Diagram courtesy of Accipiter, whose hi-tech radar system includes the integration of a “Target Information System,” which stores every movement of every target.
Incessant blips on a screen fade into the past as U.S.-Canadian cooperation to protect the border grows stronger, thanks to the use of ‘smart’ radar technology.
Accipiter Security Radar Systems unveiled a new surveillance technology that combines radar with information technology earlier this month at SecureTech, a two-day public safety tradeshow in Ottawa.
The company’s computer processing system measures the speed, size and heading of each target and then stores it. The computer then analyzes real-time and historical surveillance, and then predict patterns that can help officials track down criminals and even speed up rescue efforts, according to Carl Krasnor, vice president of business development for the Niagara-based company.
“The technology enables automated recognition of complex suspicious events such as a rendezvous between two boats that originated in different countries,” he said.
Radar dates back to World War II, and acted as a sensor to beep where targets might be. However, the traditional sensor required a trained operator to decipher the real targets from insignificant blips, or clutter, according to Krasnor.
“There are always thousands of targets, most of them law-abiding citizens with very few criminals and potential terrorists hidden in their midst. Traditional radar would be useless in this scenario,” Krasnor said, explaining that human operator possess neither the processing power nor attention span to select suspicious activity from routine movement.
Advancements in security technology are helpful in maintaining the cordial relationship between the U.S. and Canada while still protecting the porous border.
Border Patrol reported that only 32 miles of the 4,000-mile border has an ‘acceptable’ level of security, according to a 2010 report by the Government Accountability Office.
Retired U.S. Army Colonel Douglas A. Macgregor thinks that a border that is 99 percent unprotected could use a foreboding military presence to keep drug peddlers and illegal immigrants out. Though, he says his prescription is minimal.
“You would not need more than a battalion or two,” Macgregor said, explaining that the border dividing Washington State and British Columbia is a point of entry for illegals from India, Pakistan and Northeast Asia.
More, Macgregor says that the Great Lakes would also benefit from U.S. Army reinforcements to control drug trafficking.
Not so fast, says U.S. Customs and Border Protection, explaining that the relationship between Canada and the U.S. must remain “welcoming.”
“The border is not a militarized zone, and we don’t want to treat it as such. We gain the most from information through collaboration,” said Mark Borkowski, assistant commissioner for the U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s Office of Technology, Innovation and Acquisition.
Unlike the U.S.-Mexican border, Canadian and American governments have had a historical relationship of shared resources and shared cooperation when it comes to securing the border between them, according to Borkowski.
“The Northern border is very challenging. It’s forested and has bodies of water, which creates challenges for tracking illegal acts. However, most of the activity on the border is happening at ports of entry, not between them like the southwest border,” Borkowski said.
And Borkowski explained he’s “excited” at the technological possibilities.
“For a long time, we’ve had sensors hidden in the ground that would alert us, but we didn’t know whether it was moose or a person. We need algorithms so we can know it’s human,” Borkowski said.
Next comes fiber optics, Borkowski said. The combined technologies would help officials track where signals are headed, and then deploy agents to sit and wait for a target rather than chase it.
