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Cameras reduce crime on the beach

VCL Orbiter Dome surveillance cameras have achieved considerable success in reducing crime on a Port Elizabeth beach - part of a 'zero tolerance' campaign against lawlessness launched by the east coast authorities.

Honeywell's Tim Fraser says this may well be the first time cameras like this have been used for crime prevention on a beach area, although they are in operation in other locations throughout the Eastern Cape such as parking lots, shopping centres and even a large butchery.

"Three cameras were installed in strategic positions around the beach - and pan, tilt and zoom remote operation, as well as all video transmission signals, were controlled by project managers, Provicom Electronics and Magnum Shield Guarding, from a central office via top quality modems," he says. "These activities were carried out over several kilometres of beachfront with outstanding reliability."

One of the cameras on Port Elizabeth beach

High-tech monitoring

The high-tech cameras were installed to monitor activities on the beach and surrounding areas, in one case alerting authorities to intervene in a possible rape situation. The traffic department has also made use of the video information to monitor road congestion, allowing for timeous contingency plans to be made when necessary.

Honeywell is the exclusive southern African supplier of VCL Orbiter Dome cameras. Microspheres are built around premier quality, high resolution, colour cameras or colour/mono changeover cameras. Advanced CCD technology, with better than 50 dB 'signal to noise' ratio - an indication of video quality - means low light operation is possible to 1 lux colour and lux mono. For still lower light applications, Frame Integration enables useable colour pictures to be produced at 0,4 lux or mono pictures at 0,01 lux.

Picture quality is achieved by advanced auto focus control to ensure that, no matter what the zoom position, the picture is in the sharpest possible focus. Auto iris compensates automatically for changing light levels, adjusting picture 'exposure' continually. Backlight compensation suppresses bright areas in the picture to ensure the ideal picture contrast is always achieved.

Complementing all these features, the Microsphere has added technical capabilities such as gain, iris shutter, exposure compensation and brightness, all continuously monitored by a dedicated microprocessor which balances each function to ensure optimal picture quality in all types of weather conditions.

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