Lowcostinstallation
Pros
* Nocabledpowersourcerequired.Batteryliferunfrom
3-5yearsorcanusesolar
* Wirelesscommunicationtomonitorstation
PhotoBeamSensors
* Onlydetectsadisturbance
* Pronetofalsealarms
Cons
* Unabletoquantifyseriousnessofsecurityevent
* Limitedcoverageaseachphotobeamsensoronly
extends100to250feet
RelativeCost
Low
* Abilitytobetterdistinguishfalsealarmsversusvalid
humanintruderdetection
Pros
* Worksinfoggyandnightenvironments
* Effectiveevenincamouflageconditions
ThermalImaging
* Difficulttouseinnaturallyhotenvironmentswhereby
thetemperatureofsurroundingenvironmentisequal
Cons
tohumantemperature
* Requirescablepowersourceatremotelocations
RelativeCost
Medium High
* Abilitytodistinguishfalsealarmsvsvalidsecurity
breaches
Pros
* Recordhistoricaleventsforforensics
VideoSurveillancewith
* Recordedeventscanbeusedforconviction
MotionDetection/Video
* Morecomplextointegrateintosecuritysystems
Analytics
Cons
* Typicallyrequirescablepowersourceatremote
locations*
RelativeCost
Low High
*Exceptforadvancednewtechnologiesusingsolar

Table1-DetectionTechnologiesMatrix

Asevidentfromthematrix,acommonthemetomostaccesscontrolsolutionsisthe
largenumberofpotentialfalsealarmsassociatedwitheachtechnologyoption.In
outdoorsettings,environmentalfactorssuchasheavywindconditions,debris,ice,
waterandanimalscancreatehavocforanyperimetersecuritysolution.A
comprehensivesolutiontoaddressfalsealarmsisasimportantastheactualdetection
systemitself,asfalsealarmsimpacttheeffectivenessandcredibilityofthesecurity
system.Inaddition,falsealarmscanbecostly,asnumerouslawenforcementagencies
nowchargeforrespondingtofalsealarms.





(c)MicroPowerTechnologies,Inc.June2011


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RemoteCameraVideoSurveillanceOptions

Anyreliableverificationsystemforperimetersecurityhastoincludeavideosurveillance
system.Notonlydovideosurveillancesystemsprovidetheabilityforimmediate
verificationbasedonatriggeredevent,theyprovidetheabilitytoquantifythe
seriousnessshouldavalidsecuritybreachoccuranddeterminethebestresponse.The
propersecurityresponsewillvarydependingonwhethertheintruderisan
unsuspectingpersonwhohasinadvertentlycrossedtheintrusiondetectionzone,ora
teamofterroristswhoareattackingafacility.Inaddition,videosurveillancesystems
addressthreeofthemajorcategoriesofdetection,preventionandconviction.

Unfortunately,integratingremotecameralocationsintovideosurveillancesystemsfor
perimetersecurityhavebeenlimitedinscope,makingitdifficulttodevelopa
comprehensiveperimetersecuritystrategy.Thetypicalcompromiseistolocatesecurity
camerasnearthebuildingornearbypowersourcesandpointthecamerasoutwardto
theperimetercoveringthesterileregionsandperhapsportionsoutsidetheperimeter.
Thisisnotanoptimalperimetersecuritystrategy,anddoesnotcoveranimportant
aspectofsecuritybreachprevention.Anidealpreventionstrategyistoanalyzeevents
outsidethesterileregionwherebypotentialsecurityeventscanbemonitoredin
advanceofavalidsecuritybreach.

Thelargestlimitationonthelocationofremotecameraswheretheyaredesiredor
requiredisduetolackofaccesstoapowersource.TypicalIPvideosecuritycameras
requireabout4-5wattsofpower,thusnormallyrequiringacabledpowersource.
Untilrecently,thereweretwotraditionalvideosurveillanceoptionsthatwouldbe
consideredwhenovercomingthelackofacabledpowersourceforremotelocation
cameras;wirelesssolarpoweredsecuritycamerasortrenchingthegroundtobring
powertothedesiredlocation.

Wirelesssolarsecuritycamerasprovidethemaximumflexibilityinlocationstrategiesfor
remotesecuritycameras.Typicalwirelesssolarsecuritycamerasuse160400square
inchesofsolarpanelsthatresideatleast15'abovethegroundwhileconnectedto
eitherasmalltrailerbaseorapole.Wirelesscommunicationstothevideorecording
systemcanoccurpointtopoint,pointtomultipoint,throughmeshnetworksoreven
cellular,providingarangeofthreeto20milesforalineofsightconfiguration.A
typicalsystemwillhavefivedaysofbatterybackup,providingadequateenergystorage
formostapplications.Polemountedsolutionsrangefrom$5,000$10,000percamera
includinglaborcosts.Unfortunately,duetosizeandtransportationofthemobiletrailer
solution,costscanbeprohibitiveformanyapplications,sincetheyrangefrom$30,000
to$40,000foreachcamera.



(c)MicroPowerTechnologies,Inc.June2011


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Anotheralternative,trenching,istypicallywhatisexploredasthemostviableoptionfor
placingsecuritycamerasinoptimalremotelocations.Thetrenchistypicallyaminimum
ofsixinchesdeepwhichallowsplacementofaPoweroverEthernet(PoE)orpower
sourceinthetrenchwithoutanypossibilityofdisturbance.Thecostfortrenchingwill
varydramaticallydependingontheterrain.Forinstance,inarequestforproposal
(RFP),itwasestimatedthecostsfordigginga120'trenchmostlythroughsoftdirtwith
15'ofasphaltwasapproximately$14,000formaterialandlaborforasinglecamera
placement.Thisequatedtoaruleofthumbofabout$100perlinearfootfortrenching
costs.Inthiscase,thecostwasprohibitiveandtheclientdecidednottopursuethe
recommendationoftheremotecameralocation.Inothercases,particularlyinurban
environments,thecostisconsiderablyhigher,sometimesupto$1000perlinearfoot,
duetothedifficultconstruction.Thus,trenchingcostscanrangeinthe$30,000
$40,000.

Fortunately,anewgenerationofIPvideosecuritycamerashaverecentlybecome
available,providingathirdalternativetoremotecameralocationforoptimalperimeter
securitystrategies.Withpowerrequirementsthatare1/10ththatofatypicalIPvideo
securitycamera,thereisanewformfactorforwirelesssolarIPvideosecuritycameras,
wherebythesolarpanelsrequirementsareconsiderablysmaller.Inthisnew
generation,72squareinchesofsolarpanelsareattacheddirectlyontheexternal
cameraenclosure.Thebatterylifeisfivedays,providingforadequatepowerinmost
environmentscenarios.Beingawirelesssolution,thisnewgenerationhasarangeof
uptoonemileforalineofsightenvironment.Hence,withnowiresneededfordata
communicationorpower,thisnewgenerationofwirelesssolarIPvideosecuritycamera
isafullyselfcontainedunitthatallowsforplacementvirtuallyatanyremotelocation.
Becauseitisaselfcontainedunit,installationcostsarequitelow,evencomparedtoan
installationofwiredsecuritysolutions.Theadvantageofthesenewgenerationsecurity
camerasisthatindividualcameracostsrangefrom$2,500$3,500,a50-90%
reductionincostsoveralternativesolutions.

WhiletheprimaryattractionofthesenewgenerationIPvideosecuritycamerasarefor
perimetersecurity,theportabilityofthissolutionalsoprovidesopportunitiesfor
applicationsnotpreviouslyconsidered.Forinstance,publiceventssuchasstadium
concertsorgovernmentofficialspeechescanwreakhavocforsecurityteamssincethe
protectionzoneissosmallandintruderaccessisquitesimple.Sincethesetypesof
securitycamerascaneasilybeinstalled,temporarysecuritycamerascanbe
implementedwiththereusecapabilitymakingthisanattractivefinancialoption.






(c)MicroPowerTechnologies,Inc.June2011


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ProtectingthePerimeter

Vulnerabilitybeginsatafacility'sperimeter.Activeperimeterstrategiesthatare
focusedbeyondtheperimeterprovidethebestchanceofpreventingasecuritybreach
bydetectinganddeterringactivitybeforelossordamageoccurs.Whilethetechnology
choicesforaccesscontrolandintruderdetectionhavegrownrapidly,suchchoicesare
limitedinscopeandcommonlyhavethepotentialfornumerousfalsealarms.An
optimalperimetersecuritystrategyrequirestheinclusionofremotecameralocations
withinthevideosurveillancesystemtoverifyintrusions,recordeventsforinvestigations
andpotentiallyconvictintruders.


Summary

WiththemostrecentinnovationsinsolarwirelessIPvideosecuritycameraoptions,the
inclusionofremotecamerasaroundtheperimeterisaviablecosteffectiveoptionnot
previouslyavailable.Now,thesystemintegratorhasanewsetoftoolstopresentand
providecosteffectivesolutionsforoptimalperimetersecuritystrategies.

AllynPonisdirectorofproductmanagementatMicroPowerTechnologies,Inc.,providers
oftheworld'smostpowerefficient,totallywirelesssolarvideosurveillancecamera
solutions.Allyncanbereachedatallyn.pon@micropowerapp.com


(c)MicroPowerTechnologies,Inc.June2011


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