INDUSTRY CONNECTIONS
HERE AND NOW THE FUTURE OF ONBOARD VIDEO SURVEILLANCE HAS ARRIVED
WRITTEN BY ART GISSENDANER I
ndustry experts STN spoke to almost unanimously agree that the future of the onboard camera surveillance system is now. Tey also agree that camera technology may be evolving faster than many school
districts can find the money to pay for them. Durability, reliability, increased security, operational
efficiency, GPS tracking and online diagnostics for preventive maintenance are major reasons why school districts are switching to digital systems in some shape or form. Tere is even a gap between the old digital technology and the new digital technology. School districts had barely moved from the cumbersome
and unreliable VHS-based analog camera surveillance systems to digital when newer generations of the digital systems became available. Solid-state and wireless digital camera surveillance systems have emerged as the technology of choice during the past half-decade, coveted even by school districts that cannot yet afford them. “We will look at the solid-state system when they
become more affordable,” said James Evans, a spokesman for Rutherford County Schools in Tennessee. “Tey are a bit pricey now.” Reliability is at issue in Rutherford County after the older digital camera system failed to record an altercation between students on a school bus earlier in the school year. Evans said part of the video was corrupted because the moving parts in the hard drives of the older generation of digital cameras are susceptible to adverse environments, including extreme heat and cold. Evans said the system is much better than what they had previously, but it’s not as durable as the solid state. Chris Beard, education division account executive at
digital surveillance manufacturer Safety Vision, agreed. “Everyone is pushing their solid-state systems now
because they are more reliable than a spinning hard drive,” he said. “Tey’re both digital, but a spinning hard drive is running at full capacity all the time on a bouncing bus. Tere’s dirt and dust and temperatures that vary. A hard drive cannot spin below 42 degrees.” Rich Skitbitski said Wayne Township Public Schools
in New Jersey switched from a VHS-based surveillance system to digital eight years ago. Te fleet manager oversees a bus fleet that has anywhere from the first to the fourth generation of digital surveillance cameras. Reliability was the reason for the switch. “Te units would eat the tapes or the tapes would break,”
Skitbitski said. “Every time we needed something there would be a tape failure. Tey usually got eaten.” Skitbitski said the district’s 85 buses are 100 percent
digital, and the systems are working fine. He added the biggest obstacle was getting the school board to approve the expenditure. “Digital was relatively new back then, and it was very expensive,” he said. “Now, the expense has come down, and the technology has made huge leaps and bounds.” Lori Jetha, marketing communications manager for
Seon Design, said the introduction of digital video recorders about seven years ago improved reliability and durability. But there also arose the need to record and display telemetry data, such as speed, GPS location and signals that are all synchronized with the video footage. "Most recently, the introduction of hybrid video systems
that can record video from both analog and high-definition cameras have increased the student transporter's view of on-board situations." Beard explained that multiplexing, or multiple camera
angles, is the main benefit of switching to digital from VHS, along with a huge increase in storage space and image quality. “Te VCR had three hours of storage space, then you
removed it and recorded over it,” Beard said. “With digital, you can record for weeks. Te frame rate can be changed and the image quality can be adjusted. Tat was a huge jump in technology for school districts.” Te Jefferson County School District in Louisville, Ky.,
installed digital systems on 1,200 buses. Each bus has four cameras. Each camera has independent audio. “Te main reason for going digital was for student
management,” said Brent West, transportation’s GIS specialist. “We also use it for training and investigations. It cuts out a lot of the ‘he said, she said’.” Rob Scott, vice president of sales and marketing for 247
Security, predicted the leap in technology three years ago. Wireless was available then, and Scott said it was the future of onboard video surveillance.
20 School Transportation News March 2014
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76