CE VENDORS COULD BENEFIT FROM INFLIGHT VIDEO SURVEILLANCE

There’s possible boon in store for CE manufacturers if airlines voluntarily install video surveillance systems for passenger aircraft -- or if federal govt. mandates them. Issue is being considered by Transportation Dept., was discussed at recent Senate Commerce Committee hearing, and some airlines already are prototyping surveillance systems from at least 3 avionics suppliers. On CE side, beneficiaries would be makers of video cameras, LCD panels and PDA with wireless communications.

Airbus, Europe’s passenger jet manufacturer, has teamed with Goodrich in U.S. to try to reassure passengers that flying still is safest form of travel. Goodrich is integrating surveillance cameras with inflight entertainment systems so air crew can monitor passenger cabin and avert hijackers’ surprise entry into cockpit. At recent World Airline Entertainment Assn. conference in Prague we attended, VALK foundation funded by KLM and U. of Leiden reported new research into increased fear of flying since Sept. 11 attacks. Study found 1/3 of all passengers now worried about terrorism, 6.5% had vowed never to fly again, 10% had cut air travel to minimum.

Improving inflight security would be best way to get passengers back in air, Peter Morris of International Air Transport Assn. told Prague conference. Airbus and Goodrich said they believed they could accomplish that by admitting to passengers that they were being watched by hidden cameras. Video cameras work in dark without passengers’ realizing they're being checked for suspicious behavior.

On advice from Federal Aviation Administration, airlines already have reinforced cockpit cabin doors, but crews still need access each way for food and toilets. Airbus is putting 3 overhead cameras with 140? wideangle lenses around cockpit door to send pictures to LCD screen mounted on cockpit side of door. Consequently, peepholes aren’t needed and anyone standing behind cabin crew members while waiting for door to open could be detected.

“Two cameras leave a blind spot,” said Peter Stein of Goodrich. “If carefully sited, 3 give no hiding place. All curtains stop short of the floor so we can see the shoes of anyone trying to hide.”

In Goodrich system, videocameras normally work in ambient light, down to 0.1 lux, but switch to infrared operation when cabin is completely dark. Infrared LEDs emit invisible light, which camera sensor converts to b&w image. Stein said cameras could be hidden inside conventional passenger light fittings by putting ring of IR emitters around light bulb that concealed camera lens. Signals from video cameras are fed into cables used to distribute video entertainment to each seat. Although only some lights will have cameras, terrorists wouldn’t know which ones are live, Stein said.

Also working on inflight video surveillance systems are Honeywell and Rockwell Collins. Latter’s system, being tested by United Airlines, would provided video intelligence to federal air marshals in passenger cabin as well as to flight crew in cockpit. It feeds images from up to 32 cameras to PDA in cockpit, then transmits them back to PDAs used by air marshals in cabin. Because readily available PDAs can be used, security personnel don’t stand out as potential troublemakers. Rockwell system also can record images, for evidence in hijacking attempts or even air-rage incidents, and transmit video to ground stations. Honeywell system also can record from 3 to 10 video cameras in color or b&w, using infrared.