Campus Safety Measures Part II: Three Campus Safety Technology Use Cases

New technology is supporting campus safety, enhancing the partnership between public and private security teams. Three key technology industries have contributed to these updates: Big Data – and it’s partner IIoT – as well as industrial computing and digital communications. Campuses use the tools coming out of these innovating fields to enhance their environmental safety, improve awareness and guarantee excellent response in crisis.

Industrial Computing for Campus Security

Malls and institutions of higher learning have substantial commonalities: high pedestrian traffic, plenty of valuables and widely spread campuses. Consequently, they are at a high risk of crime from both internal and external populations in accessible and remote spaces. There are two industrial computing advancements that these centers can implement to handle these scenarios.

COM Express Type 7 for Surveillance Systems

As surveillance systems expand across these vast campuses, the obstacles facing the transmission of their footage increase. First, there is the issue of the size of the data they send. Secondly, there is the issue of distance, which introduces lag. The solution to these obstacles is a ruggedized headless server with maximum ethernet and AI integration based on the COM Express Type 7 carrier board. By placing these servers at sub-control stations, close to the surveillance systems, the footage can be rapidly transferred from the cameras to the servers. Then, between internal processing and keeping them connected to public safety’s local network over which information can be transmitted, the safety department can create a short, fast pathway of valuable surveillance insight from camera to eyes.

Configurable Industrial Computer for Hardened Dispatch System

In general, public safety, emergency services and domestic military organizations rely on a vast, reliable telecommunications network to coordinate emergency services and sustain essential communications. These systems are coordinate for the public at hardened dispatch systems that will weather any storm, quite literally. The control centers themselves are nearly immune to unauthorized access or infrastructural dangers such as fire; moreover, they operate on secure local networks, built on networking technology and computing systems that use the latest I/O and dispatch technology. The last – industrial dispatch computers – also belong on college campuses to rapidly and effectively dispatch campus safety officers to critical events, such as medical, safety or environmental crises. The high tech required in these computers is now capable of interoperability and multi-network communication, allowing a high degree of integrating with enhancing services and outside safety organizations.

Big Data for Campus Security

Big data has been improving and upgrading operations across the world as people use it to optimize however possible. Now, data beyond the mechanical and scientific is being used to improve public life. Big Data also includes information about human patterns, climate events, individual behaviors and other sources of data that were, until now, difficult to capture or describe. By running intelligent software on computing systems capable of processing vast amounts of data, campus security teams can learn how to prioritize safety decisions and best-practice behaviors for population protection. Due to the limited size of campuses, this intelligence gathering is much more feasible compared to police jurisdictions covering millions of people.

One key tool in collecting data is IIoT. By using automated internet of things devices, information can be collected and decisions made at the edge, speeding up security responses. These responses can include automatic calls to dispatch centers when fire systems detect potential hazards or triggering automated security measures such as blackout windows if a gunman is detected.

Digital Communications

While cellular devices and VoIP have certainly helped security responses, they have created new problems. Due to how emergency calls get routed through cell networks, geographic information can be lost or received on a delay. Two digital communications upgrades in the past few years have helped solve that: GPS micro-positioning and E-911.

GPS Micro-positioning and E-911

GPS micro-positioning has seen its most successful applications in automated package delivery and human tracking. As more offices in multi-floor buildings or vast warehouse type facilities receive or ship out packages, having pinpointed access to location ensures a package doesn’t get lost one floor down or two aisles over. The same principle goes for human tracking, such as for parents with children. Enabling a GPS to have hyper accurate location positioning allows for greater accuracy in determining where to be and how to get there.

Campuses can also benefit. Micro-positioning devices placed around campus and local infrastructure optimize the 4G and 5G communications carrying emergency information. These quickly traveling calls can triangulate to local call centers and with the relevant GPS info, enhance E-911 technology that transmits geographic details to dispatch teams.