JUNE 24, 2009--Quebec-based Obzerv (www.obzerv.com) has obtained a contract from EADS-Sofrelog for two ARGC-2400 cameras to upgrade two semaphores for the Spationav project directed by the French DGA (Délégation Générale pour l'Armement). Obzerv reports that the integration by EADS-Sofrelog was declared successful by the DGA. In this Spationav program, while the radars are dedicated for the detection of unusual activities and threats, the ARGC-2400 cameras are used, day and night, to recognize and identify those targets.
The Spationav project was initiated after a ship with more than 900 refugees ran deliberately aground on the Varoise coast, near St-Raphael in 2001. The fight against illegal immigration and drug smuggling and the intensification of terrorism threats drove the Spationav project. This program has been developed for the benefit of several administrations including the Ministry of Defense (Navy), Ministry of Transport (Maritime Affairs), and the Ministry of Finance (Customs).
The system provides users with real-time common images of the maritime situation along the French coasts. The DGA wants to secure the maritime traffic and prevent criminal activities as well as pollution risk. "With the image details displayed with regard to the activities on deck, the ability to read ship names and to see inside wheelhouses, the ARGC-2400 will allow the operator to assess the level of threat at long range," says Deni Bonnier, president of Obzerv Technology.
"When given the capability to recognize and identify a potential threat sooner, the port authority officers will react faster and have more time to avoid a catastrophe," says Laurent Michoux from the DGA.
-- Posted by Vision Systems Design, www.vision-systems.com