New options in using infrared for detection, assessment and surveillance

The use of infrared illumination in outdoor security has increased in recent years. The motivation for this has come from the growing need to reduce light pollution and costs, and with advances in technology. An earlier Carnahan paper reviewed some new alternatives based on emerging solid-state LED illuminators and illustrated their effectiveness when combined with video intrusion detection sensors such as DAVID 300. Since that time, work has continued in the direction of simplifying the IR technology and enhancing both its performance and cost effectiveness for security applications. This includes systems for integrated, long-range and uniform coverage necessary for practical assessment. These key advances are demonstrated in the new StarLED^TM and StarCAM ^TM products. StarLED as an IR illuminator is unique in providing a number of new functions. The other new development, StarCAM provides the same illumination pattern features as StarLED with the added feature of a camera integrated within the illuminator. The paper reviews the major design considerations that are taken into account when using infrared technology for surveillance, assessment, and detection in light of these advances. A video taken both with a separate IR sensitive camera and StarLED illumination, and with a StarCAM provides an illustration of the performance of these components. It also illustrates the illumination improvements compared to earlier systems, and displays the major design trade-offs in site illumination and detection requirements