Marine Control Systems: Video Surveillance and Monitoring on Car Ferries

Marine Control Systems: Video Surveillance and Monitoring on Car Ferries

Introduction

Transportation infrastructure comes in various forms and all are critical to not only the movement of people and cargos but also national security. Just like airports, railroads and bridges, many people count on car ferries for their daily commute and business operations; therefore special precautions by way of video surveillance, traffic control and coordination of service must be taken, via strategically installed marine control systems, to ensure safety for passengers and vehicles.

The Problem

One of North America’s fastest growing integration companies for marine control systems came to Lanner with a request for a powerful and scalable hardware solution. This hardware appliance is to be used for setting up self-contained control hubs onboard a fleet of the Frontenac II motor vessels, therefore for all intents and purposes, the hardware must be industrial grade, scalable, shock-resistant and weatherproof in order to withstand the extremely low temperatures and endure the unstable water conditions these car ferries may encounter when sailing through ice sheets formed along the shoreline and shallow waters.

These control hubs will manage multiple strategically placed PoE cameras for surveillance and monitoring to ensure security at all boarding and unloading areas. It is imperative that the hardware be scalable enough for the future installation of additional cameras, all with tilt and zoom functions, in order to provide a more comprehensive and all-encompassing monitoring capability, if necessary, or when new ferries are added to the fleet.

In addition to video surveillance and monitoring, the control hubs also facilitate prompt operator assistance, smooth arrivals and swift departures by feeding live and continuous information, via PoE cameras, to those in charge of inbound/outbound traffic control, making sure traffic flows and schedules are kept in good order all year round.

The Solution

Designed and built almost exclusively for moving vehicles in outdoor settings, the V6S was determined to be more than capable of meeting the aforementioned requirements and application.

Having gone through extensive vibration and shock testing, the V6S is designed for MIL-STD-810G with extreme vibration resistance and is outfitted with industrial components. While it is ruggedized to support a wider than usual range of temperatures from -30 to 60°C, its corrugated aluminum casing allows heat dissipation off the top of the platform without a fan, ensuring its operability and availability in even the harshest environments.

The V6S also features power ignition control with voltage detection, making certain all surveillance and monitoring tasks are started upon engine fire-up. Automatic power-off is made possible via the low voltage protection mechanism, not only minimizing the risk of data loss because of improper computer shutdowns but also reducing power consumption.

The Intel® Core™ i7 processor, multiple PoE LAN ports (IEEE 802.3af) and SSD storage together make the V6S the ideal appliance for these marine control hubs’ first and foremost purpose, which is to provide high resolution video surveillance and monitoring with real-time recording, 24/7. The V6S’s MIO interface is Lanner proprietary and includes 12V level GPIO, audio, MCU TX/RX and two digital inputs (from MCU) that enable sensor connection and event detection for remotely powering on multiple devices.

Other I/O features include four USB ports, two COM ports, audio, HDMI and suspension kits.

The Result

Initially developed for in-vehicle applications, the deployment of V6S on car ferries and installation at ferry terminals demonstrate the versatility and flexibility of the V Series products. Many inquiries and several success stories since then have been related to water transport projects, including roll-on/roll-off ships, coastal trading vessels, cruise ships and ocean liners.

Download the data sheet here for more information about the V6S. Or contact a Lanner representative for further inquiries.

About Lanner

Lanner is a leading OEM with more than 30 Years of experience designing, building and manufacturing embedded and network computing hardware. From x86 rackmount systems to wide-operating temperature rugged industrial hardware, our appliances cover a diverse set of popular and niche applications.

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