Adopting Linear Wireless Sensor Networks for Border Monitoring - Literature review Example

Introduction: The monitoring of international borders is very important for countries to protect their citizen and to stop any potential threat to homeland security, especially due to the steady increase in organized crime, terrorist threats, smuggling activities, etc. Governments are investing a fortune every year in monitoring and securing borders that are must be totally controlled and managed round the clock. Any gap or monitoring loose within the borders might cause a severe damage to security of that country. In modern times the border patrolling has become a challenge and requires high degree of accuracy. It is a matter of national security and safe borders make up for safer cities. In past the border monitoring was conducted through manual means of physical check posts or the placing of an entire military unit. Technology has made things easier. The best form of border surveillance involves minimal human intervention which comes in form of installing of wireless sensor networks that detect the motion in the vicinity and respond accordingly. The border monitoring is done in various forms through use of technology. It is either done in form of satellite monitoring, or the cameras attached to the sensors, or in form of towers and other material being installed across the borders which serve as concrete obstacles and at times are contained with explosive materials. However these all need some sort of improvements and there is margin for increasing the efficiency on the borders. There are many existing systems that meant to be for border monitoring starting from fence and wall to very complex systems such as There is emerging interest in developing intelligent border monitoring systems to help countries protect their citizens Modern monitoring systems have much more demanding requirements: Large, busy and complex landscape, the use of heterogeneous technologies, the real-time acquisition and interpretation of the evolving landscape; instantaneous flagging of potentially critical situations in any weather and illumination conditions Real-time monitoring of landscape Variable topography: coastal plains, high mountains, dune, and large deserts. Existing Systems: Helios – Sponsored by British company Fotech Solutions. It consists of fiber-optic cables, lasers & detectors. Hellios is being implemented and proposed for surveillance across Southern Arizona borders in specific and other parts of America as well. It has number of features that separate it from the other existing border surveillance devices. It minimizes the hassle of wires, has considerably larger scale and accuracy along with synchronization with the G.P.S. GPS based Surveillance System: Global positioning system can either operate independently or in collaboration with the sensor networks. In the first case, through the satellites, the motion can be detected, and traced into forward positions, and in case of sensor networks, the alarms are being sent through the nodes which are tracked through the G.P.S devices and they enable further tracking of material across the no go areas. The use of GPS based surveillance system can be extended to the internet and HTTP protocol which will enable finding the record in the data base and hence reach the exact details of individuals. A general characteristic of G.P.S based surveillance system is the ability to detect weapons and other metal based material which might not be traced through conventional forms of surveillance devices. They enable identifying and detecting the movement done from the starting point and hence and tell what might be hidden inside the vehicles and other covered parts of the caravans in form of the business and trade goods that normally go pass the borders(Haggerty, 2010). Change detection Phenomena: This mode of the border monitoring system involves capturing and recording of image and information of a particular place at two different instances, mostly done through a satellite that monitors the activity and place constantly and records any difference that has occurred in a fixed time slot. This model is under the recommendation of European Union across the border of Ukraine for preventing any unlawful movement across the border territory.. It includes the use of mathematical calculations and image recording from time to time. Since large number of immigrants tends to pass through the borders, the executive members felt the need for installing such a system which will help prevent and reduce the illegal movement to a large percentage. The working principle is quite simple and it entails capturing of the images of a particular area at different intervals (Gromek & Jenerowicz, 2011). This system is built and recommended while keeping in view the difficult and rough terrain of the Ukrainian border. Since this area is subject to different kinds of atmosphere and is a mix of various rough and soft areas, therefore this system has been designed to fulfill the requirements in accordance with the situation at hand. Certain considerations must be taken into account while dealing with this system because this system also comes with its own conditions and slightly less flexibility factor .A difficulty that may be faced in this system is the detection of change regardless of the change that takes place in the surface and atmosphere. Since they also contribute towards the change, therefore the system and its executors must be smart enough to differentiate the change that may occur due to the natural reasons and change that might occur due to the human cross over across the border. The instruments calibration and the resolution of the imaging device must be kept constant while taking images over two different time frames. Image processing and voice signal threshold and modulation activities must be performed to refine the image and voice that is recorded. This system has been applied across the borders between number of months and their results were tested across different variables and they were found to be subject to the natural conditions such as the cloud cover and other weather changes affected the results. Border Sense: A new approach is being adopted in the name of border sense, which is a hybrid system and makes use of the technologies and facilities available. One of the features being tagged to this system is the minimum human involvement. The technologies embedded in the entire system constitute the multimedia systems, under the surface sensing devices. The domain of border sense is broadly split into three categories. These include: The multimedia dimension which is responsible for the images and videos being recorded across the border. The sensing nodes, which are responsible for tracing the resonance and other movements in form of the footsteps. Their underground installation is also possible, and finally the mobile aspect of which roam around in the vicinity to cover any material that might pass through in the air . The advantages provided by the incumbent system are multi fold. They provide beyond the line of sight detection and even if the target is covered by some material object, through its effective detection ability it enables tracing and reaching to the target. Under the ground existence ability suffers an extra plus because visibility is considered as a weakness in many cases. The architecture of Border Sense monitoring system is slightly different than the existing monitoring techniques that are available. Heterogeneous nodes assortment is proposed in this form of surveillance system which increases the range as well as the accuracy and reducing the degree of false alarm at the same time. A major plus of this system is the compatibility with the aerial surveillance system. Since it is a hybrid system, therefore it has the capacity to absorb other systems features in to itself therefore this is the most recommended system (Sun, et al., 2011). EUROSUR − European external border surveillance system. The EUROSUR is proposed for surveillance across the Schengen borders. The purpose is to reduce the legal immigrants’ movement between the borders. It provides a common technical framework required to rationalize cooperation and 24-hour communication between the Member States authorities and foster the use of cutting-edge technologies for border surveillance. The main aim is to support the Member States in their efforts to reduce the number of illegal immigrant. The limitation comes in form of complexity in terms of maintaining the coordination, and performing the technical operation. Limitation of current systems The majority of the existing techniques can only claim robustness and reliability for limited scenarios: with limited networks of sensors, with limited video footage, limited fault tolerance and small variability of landscapes Not all proposed techniques build complex models of the observed spatial temporal evolution of the scene Challenges: Current systems are subject to human intervention and physical presence. The employees large number capital and human resources. The need is to make them independent of physical presence of human patrolling. On technical front routing protocol is one of the methods being employed for border surveillance purpose. The vulnerability is faced in form of each node’s ability to cover other nodes in pre-defined vicinity. The downside to this method is defined in terms of the reduction of the life span of the network in place. It also does not provide a clear over view of the amount of energy that is being consumed and subsequently left in the respective node. The draw back with energy hungry nodes is highly repulsive in difficult terrains where the human access is difficult, and high energy consumption means more human dependence and more rapid change of systems and utilities. While mostly the activities are monitored from satellites and aerial planes, it might not be feasible to land on the border areas every time therefore energy dependency should be reduced. Another limitation faced in the existing surveillance networks is the degree of accuracy and range of coverage being provided by each of them. Other issues being faced through the modern surveillance systems include the false alarms that get on due to the natural factors like wind and animals and birds. Line of sight aspect: The line sight factor limits the functioning to a greater degree, and it does not allow monitoring behind the wall and any side which has any obstacle. Many existing systems suffer from this shortage and it reduces the performance not just in terms of long range detection but also the expenditure incurred due to repetitive installation of surveillance elements. All these factors do call up for an effective and dynamic surveillance system which will enable more accurate monitoring that is less dependent on the human intervention and is relatively more affective in terms of range and accuracy. An integrated framework Develop an integrated framework for border monitoring Such a framework will adaptively utilize various approaches to border monitoring in order to maximize the amount and quality of monitoring information whilst minimizing resource utilization By providing this standardized framework, we anticipate to promote interoperability and information integration Characteristic of border monitoring: Giompapa et.al presented five aspects that must be considered in terms of border monitoring. These include the detection and tracking process, followed by identification, once the identification process is completed, it is proceeded by the classification which is the further detailed specialized investigation, the final step is the evaluation of level of threat and appropriate action based on that.( Giompapa & Gini, 2009) Those aspects if taken into account can ensure a better monitoring system and hence more secure borders. Those aspects address the possible vulnerabilities as well as the identification of components of the system. An area of importance is highlighted in the study and that states that these surveillance operations normally occur during normal situations across the borders and the information so gathered during the phases of normalcy are being used against the countries in a longer run. The use of insidious methods for detection and surveillance makes this task further intriguing. Installation of the surveillance devices under the ground or in a hidden manner can make these devices more effective and can keep them away from the naked eye. Usually, the borders constitute a large geographical area that is combination of both rough and plain terrain and use of those devices is preferred that are more solid, long lasting, effective and compatible with rest of the devices in place. Linear Wireless Sensor networks, if added to the border monitoring setup, can take the surveillance process to another level because the sensor networks directly reduce the human dependency and work on embedded artificial neural network. A fully embedded Linear Wireless Sensor network normally possesses all the essential components which are needed for a successful border monitoring process. Set of requirements: The need of the hour is to establish such a system which is compatible to variable circumstances. It should have the feature of being scalable, its limit and access range should not be limited. The system should be modeled in such a way that adjustments can be made without crapping the entire project and surveillance device. The -network must support heterogeneous node deployment which will result in connection of multiple heterogeneous nodes and increase the functionality. The monitoring devices must be multi-hop communication enabled which support network scalability. It should not be energy hungry. Like many sensors, that are richly dependent on energy and is a serious constraint, there is need for such a monitoring system that can last for days without the power recharging issue. The energy consumption is an issue in remote areas where the energy cannot be supplied on regular intervals, for this purpose, the incumbent devices should be energy efficient. Linear Sensor networks are the key to any effective border surveillance technique. They incorporate all those methods, tools and techniques which are nearly security proof and enable large percentage of decrease in the trespassing across the borders and all other undesired processes. Conclusion: There is not perfect technology; each technology has specific features that works well in certain situations. Hybrid system which encompasses the features of various systems that are available would serve the purpose of border monitoring more efficiently. Taking the features of all and leaving behind the drawbacks of the respective system will enable building a hybrid system which is not just efficient but according to the need of hour in form of border surveillance. The hybrid system should work independent of the natural changes in form of rain, storms, compatibility in the deserts and other barren parts of the borders. While reliance is directly on the sensor networks, the linear approach and accuracy measurement through the linear aspect can help improving the entire process. Further need is to create and promote hybrid systems that are combination of various components and systems. Number of systems can be found that have one particular feature. If effort is done over making a hybrid system that is combination of the video surveillance, audio tracing in form of foot movements and energy efficient, then the requirements can be fulfilled in a desired manner. Other features that are desired include, the Independence from the weather systems and the terrain and most importantly its little or no reliance on the human support. These are few of the requirements if kept in mind can result in effective border monitoring system establishment. Works Cited: Busch, C., Nouak, A. & Zhou, X., 2007. TOWARDS UNATTENDED AND PRIVACY PROTECTED BORDER CONTROL. IEEE, p. 4. Giompapa, S. & Gini, F., 2009. Maritime Border Control Multisensor System. IEEE A&E SYSTEMS MAGAZINE,, Issue Aug, p. 7. Greenblatt, A., Panetta, K. & Agaian, S., 2008. Border Crossing Detection and Tracking through Localized Image Processing. IEEE, p. 4. Haggerty, K. D., 2010. Surveillance and Democracy. s.l.:Taylor & Francis. Gromek, A. & Jenerowicz, M., 2011. SAR IMAGERY CHANGE DETECTION METHOD FOR LAND BORDER MONITORING. Institute of Electronic Systems, Warsaw University of Technology, p. 4. Sun. Z, Vuran.C. Mehmet, Al-Rodhaan. A. Mznah, Akyildiz. F. Ian, 2011. BorderSense: Border patrol through advanced wireless sensor networks. Ad Hoc Networks, p. 8. Read More