Beneath the Surface: Leveraging Under-Vehicle Inspection Tech to Detect Hidden Dangers
There is a popular saying among security professionals that “security begins at the door,” meaning that a facility must first and foremost have clearly defined access control protocols to be able to properly mitigate against various risks.
While this statement is obviously true, it doesn’t really encapsulate the full operating environment that must be protected in many cases. In reality, security begins at the perimeter with personnel working with technological resources to provide advanced warning of different threats.
Within many high-security environments today, comprehensive vehicle screening is required to be able to monitor and control the flow of personnel and cars into and out of a facility. Aside from checking the credentials of employees, vendors, and guests upon their arrival, this process typically involves some type of under-vehicle inspection to ensure that explosives, weapons, and other contraband don’t make their way onto the premises.
Historically, security professionals have relied upon pole-mounted mirrors and/or bomb-sniffing dogs to mitigate against vehicle-borne improvised explosive devices (IEDs), but these methodologies are not without their limitations.
The use of pole-mounted mirrors, for example, requires that law enforcement or security officers be physically present at a vehicle, putting them in harm’s way in case of an explosive detonation. This approach also introduces human error into the process of being able to identify a threat with any degree of accuracy. And while bomb-sniffing dogs may be able to reliably detect the presence of an explosive ordinance, they are not foolproof and the costs of paying a dedicated handler may be simply too high for some organizations to maintain.
Fortunately, recent advances in artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning have resulted in the development of a new generation of under-vehicle surveillance systems that are quickly replacing these traditional forms of vehicle screening. Leveraging algorithms that have been trained on thousands of hours of video footage with the ability to differentiate between a wide range of vehicle types, end users can now more quickly and efficiently screen vehicles for explosives and other threats.
Vehicles can remain in motion during the process, with operators positioned safely away from the checkpoint—even in different facilities or regions. Integrations with license plate recognition (LPR) or automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) solutions enable security teams to perform comparison scans if cars reappear at the checkpoint. These solutions can also work alongside various traffic and security systems, including X-ray scanners, vehicle barriers, traffic lights, and information displays.
Streamlined Screening for Improved Efficiency
Another important, but often overlooked, aspect of the use of under-vehicle inspection solutions is their ability to hasten the screening process, which in turn helps organizations become more efficient and thus eco-friendlier.
Personal vehicle idling wastes about 3 billion gallons of fuel and generates around 30 million tons of carbon dioxide annually in the United States, according to the U.S. Department of Energy
Switching from a manual to an automated under-vehicle screening process enables end users to reduce inspection wait times from minutes to seconds. This is because high-resolution scans can be quickly reviewed and compared against reference images to determine whether the undercarriage has been tampered with in any way. Drivers also don’t have to worry about stopping during the inspection process since automated undercarriage screening solutions allow vehicles to travel over them at speeds up to as high as 20 mph.
In fact, earlier this year, regional transit agencies in New York tested an under-vehicle surveillance solution from ISS as part of an initiative dubbed as the “Transit Tech Lab,” which is aimed at improving climate resilience across transit infrastructure in the region.
Specifically, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey used the SecurOS UVSS (Under Vehicle Surveillance System) over a three-week period in May to screen the undercarriage of more than 2,000 vehicles entering the World Trade Center for various anomalies while simultaneously receiving data on vehicle types, flows, and checkpoint passage times. As a result, the Port Authority saw how under-vehicle surveillance could complement its vehicle screening process and increase its efficiency.
Expanding Beyond Security
In addition to security, under-vehicle inspection tools are also being used to improve operations within some organizations by detecting damage and other anomalies lurking on vehicle undercarriages.
For example, some companies in the auto industry are leveraging under-vehicle inspection to detect changes that may be indicative of larger problems with systems visible in a vehicle’s undercarriage.
In the case of new car manufacturing, this could mean identifying a leak or some other issue that needs to be addressed before sending the vehicle to a dealer. Similarly, logistics companies use under-vehicle inspection systems to perform routine checks on their fleet vehicles, ensuring that mechanical issues are detected and resolved before becoming significant problems that could lead to costly downtime.
Many rental car companies today are also leveraging these systems to protect their assets. By integrating under-vehicle surveillance in their return processes, these companies can document any potential damages incurred during a rental period.
Whether you’re looking for a better way to reduce vehicle-borne threats, streamline vehicle screening, document damage, or optimize operational efficiency, today’s AI-powered under-vehicle inspection systems provide a more thorough and cost-effective solution than the rudimentary methodologies of old.
Matt Powell is managing director for North America at ISS (Intelligent Security Systems), a pioneer and leader in the development of video intelligence and data awareness solutions. He has more than two decades of experience in security and transportation technologies having formerly served as principal-infrastructure markets at systems integrator Convergint Technologies and as a developer of ITS/DoT market strategies for Videolarm and Moog prior to that. He can be reached at [email protected].
© Matt Powell
