Date:01/02/2009 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2009/02/01/stories/2009020159441300.htm Front Page
Taking care of the security underbelly Shanthi Kannan Now available: state-of-the-art undervehicle scanner -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ZenScan can detect bombs, explosives and contraband It can also click driver's picture and the number plate -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- CHENNAI: With security threats increasing across the world, the focus is now on checks. Vehicles, usually cars and two-wheelers, are often used by terrorists to trigger blasts. After the Mumbai terror attack, all hotels, airports, offices and other important locations across the country have made inspection of vehicles entering their premises mandatory. Most hotels use an inclined mirror to search for items hidden under the vehicle. Given the low flexibility of the manually-held mirror, such an inspection, however, does not allow an elaborate view of the entire undercarriage. So this inspection system is susceptible to human errors. Kapil Bardeja and Anoop Prabhu, founders of the Delhi-based KritiKal SecureScan Pvt Ltd., a subsidiary of KritiKal Solutions Pvt. Ltd, (an Indian Institute of Technology-Delhi incubated company), have come up with a state-of-the-art undervehicle scanner "ZenScan," which can be either embedded in or mounted on the ground. ZenScan - Advanced Vehicle Scanner System - is computer vision-based. It uses a high-end, electromechanical and camera-based assembly to image the underbelly of the moving vehicle at the entrance of any high security installation. As a vehicle passes over this scanner, the camera sees through a small slit and captures line-by-line images, and stitches them together to form a composite undervehicle image without the need for stopping it at the entrance. This helps in detecting bombs, explosives, and contraband. The image gets displayed on the guard's monitor in real time. The scanner comes with an option of two or three additional auxiliary cameras to capture hard-to-view angles such as the suspension area and the space between tyres. If the driver image is needed, there is another optional side-view camera, which clicks the right-side of the vehicle and captures his or her photograph. And, there is a frontal camera that not only detects the number plate but also reads and tags it with all other details captured. These cameras also record the date and time of the vehicle crossing the security checkpoint. ZenScan has been designed with a fully automated surveillance and access control system covering the vehicle, passenger and driver, Mr. Bardeja says. There are additional software database management modules to help in quick storage and retrieval of images as well as related data captured. It requires 7-10 days to install the embedded version, while the surface-mounted version needs three or four days. The cost of the various versions of this scanning system ranges between Rs. 17 lakh and 30 lakh. To unsubscribe send a message to [email protected] with the subject unsubscribe. To change your subscription to digest mode or make any other changes, please visit the list home page at http://accessindia.org.in/mailman/listinfo/accessindia_accessindia.org.in
