Sometimes in the field it is necessary to have an extra set of eyes. When this field becomes the battlefield, an extra set of eyes could mean life or death. That is why the use of CCTV in the United States Military is of extreme importance. The need for wireless security systems in the field should be a given. The Men and Women who need to use these systems have very little to no access to anything hard wired. This is where groups such as Physical Security Interoperability Alliance (PSIA) and Open Network Video Interface Forum (ONVIF) come into play. Being that the DVRs, NVRs, and IP based cameras used on the battlefield are compatible with PSIA and ONVIF they are able to have great interoperability and have the privilege of using any video analytics software on the market. Keep in mind, CCTV has several different uses in the military and the battle field is just one of many.
To learn more about PSIA or ONVIF,
what they are about, and
what their overall goal is
click the links below
http://www.psialliance.org/about.html
http://www.onvif.org/About/Organization.aspx
Another place you will find CCTV in the military is on the base. A military base is one of the most monitored places in the world. There are several things that need to be monitored while on a military base. Whether it be who comes and goes or what comes and goes it will be well monitored on a military base. One of the most popular cameras you will find on a military base is the Pan Tilt Zoom (PTZ) camera. The biggest reasoning behind this being so popular is it has the greatest range of motion. Move left, Move right, jump up, or fall down down the PTZ will catch your actions. The use of the PTZ on a military base is ingenious due to the fact that there is monumental amounts of movement on and around the base and the Auto Tracking setting will automatically track any movement whether it be suspicious or normal, it does not discriminate. In addition, the use of Infrared (IR) is crucial to the success of monitoring anything at night or in low light situations. Standard IR is anywhere from 50 to 150’ good night time visibility, but being that may not cut it for military operations on base, there is an IR illuminator. The IR illuminator allows the IR sensors to see farther in low to no light just as a floodlight would help the naked eye. When IR takes effect everything on the screen being monitored will be as clear as it would during the day.
Furthermore, aerial cameras are a great asset to the military and all the people associated with it. A PTZ mounted on the bottom of a Drone can not only be a deadly weapon, but can increase the possibility of several lives being saved. Not only is it a life saving technique it can also be used as an scouting tool. This drone can fly over an hostile area and let the troops on the ground know what to expect. It can do this by taking pictures and also streaming live video to a screen. The troops now know the best point of entry, what to expect, and the best exit points if anything were to go wrong. That is a great CCTV asset to the military, Also cameras on the helmets of troops are a great method of training, not to mention it shows the commanding officers how their troops handle themselves in certain situations. When the people in charge see what goes on in the field it can better help them prepare their men for the possibility of further combat. Lets say there is a suspicion of foul play in a situation involving soldiers in the field, the use of helmet cameras can more than help resolve the situation.
The most popular helmet camera used would be the GoPro. With the newest edition of the GoPro being the Hero3+ there were a few accessories released for the product a few years back. These products genuinely helped the military out, the military helmet mount was a big deal for the military. Not to mention the WiFi BacPac and WiFi Remote made it very simple to stream to any computer, tablet, or phone connected with it. These features from GoPro and the Hero3+ edition made it unexpectedly easy to stream video from a GoPro camera system.
An absolutely amazing creation known as the SeeSnake camera is a very important tool used within the military. While standard cameras are surveilling the surrounding areas of the base as well as on the base, the SeeSnake camera is out in the field saving lives. The SeeSnake camera allows troops to see where they would normally be blind. A further description of this phenomenal camera is, you can use it to look around corners or through doorways. This becomes a very important tool to troops in the field. Just before breaching a door, a soldier carrying this small camera can feed the “snake” under the door and see if anything potentially dangerous is on the other side. The “snake” being a cable with the camera itself on one end leading to a small LCD screen held in the operators hands. This live feed can also assist the troops in looking for explosives hidden in and around doorways just waiting to be triggered. Without this type of technology our soldiers would be in the dark on a lot of things, and knowing these troops have this technology to help support and assist them, the families and loved ones of soldiers can rest just that much easier.
With all of this great CCTV technology and the amazingly smart men and women there to operate it, our troops are that much more in control over certain situations. Whether it be the PTZ mounted on an unmanned drone or just IP based cameras on the base, the Men and Women fighting for our country have more than a few extra set of eyes watching over them.
One of the most amazing things is they don’t need to be near the base to be assisted through CCTV based products. The helmet cameras on the troops assist with anything pertaining to the mission and the SeeSnake camera keeps our troops safer from things they may not have seen or known without this technology. They and many more are great examples of how CCTV is a phenomenal addition to the United States Military.