Mobile Video Surveillance.
2009–2011: Doo Technologies built its 360° imaging into a complete mobile surveillance vehicle, with three camera layers, four operator screens, independent power and live transmission, first presented at Intersec 2010.
360° vision, built into a vehicle
When a technology is hard to explain, build it.
By 2009 Doo Technologies held patents in 360° imaging, had built prototype cameras and written the software. The homeland security market, however, had no reference point for 360° vision. Presentations could not convey what a single camera covering every direction would change for an operator.
The answer was a complete demonstration vehicle. A Hummer H2 was rebuilt as a mobile video surveillance system with three camera layers, four operator screens, an onboard computer, independent power and live transmission. It was first presented at Intersec 2010 in Dubai.
camera layers, 0 to 1000 m
operator touch screens
autonomy, engine off
first shown at Intersec
A periscope principle for 360°
The camera research began in 2001, when sensors were large and affordable cameras were DV camcorders. Back-to-back cameras placed their lenses too far apart for a clean stitch. Doo’s answer was to face two cameras towards each other and fold the light through a prism and mirrors, as a periscope does, bringing the optical centres together. Several versions followed, including the XCam and the TCam.
Engineered as a working platform
The bodywork was carried out with a custom car builder formerly of West Coast Customs. The body was stripped and rebuilt, the cabin fitted with screens and controls, and the boot with an equipment rack housing the computer, power and transmission systems.
Three ranges, one system
Each camera layer covered its own distance and ran in parallel. Selecting a point in the 360° view directed the PTZ camera to it, combining situational awareness with long-range detail.
A mobile command post
Four touch screens and a joystick allowed four operators to work independently on the same cameras. A rack-mounted computer designed for 24/7 operation handled capture, recording and display, with GPS, 3G, Wi-Fi with a long-range antenna of more than 50 km, and an optional radio video link. The base could access every function remotely over a secure connection.
A dedicated auxiliary power unit, with a second alternator, capacitor, marine battery, inverter, UPS and 5, 12, 24 and 48 V converters, kept the full system running for up to eight hours with the engine off.
One camera, multiple users, multiple views
The touch interface let each operator navigate the live 360° video in single, dual, quad or panoramic mode while it was recorded, switch between day and night modes, steer the PTZ, follow the vehicle on a map and replay any recording, still fully navigable, with time and GPS data.
From Intersec to the street
After Intersec 2010 the vehicle served as Doo Technologies’ demonstration platform in Dubai, showing in minutes what presentations could not. It also drew interest from Rockwell Collins, with whom integration discussions took place in Cedar Rapids.
The H2 also opened the way to Atlantis The Palm. It was presented to the Atlantis team when Doo Technologies proposed the 2011 proof of concept that became the Sandance coverage.
One core, many applications
With visibility came new applications for the same cameras and software: USB, FireWire, Ethernet, Wi-Fi, 3G and satellite links; visible and night vision; drones, an unmanned surface vehicle, cave inspection and pipe mapping. The rugged time-lapse camera later recorded New Year’s Eve 2011 at Atlantis The Palm.
On the map with Dubai Police
The H2 established Doo Technologies with law enforcement and led to its involvement with Dubai Police, supporting the Security & Safety Training Programmes of the Dubai Police Academy’s International Centre for Security & Safety, delivered with City & Guilds content and TAVCOM.
In 2012 this contribution was recognised at the Dubai Police Academy with an Appreciation Certificate, a City & Guilds award and the Dubai Police Golden Jubilee medal, as the programmes passed 23,000 registrations.
Ahead of the market
Today leading IP camera manufacturers, among them Axis and Mobotix, offer 180° fisheye cameras and pair them with PTZ units: the fisheye for situational awareness, the PTZ for detail. Doo Technologies built and fielded that combination on a vehicle in 2009 and 2010.