Border security and surveillance system with smart cameras and motes in a Sensor Web

In this paper we describe a prototype surveillance system that leverages smart sensor motes, intelligent video, and Sensor Web technologies to aid in large area monitoring operations and to enhance the security of borders and critical infrastructures. Intelligent video has emerged as a promising tool amid growing concern about border security and vulnerable entry points. However, numerous barriers exist that limit the effectiveness of surveillance video in large area protection; such as the number of cameras needed to provide coverage, large volumes of data to be processed and disseminated, lack of smart sensors to detect potential threats and limited bandwidth to capture and distribute video data. We present a concept prototype that addresses these obstacles by employing a Smart Video Node in a Sensor Web framework. Smart Video Node (SVN) is an IP video camera with automated event detection capability. SVNs are cued by inexpensive sensor motes to detect the existence of humans or vehicles. Based on sensor motes' observations cameras are slewed in to observe the activity and automated video analysis detects potential threats to be disseminated as "alerts". Sensor Web framework enables quick and efficient identification of available sensors, collects data from disparate sensors, automatically tasks various sensors based on observations or events received from other sensors, and receives and disseminates alerts from multiple sensors. The prototype system is implemented by leveraging intuVision's intelligent video, Northrop Grumman's sensor motes and SensorWeb technologies. Implementation of a deployable system with Smart Video Nodes and sensor motes within the SensorWeb platform is currently underway. The final product will have many applications in commercial, government and military systems.