People-mover Project Brings 21st Century Surveillance System to Dallas Airport
by Telindus NV

THE NEW AUTOMATED PEOPLE MOVER (APM) SYSTEM UNDER CONSTRUCTION AT DALLAS-FORT WORTH INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT (DFW) CERTAINLY WILL BE FAST, BUT IT WON'T BE NEARLY AS FAST AS THE NEW FIBRE-OPTIC SURVEILLANCE AND COMMUNICATIONS SYSTEM SUPPORTING IT.

As a major component of the APM system, which will carry people from terminal to terminal, the new communications system will carry video images for surveillance, train control data, telephone, public address and voice communications all on two pairs of fibre optic cables.

The 21st century fibre optic-based video surveillance system is being provided by CellStack Systems. Marconi's broadband communications switching equipment will be used in the new network.

DFW's APM surveillance and communications system will make use of a technology known as ATM (Asynchronous Transfer Mode), that enables high-speed, high-capacity, very reliable digital fibre optic networks. ATM provides secure networks for video, voice and data communications through "Quality of Service" (QoS). No other network protocol provides this level of converged communications with a predictable and guaranteed level of performance.

Because of its high speed, as well as it's ability to carry an extremely large amount of data, DFW's APM network will be able to replace several distinct and totally separately wired communications systems that have been used for the airport train systems in the past. The new ATM-based network will include the APM emergency and station telephone communications, public address system, emergency track phones, video surveillance, and access and control inputs and responses.

Converging the APM's separate wiring systems onto one network will make its communications system more efficient, reliable and cost effective.

Unlike older, legacy surveillance systems, DFW's ATM video and communications infrastructure will be a true ring network (FIGURE 1). Most of the airport's cable (CCTV) security systems were based on a star-like architecture where a single cable connected terminal devices such as surveillance cameras and matrix switches to central equipment in the central control facility (FIGURE 2).

21st Century Video Surveillance

Having an ATM-based video surveillance system places DFW among the elite airports in the world. Unlike most security systems that provide grainy black and white, or poor quality color video images, ATM video feeds, because of the large capacity digital bandwidth of the network, provide high-resolution, full-motion, broadcast-quality color images and audio. The new video surveillance system from CellStack Systems will work with the same cameras, monitors and recorders that are used in other CCTV systems.

One of the requirements of the DFW APM video surveillance system is to be able to move the central control facility mid-way into the project. This would be a difficult and costly nightmare with a conventional CCTV system and several distinct communications networks. With one ATM network providing access to all the communications subsystems, the central control facility can be moved to any location on the network in the time it takes to dismantle and move the equipment. No rerouting or rewiring is required. Another excellent attribute for a surveillance system is the ability to provide a backup control facility with minimal switchover time. CellStack’s networked video surveillance allows any monitoring facility on the network to act as a control facility if the central control facility should become unusable because of a fire or a flood, or some other catastrophe.

Each of DFW's APM stations will be equipped with four fixed video cameras so that the airport's central control facility will have a view of the entire station. Pan/tilt/zoom (PTZ) cameras will be located so that all trains can be viewed anywhere in the system, including the maintenance area. The central control facility (FIGURE 3) will be comprised of 18 monitors, any one of which can be switched to display the video feed from any camera anywhere in the airport. The CellStack system can switch the video displayed on any monitor in less than a second, so fewer monitors are needed to maintain constant surveillance.

In addition, the CellStack Centauri video hub provides remote telemetry to any camera on the network for pan, tilt and zoom. Personnel in the central control facility will be able to direct these cameras where they are needed and when they are needed. The video being fed through the CellStack Centauri hubs can also be forwarded to emergency organizations like the airport's fire or police departments. In this way, emergency response teams can view an accurate image of what they will be dealing with before they arrive on the scene.

Emergency telephones or "blue phones," so named because of the blue light on the wall above them, will be located in each station and connected to the new ATM network through the CellStack video system. The blue phones, which are activated by simply pushing a button on the wall and talking into a speaker, connect the caller to airport personnel in the central control room. Not only will the blue phones transmit the caller's voice, but a video image of the caller and his surroundings will be sent to the control centre as well.

The CellStack video system will also monitor and transmit certain serial security control signals that are triggered when a door is opened or someone tampers with an otherwise secure facility.

When such a control signal is received by the video surveillance system, cameras can be automatically directed to the scene, while an alarm and procedural instructions can be sent to all designated monitors on the network. If an alarm is actuated, personnel in the central control facility and other organizations like the local fire or police departments can be notified automatically.

From that point, security personnel can manually control any camera on the CellStack network and use the airport's public address system through the CellStack Centauri video hub to provide information to passengers and airport personnel in the area of the incident.

Dynamic Environment

Airports are dynamic environments. Terminals are reconfigured, gates moved, facilities expanded and new terminals built. And DFW is no exception. With only four of the eventual six terminals presently built, the surveillance network must be flexible enough to grow as the airport expands. With CellStack's Centauri video hubs, this is not a problem.

In fact, the digital ATM-based CellStack video equipment is so flexible and scalable that the airport's central control center will be moved to a new location in the middle of the APM construction projection and will be up and running again in less than a day.

Moving On

The many passengers who move through the terminals at DFW International Airport will have a palpable experience of the new APM system. They will feel the added comfort, improved convenience and greater efficiency as they travel from one terminal to another. But behind the scenes, a new 21st century surveillance system from CellStack Systems will be performing a critical role so that the people movers will be able to keep moving the people.

Telindus Corporate
Geldenaaksebaan 335
3001 Heverlee
Belgium

Tel: + 32
Fax: + 32

Email:
Website: www.telindus.com