Protect Your Aircraft with LiDAR System Security
Security staff needs technology to secure parked aircraft. This article describes why LiDAR solutions are ideal for parked aircraft security and how they function.
In the aviation industry, the security of parked aircraft is of utmost importance. Robust perimeter security systems and a qualified workforce can protect aircraft from unauthorized access, tampering, or theft.
Everyone involved in airport operations agrees that screening and inspecting passengers and their baggage is crucial for maintaining high safety standards. Considering the high altitudes at which aircraft operate, ensuring that no potentially hazardous objects or substances are on board is essential.
Need for Security Solutions Beyond the Terminal
Crowd management and control at airports are essential to ensure customers are happy, reduce wait times, and ensure airport security is always up to par. The COVID-19 epidemic has also made it necessary to consider social distancing in crowded places like airport terminals.
Outsight has already developed solid, case-tested solutions to improve operations and increase customer satisfaction inside modern airport terminals.
Read more on our recent article:
It is essential to ensure the safety of the aircraft and any belongings on board from unwanted intrusion. Ensuring the plane is parked at the airport, nobody should be allowed to board or disembark without being noticed.
It is important to maintain the safety and security of the airport by monitoring every entry and exit point of the plane. It is essential to maintain the security of parked aircraft.
Helpful Technology for the Security Force
Keeping airplanes safeguarded is a complex task as they are usually parked in vast airport regions and often hidden from view. Also, it is too expensive to have security staff always walk around the terminal, especially for small and medium-sized airfields.
The solution lies in implementing a technological system, such as a 3D LiDAR system, which helps maintain aircraft security and ensures no intruder can interfere with the equipment.
This system has to function consistently, independently of weather and lighting and is adaptable to observe aircraft of varying sizes and shapes. Read more about Outsight's solutions to prevent security threats and reduce false alarms:
Importance of preventing alarm fatigue
Cameras, radar, and thermal sensors are examples of the technologies often employed to assist security personnel.
- Surveillance cameras are a standard and affordable method of monitoring a property's perimeter. When the available light is limited, AI-powered assistants may face challenges and reach their limits. Additionally, they could be misled by false information.
- Radar sensors are not affected by the environment or the amount of light. Still, the data they collect must be more accurate to identify intruders, which is not the case yet;
- Finally, coaxial cables buried in the ground restrict the parking area and may be used to ensure the security of parked aircraft. Their design is to notify individuals upon entering the parking zone and approaching the airplane. Yet, they are costly and complex to install. They may be wrongly activated when an animal passes over a sensor.
These false alarms may happen with any of the technologies listed above, and they pose a threat since they can lead to alarm fatigue among security professionals, increasing the risk that an alert will no longer be respected when it goes off.
3D LiDAR technology is the way to go
A system that utilizes LiDAR technology and perception software could solve these challenges. LiDAR sensors use lasers to get three-dimensional data about their surroundings.
Before it can trigger an alarm when someone gets too close to an airplane, the information needs to be processed by LiDAR software. This technology is highly effective in enhancing the security of parked aircraft because it can function efficiently regardless of ambient light or weather conditions.
Because of this, the parked aircraft security system does not recognize small elements as invaders (if that is the purpose) and, therefore, does not sound an alert, making it an effective method for preventing alarm fatigue.
LiDAR systems can be coupled with 2D cameras, if required, for security purposes. In the following example, the LiDAR system is used to find and track intrusions and automatically point a PTZ camera in the direction of a suspicious person or vehicle for human verification.
Implementing a LiDAR-based system for aircraft security
LiDAR sensors are installed on existing lampposts and buildings in airport areas to detect airplanes. These sensors use laser pulses to obtain data and receive identical laser pulses back after objects within their field of view have reflected them.
Due to its wide range, the safety of the workers is not at risk when collecting data. To create the "point cloud," which consists of 3D data points, the laser beam is redirected onto the scene multiple times per second, reaching a rate of several hundred thousand times.
From this "point cloud," the software can figure out which points belong to the plane and make a digital "safety zone" or "volume" around it.
The application can identify, trace, and categorize any entity within its range of view, distinguishing, for instance, between animals and prospective trespassers. If an individual crosses this boundary, an alert will be triggered, and the security personnel will be promptly informed.
With LiDAR software, like the one from Outsight, it is also possible to customize the parked aircraft security zones based on the parking position and size. This software is very simple to use and affords operators a significant amount of flexibility.
Final Words
A system based on LiDAR sensors and software is easy to install, cost-efficient, discreet, and extremely precise for monitoring the security of parked planes.
It will be equally necessary and feasible to safeguard aircraft when they are stationary on the ground as it is to screen passengers for security from now on.
To learn more about LiDAR solutions or discuss your project needs, download our whitepaper or contact a product specialist.
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