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1
The front end of SPAN ties in to the air traffic control
radar. The signals from the radar are analog and In more detail, the ASDP system accesses radar video and
consequently, we derive these signals and process them as timing signals from the ASDE-3 receiver. The ASDP
close to the equipment as possible to limit any attenuation Radar Signal Processor (RSP, not shown in Figure 1)
of the analog signals through the coaxial cable digitizes this radar video, performs detection processing,
connections. Thus, part of our system necessarily resides and range and angular measurement of detected targets.
near the radar and is, at JFK, in the air traffic control These radar reports are sent to an internal tracker. The
tower. RSP and tracker are referred to as the Security Radar
Interface Unit (SRIU) and are housed within the same
Radar System physical unit. The tracker processes the radar reports into
consistent tracks that are sent over an IP-network to the
ASDE-3 (Airport Surface Detection Equipment) is the ASDP Display (see Figure 2) for operator viewing and
FAA primary radar system for air traffic ground control of interaction.
airplanes and vehicles within the terminal area of an
airport. The radar operates in the Ku-band (15.7-17.7 Video cameras
GHz) and operates in all weather conditions. It can detect
aircraft from 500-feet to 24,000-feet in range and up to In our SPAN system at JFK there are two Pan-Tilt-Zoom
200-feet in altitude. The system wavelength, pulse width (PTZ) video cameras mounted on the air traffic control
(40-ns), and rotational rate (1-Hz) are designed to resolve tower. Each camera has a video encoder that digitizes the
aircraft at a minimum cross section of 3-m2. It has an video output and sends the encoded video over the IP-
angular resolution of 0.25-degree and a range cell network to the SOCC for display. Each camera is IP-
resolution of approximately 18-feet [1]. See [2] for a addressable and controllable from the SOCC. Details are
picture. below.
Figure 1: System architecture for installation at the air traffic The system diagram for the Security Operations Control
control tower. The video recorder is located in a separate part of Center (SOCC) is shown in Figure 2. The SOCC is
the airport.
manned constantly and is the command center for security
operations at JFK airport. There are three fundamental
The ASDP (Airport Security Display Processor) system subsystems here: The ASDP GUI workstation, the
interfaces to the FAA's ASDE-3 ground surveillance radar Common Operational Picture (COP) and the camera
system to derive potential perimeter intrusion information. control system (not shown in the figure).
It uses raw analog video signals of radar returns and
processes them to reduce clutter, detect intruders, and
display tracks. The ASDP decouples the air traffic control
functions of the radar from any security functions [3].
The ASDP performs constant detection and tracking. It
works in all-weather and is an organic sensor—it takes
data from the air traffic control radar already in place at
the airport. This radar has a 1-Hz update rate—it scans
once per second—so that the radar sweeps the entire
airport every second. Consequently, the ASDP system is
able to detect and track targets quickly and reliably over
the entire airport property.
2
Figure 3 is a screen capture of the COP display annotated
From
to give an indication of it functionality. The display shows
Control
Tower IP Network a photographic overview of the airport that the operator
Radar tracks,
may zoom-in to see particular areas of the airport in
Video control
ASDP GUI—COP data transfers CISCO Track data greater detail. The larger display shows warning zones
switch
(orange) and keep-out zones (red). Blue icons represent
Video
from
object, tracked by SPAN that have never entered a keep-
cameras
out zone. The SPAN system will issue an alert (warning)
ASDP Video Video
GUI Decoder Decoder
GUI,
or alarm (requires action) if a tracked object breaches into
Common radar tracks
Workstation Operational videos one of the user-defined alert or alarm keep-out zones. If
Picture (COP)
Joystick
Controller
Workstation this occurs, the SPAN system will issue an audible
KVM
switch (a)
alert/alarm, and will change the color and shape of the
tracked object icon on the COP display. An orange icon
Keyboard Mouse
Large Screen Display
mounted
represents an alert while a red icon is an alarm. Once a
on back rack tracked object has been declared an alarm, its icon will
remain red as long as the system continues to track that
target.
Figure 2: System architecture for SPAN at the Security
Operations Control Center. The COP supports selection by operator and display of
ASDP GUI Workstation various graphical layers. These layers include a control
layer, a track display layer, a CAD map display layer and
The ASDP GUI workstation was described at a basic level a photographic image layer. The control layer supports
in [5]. In essence, the GUI displays the radar tracks of operator selected track-hooking of the radar track with a
ground targets. In addition, the GUI system runs the selected camera to provide slaved video. The symbology
camera control program and allows the operator to of tracks is based on MIL STD 2525B [6]. Under this
manually control each camera. It shares, for the sake of standard unknown tracks are shown as squares, friendly
desk space, its keyboard and mouse with the COP display tracks are shown as circles, and threat tracks are shown as
(see the keyboard-video-mouse (KVM) switch in Figure diamonds. Thus, red tracks are, by definition, diamonds.
2).
The COP controls include pull down menu across the top
Common Operational Picture (COP) workstation and as well as duplicate context sensitive menus available
display within the screen display. Example controls include:
The COP is a system hosted on a Windows PC with a • Various display modes to show only threat
large screen display that integrates all sensors to a unified tracks, all tracks, or a hybrid mode where threat
display for situational awareness and command and tracks are bold while other tracks are shadows
control operations. In normal operations, the COP • Display of exclusion zones
displays a layered map of the airport with threat zones • Display of video windows or hiding video
overlaid. Typically, only threat tracks as well as the video windows
from each camera are constantly displayed. The COP may • Video footprints may be turned on or off
display all tracks, threat and non-threat, as desired. It may • Screen controls to drag the map and
interact with the GUI but it can also work independently corresponding tracks, or zoom in or out of the
of the GUI. display;
• Layer controls to show the security grid; range
With the COP, the operator may employ various control rings; CAD map underlay; photographic underlay
functions such as hooking tracks for data (threat level,
velocity of the track, location within the airport grid); The list of features and capabilities is varied and
hiding tracks; showing specific tracks from the GUI on the operator adjustable. Figure 4 is another screen capture
COP; adding sticky notes; and changing display showing additional features and functionality.
parameters among others. The camera footprints are
displayed on the COP to give an intuitive indicator to the
operator of camera location and the width of these
footprints changes automatically to indicate the zoom
setting of each camera.
3
Part of the airport policy we implemented, for example, is
that when an intruder crosses a keep-out zone, say a boat
comes too close to the shore, the system will
automatically select the best available camera, slew that
camera to the intrusion, and follow the intruder.
4
While we have used an exponential decay, the behavior
Camera Coordinates could be any monotonically decreasing function. If a
Camera
(origin) camera has particularly good range behavior (it could
zoom far in) and another camera has a fixed zoom setting,
this can be well-modeled by using different functions for
Slant each camera.
range
0.96
0.8
We have flexibility in choosing this function with the
0.7
overall motivation that targets within the center of
Appropriateness value
0.6
panning region have high (near unity) rank and targets
0.5 toward the end of the panning region have low rank. A
0.4 target outside of the panning region for a camera has zero
0.3 azimuth rank. Interestingly, if the camera has 360-degree
0.2 panning ability the azimuth rank is unity for any target,
0.1
thus, this function is a constant of unity value for all target
azimuths.
0
0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3 3.5
Slant range from camera to target (km)
Final camera rank: The final rank for a camera is the
product of the range rank and azimuth rank. We show an
Figure 6: Range rank of a camera. At zero distance the rank is
unity and this rank falls as a function of slant range between the example of this function in Figure 8.
camera and target.
5
a follow-on to multiple COPs, SPAN can accommodate
multiple camera controller operators. For example, an
operator at the Security Operations Center now directs all
the cameras. If another COP were installed at another
location, we could allow users there to control cameras
along with other operators. Each user is assigned a
priority, based on facility policy, and the camera control
system would permit camera control based on which user
seeks to direct a camera.
5. CONCLUSIONS
The SPAN system at JFK airport is installed, working, and
used daily by operators who monitor the airport perimeter
for intrusions. This paper described the workings of SPAN
and detailed the Common Operational Picture as well as
the camera control system. Further details may be
Figure 8: Combined ranking function (appropriateness) for a obtained by contacting the first author.
camera.
6. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Comments: Our scheme for camera selection is scalable
The authors gratefully acknowledge the Technical Support
from one to any number of cameras. What’s more, SPAN
Working Group for support in the original development of
is able to control cameras and assign targets to cameras at
the Airport Security Display Processor system at the John
least as fast as once per second. Hence the system can
F. Kennedy International Airport, New York, and for
handle fast changing situations. Lastly, our scheme is
support and funding of SPAN at JFK. We also gratefully
expandable to support hand-offs between cameras and
acknowledge the Port Authority of New York and New
targets so that we could have a continual video record of a
Jersey for their continued support and hosting of this
target as long as that target is within the field of view of at
system and, in particular, Mr. Al Graser and Ms. Jeanne
least one camera.
Olivier. We gratefully acknowledge Mr. Mark Torbeck of
the TSA for his guidance and vision in the development of
4. ISSUES AND COMMENTS
this system. Finally, the authors wish to pay special thanks
Video tracking: In [4,5] we incorporated a video system
to Mr. John Cimba of Axsys Technologies, Inc. who
that analyzed a scene, detected moving objects, and then
worked closely with us during this development and to
generated its own tracks of these objects. Mobile Ravin
Messrs. James Barron and Michael Murray of HBE, Inc.,
had a track fusion system to merge these video tracks to
who worked closely with us to install this system and
the radar tracks. Here, we did not use video tracking.
make it a success.
Instead, we continually cue each camera based on radar
information and tracks. Thus, the video cameras are
7. REFERENCES
driven from the radar system and the video system does
not detect objects nor track them. There is no need for a [1] Barry, et al., “ASDE-3 Radar Siting and Analysis Security
fusion system to merge different sensor tracks. At the Study,” Final Report, TSC-W111-079, Oct. 2000.
conference we will show a video of how SPAN tracks a [2] ASDE-3 antenna photograph available at:
car even as the car moves behind large, visually blocking http://www.tsc.com/images/contentimgs/ASDP2.gif
objects. Because the radar can see the car over the last accessed August 3, 2007.
objects, the video camera can follow the car as the image [3] Mark Bond, Airport Security Display Processor: Software
of the car is blocked and then show the car as it emerges Requirements Specification, TSC-W234-020, March 2005.
from behind the blockage. [4] David S. Mazel and Ann Barry, “Mobile Ravin: Intrusion
detection and tracking with organic airport radar and video
systems,” IEEE International Carnahan Conference on
System expansion: SPAN is built as a modular system so Security Technology, Lexington, Kentucky, October 2006.
that additional cameras can be easily added to it without [5] Mobile RAVIN Design Document, TSC-W282-010,
changing the architecture and with simple changes to October 2005.
configuration files. Other sensors, such as fence alarms or [6] MILSTD 2525B is available at:
trip-wires can be added simply and easily. http://herbb.hanscom.af.mil/tbbs/R472/ms2525b.pdf
[7] Ann S. Barry and David S. Mazel, Secure Perimeter
Multiple COPs: SPAN can accommodate multiple COPs Awareness Network (SPAN) System Requirements
so that personnel in disparate locations can benefit from Specification, Technology Service Corporation, April 6,
the situational awareness provided by the SPAN COP. As 2007.