CCTV must pay its fare

Here’s a quick question; when you install a CCTV system, does it offer your client anything more than just image recording? If your answer is no, you may be missing a vital ingredient, the plus factor that can generate extra sales and secure a customer’s long term loyalty.

This is the story of how we designed a CCTV system (TransVu) for the transport industry that actually could provide a boost to the customer’s bottom line.

The early days

Up until 2002 all mobile CCTV systems did just what you might expect, record CCTV onto some form of storage media, be it VHS tape or digital HDD (Hard Disk Drive). Historically this was understandable as most were straight conversions from land based recorders. This philosophy, however, ignored some of the unique opportunities available to enhance the on-board recording of images.

So six years back we had the unique opportunity to design an urban transit recorder from the ground up, and include features that would benefit the operator of the system, offering not just CCTV, but integration with systems that would provide a positive financial benefit for the client.

The design criteria

First off, when it comes to vehicles, they move. Not only that but the unit will be shaken, shocked, vibrated, heated, cooled, and subject to dirt and dust ingress that no land based DVR would ever suffer. So the initial rules are no fans, no venting holes and no massive heat build up, and then some suspension that can cope with vibration and shock.

So a low power consumption unit was designed, only drawing 18 watts, then some serious work on a vibration test-bed, resulting in the choice of aerospace grade suspension mountings and the upgrading of the metal casing thickness to increase the mass of the unit, offering better protection against shock.

But what else would a mobile unit need? Well it could use GPS to know where it is, link up to other equipment – destination boards, ticketing machines, vehicle diagnostics, and then – an accelerometer, a semiconductor device that can measure G forces, (that’s braking, accelerating and turning).

On the prototype test devices we used a chip that measured from 0 to 10G in two axes. Now we thought that would be good for measuring head on impacts, but in reality, that does not happen too often. As an example, a saloon car can pull 0.6G on a very fast turn, 0.7G on a good emergency stop and if you can accelerate at 0.5G – you’ve got a beast of a motor. Buses and trains don’t share the specs on turning and accelerating but an emergency stop is much the same.

So we changed the accelerometer from 10G’s to a 2G device, only to get a call from a customer complaining he needed the 10G device, our reply was: “What have you fitted it to, a space shuttle?”

Old habits die hard

Way back when recording on a vehicle was done using a VHS tape recorder, people got into the habit of physically removing the media, reviewing the images and then replacing the VHS tape.

The switch over to digital carried this habit forward by providing a removable HDD (Hard Disk Drive). Now while this might be perfectly acceptable on a small scale, it becomes unmanageable when dealing with large fleets of vehicles.

So the whole download process was automated and transferred via wireless LAN.

This has huge advantages over manual downloading, collecting disks and reviewing same – with wireless LAN capability, everything can be manipulated from a single control point.

Wiring the kit up

What would be the weak points on a mobile system? We thought it would be the connections, so we specified a single automotive connector to handle all connections, which makes for easy swap out in the field.

The theory is that on new-build vehicles, the CCTV system becomes part of the standard vehicle harness utilising an approved automotive connector.

Make it tamper proof

If there is one thing you can guarantee, it’s this: if something has a button on it, someone is going to press it.

So no knobs, no buttons, no keypad, just a sealed tamper proof unit. So how do you start it up and close it down?

Well, most vehicles have an ignition switch usually powering up the radio when the ignition key is turned.

So we put in a power management routine that powered up the TransVu when the ignition was turned on and powered the unit down a few minutes after the ignition switch was turned off.

Not only that, it also powered down all the cameras and ancillary equipment, protecting the vehicle battery, even to the extent of shutting down the system if the battery discharged below a certain level.

What we didn’t realise at the time was that features like the power management and very low power consumption made the unit ideal for rapid deployment and fitting in locations were only solar or wind power was available.

Driver behaviour

There is an old expression in the aviation industry describing a poor pilot: he is just flying his plane to the scene of a crash.

Luckily there are many checks in aviation to highlight poor operational performance and either improve things or remove the licence to fly.

Unfortunately we have precious few checks on drivers, and remedial action is usually retrospective, after an incident.

We put a lot of thought into how we might highlight drivers at risk. Do we log excessive braking, or maybe turning without using an indicator?

The final solution was even simpler; just monitor the frequency of use of the brake pedal and the accelerator pedal. If someone is dabbing the brake then the accelerator pedals in quick succession, they are most likely driving on the limit, tailgating etc.

Not only could you identify drivers that potentially may be more likely to be involved in an accident, you also identified those drivers who were using more fuel.

Now if you could save just one per cent off a large fleet’s fuel bill, you are talking serious money. (I’ve seen much higher claims than one per cent, but let’s be realistic)

Is it still working?

For land based CCTV systems it is usually apparent when something isn’t working, a camera for instance.

On a mobile CCTV system that is maybe out on the road 18 hours per day there is a good chance no one is around to check the system on a daily or even a weekly basis.

In addition to failures, there is always a problem with the camera being “masked” – blocked by chewing gum or spray painted. How long would it be before the operator knew of this event?

There were two ways to report snags to the operator; the first was to provide a status display on the vehicle that could be checked by the driver on a daily basis. (This is the preferred method in Europe).

The second was to automatically report the status of the vehicle via the wireless LAN connection.

Now this may seem a pretty trivial advance, but it was the first time that the operator of a large fleet could put his hand on his heart and say: “Yes, all my systems are operational today”

Insurance fraud

The first thing to determine: was the claimant on board the vehicle at the time of the accident?

Don’t laugh, this is one of the most common fraudulent claims, and there have been cases of 70+ accident claims for a bus that only seats 46.

Fortunately, if your cameras are rolling, you can refute the “claimant not at the scene claim” and of course progress a counter claim for fraud.

If a bus is involved in even a minor accident, there will be a flood of whiplash claims.

Now if you have the G-forces measured out for that incident it can a relatively easy task to refute these claims.

With an average whiplash accident claim costing around GB pound 4,000 it does not take long to recuperate the cost of a CCTV system.

Forensic Investigation

Police forensic traffic investigation is usually only involved in fatal accidents, or accidents which may later result in a fatality.

Each image we record has a time stamp and that includes a milli-second stamp, so a series of images can be accurately timed.

This allows an investigator not only the ability to accurately gauge the speed of the vehicle with CCTV fitted by using the external cameras, but the speed of other vehicles can also be determined.

Most of the cases we have seen have exonerated drivers, to the extent that the evidence gathered has been the difference between a fine and a gaol term.

Media and Advertising

Many cite the ability of a CCTV system to play media and advertising as the number one killer application, the eternal revenue generator for a fleet operator.

While on-bus advertising has been around for at least five years, take up tends to be in larger cities rather than fleet wide.

As the TransVu is already in communication via wireless LAN at the depot, advertising can be uploaded along with newsreels, public information films, missing person profiles, and location specific adverts. Then there are some other benefits for passengers. Along with news and adverts, passenger destination information can be shown simultaneously on the same screen.

There are also emergency override procedures that can display evacuation information, and if the system is suitably equipped, emergency instructions can be issued from a central control point as part of a city wide emergency messaging system.

Conclusion

Any CCTV system can positively benefit its users by offering more potential than just recording images.

In addition, if that benefit is financial, saving fuel, reducing court costs, or generating ongoing revenue by playing adverts, that bonus is the positive advantage that puts your installation well ahead of the competition.

• With an original background in the computer industry, Jeff has now clocked up 25 years in CCTV and related security. Currently specialising in video transmission over computer networks and the implementation of mobile CCTV, he works and lives in the North West of England.

www.transvu.co.uk jberg@ad-holdings.co.uk