Nov 25, 2015

Computing devices and their users are not the exclusive beneficiaries of mobility trends. Just as smartphones can perform seamlessly while on the move, so too should other forms of technology. This includes one of the most important technological innovations to date: video surveillance. Public safety, transportation, law enforcement and field workers are only some of the constituents that stand to gain from a video surveillance solution with mobile capabilities.   

Wireless surveillance

The move toward a mobile-enabled surveillance solution begins with wireless network technology. Rather than creating a physically wired network for surveillance, cameras can send and receive wireless signals. This is especially useful as a temporary solution, for example as a way to comply with Occupational Safety and Health Administration at a large construction site. Other cases in which rapid deployment may come in handy include visits from politicians or prominent personas, especially if they will be participating in a motorcade or speaking to audiences in public spaces that are not typically equipped with surveillance solutions. City-wide security is also a valuable use case, since cameras must cover such a sprawling landscape. 

That said, the benefits far exceed ease of deployment. The increasing reliability of wireless technology has played a huge role in security monitoring, and has proven to be extraordinarily useful time and again in real-world applications. For example, Chicago has been using a wireless mesh solution for several years now as a way to fill in the surveillance gaps that fiber has been unable to accommodate. Thus far, wireless surveillance has proven to be reliable for the Windy City, and the video quality has been exceptional.  

Taking this a step further

Successful deployments of wireless surveillance solutions have been beneficial in and of themselves. However, video surveillance solution providers are pushing the envelope, and in the best way possible: They're turning video surveillance systems into mobile solutions. Basically, a mobile solution integrates with the network to enable camera mobility without sacrificing the quality of the video feed. Public transit such as buses and trains, which are always on the go, stand to gain from mobile video surveillance. 

Another potential use case for mobile infrastructure is in emergency response and public safety. Law enforcement officials in New Rochelle, New York, recently discussed their success with a new video surveillance network that was deployed in key areas throughout the city. The next step for them is to enable patrolling officers to monitor these feeds from laptops inside police vehicles, which would allow them to respond to incidences more quickly, and have a preemptive visual assessment of the situation prior to arrival. In theory, firefighters and EMTs could reap similar benefits from mobile infrastructure.

Ultimately, mobile surveillance infrastructure extends the benefits of video surveillance to mobile environments, much in the same way that mobile devices supply the benefits of computing technology to users on the go. A mobile solution thereby achieves the marriage of mobility and video surveillance.