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South African technology impresses Dubai Police

In a world first for a South African radio communications company, Johannesburg-based Rotrax Technologies has supplied and installed an integrated surveillance system for the first of several RG12 armoured vehicles owned and operated by the Dubai Police.

RG12, showing mounted surveillance equipment

Rotrax Technologies was commissioned by another South African company, Alvis OMC (formerly Vickers OMC), who built the RG12. The requirement was to supply surveillance equipment that would be compatible with the existing radio equipment, manufactured by the US company, Microwave Radio Communications.

After long discussions with Dubai Police as to the final acceptable configurations, the order was eventually received and it took Rotrax Technologies just over two months to put together and install the equipment. Included in this time was the training of eight Dubai police officers to operate the system.

The equipment consists of an AWE 300 Panasonic camera with pan/tilt control, and dish, mounted on the top of a retractable 6 m telescopic mast.

Situated inside the command vehicle is the recording and editing equipment as well as four monitors. There is space for three operators to comfortably work inside the airconditioned vehicle.

The transmitter has a line of sight operational distance of up to 60 km. The pictures are of broadcast quality and can be transmitted directly via radio link to the main operations room, or can be edited first in the command vehicle before being sent out.

Dubai Police are at the forefront of innovative and technological advancement and they have some of the most sophisticated equipment in the world. They were particularly pleased with the effectiveness of Rotrax Technologies' system and the ease with which it was immediately operational.

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