Gryffin TALOS taut wire perimeter detection system real world experiences

The development of taut wire detectors over the last 30 years has continued to ensure acceptance of this technology in the perimeter security applications. There are a number of features which make such systems attractive for security, applications which include resistance to environmental affects, low nuisance alarm rate and high probability of detection. A taut wire fence constructed of barbed wire will also act as a deterrent and adds a barrier delay time to the perimeter. In 1998 the initial concepts of a novel design for a new taut wire sensor were described at the Carnahan Conference sponsored by the IEEE. This paper is the second in a series which formally releases the product to production under the trade name Gryffin TALOS. The mechanical design of the sensor has been refined for field applications and provides an improved detector with superior sensitivity and robustness. The system is modular in that the sensor screen may be defined as separate sensor elements communicating along a serial bus structure to a master controller. Each sensor processor as a self contained module may be ganged on the serial bus from 1 to 255 sensor processors. A master controller analyses the collective output of the sensor screen and annunciates a result onto a network which may connect to multiple sensor screens. The refined mechanical operation and the signal processing of the sensor output is described as well as data analysis of the combined sensor screen. The paper concludes with a description of test methods and new applications.