"Md. company pushes airport perimeter system"

Saturday, August 14, 2004 

Md. company pushes airport perimeter system
BY Dibya Sarkar 
Federal Computer Week


Officials at a Silver Spring, Md.-based technology company plan to
develop an end-to-end, comprehensive perimeter security system using
existing radar systems that provide ground surveillance at airports.

The Secure Perimeter Area Network (SPAN) would fuse data from the
Airport Surface Detection Equipment-3 (ASDE-3)with multiple sensors,
such as chemical and biological, video cameras, radio frequency
identification (RFID), and motion detection equipment. ASDE-3 provides
radar monitoring of aircraft and surface vehicles at 34 major airports.

The information would give security personnel a common operational
picture. Via an intelligent rules-based engine, the system would
communicate information to security personnel near a possible event. 

Technology Service Corp., a provider of specialized engineering services
for radar, surveillance equipment and other systems, is developing the
SPAN architecture.

At John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York City, ASDE-3 sits
on top of a Federal Aviation Association air traffic control tower and
has a 360-degree view of an area with a range of about 2.5 nautical
miles into Jamaica Bay, said Ann Barry, TSC's homeland security program
manager.

If radar spots something in the bay, that data could be used to point
long-range video cameras to that location. If a Coast Guard patrol is
making routine checks of a buoy, then the rules-based engine would have
that information and the system would communicate with security
personnel to confirm the sighting, she said. However, if something
suspicious is going on, the system would provide the necessary
information to security personnel via the rules-based engine.

"You need to let the right people know the right information, and by
that I mean you want to have the closest person to the event to respond
to the event," Barry said, adding that the system could track security
personnel through RFID tags. She said the system also could feed
streaming video through personal digital assistants carried by security
personnel.

She said the software is needed to integrate the different parts into a
single system. Company officials also want to develop a commercial
off-the-shelf system that can be used at ports or rail stations. Small,
military-type radar systems are not as powerful as the ASDE systems, but
they can be deployed in a similar fashion.

Currently, company and Kennedy airport personnel are working to extract
information from the ASDE-3 in a way that doesn't interfere with air
traffic control and use it for perimeter intrusion detection, she said.
The information would be displayed on a graphical user interface located
in the security operations control center. The program is being funded
by the Technical Support Working Group, a federal interagency program
that coordinates and funds research and development of technologies to
combat terrorism.

Barry said the ongoing project is scheduled to be completed in January.
"The benefit is to get a second use out of it almost for free or for a
nominal cost," she said.

The company is involved in a similar project at T.F. Green Airport in
Rhode Island, which uses the ASDE-X radar designed for second-tier
airports with a medium volume of air traffic, to develop a radar-based
prototype for perimeter intrusion. The new ASDE-X will be deployed in
about 40 airports nationwide.

Barry said SPAN is an evolution of the working group's project and could
take up to two years to develop. However, company officials are talking
with group members about funding it. She added that they also would also
look to the Transportation Security Administration and Defense
Department for funding.


 Do you have an opinion about this story?
Share it with other readers in our CAA Discussion Forums

http://www.californiaaviation.org/dcfp/dcboard.php


*****************************************