Hi-tech surveillance for rly stations
Western Railway tightens security with latest technology; to use AI-based intruder alarm system
In a move to tighten the security at railway premises, Western Railway (WR) is adopting latest technological advancements in the field of security. For this, they have inducted Artificial Intelligence (AI)-based Infrared Intruder Alarm System as well as surveillance drones.
With the introduction of these technologies, the Railway Protection Force (RPF) will get an added advantage to combat and control various problems, right from intrusion to security and terror threats, and also improve the overall monitoring of the rail premises. The AI-based alarm system operates with seven infrared-based CCTV camera feeds, thus ensuring 360-degree coverage.
Sumit Thakur, Chief PRO, WR said, “With AIbased user interface software, the feeds are analysed on a real-time basis to detect any human presence in the area. AI is designed in such a way that it will detect only human presence in the set perimeter and ignore birds and animals to avoid false alarms.”
The system has an added feature to send a distress call, SMS or e-mail to the security control room and alert the staff. Quick response time and 24 hours coverage with a night vision capability system will ensure that the area has fool-proof security.
Senior WR officials said that surveillance drones will help get a bird’s eye view of railway assets, crowd management, disaster management and security watch. The drones
help to attend to remote areas at a minimum response time in case of any emergencies.
“They will be used for real-time monitoring of sensitive crime-prone locations, crowded areas, railway yards and trespassing locations etc. for better crime control and crowd management,” said a WR official.
Selected RPF staff have been trained to pilot the drones that are capable of 25 minutes flight up to a range of 2-km at a height of up to 200 meters from ground level. The GPS
based auto way point navigation system helps it to perform auto take off, guidance and landing and is capable of capturing highresolution images with a 5X optical zoom camera installed. The rail officials claim that the system ensures fail-proof operation with its return to home feature which detects low battery, communication and GPS failures. The system is equipped with terrain detection, geo-fencing and nofly zone features. Full report on www.freepressjournal.in