Cable CoPS: Using Fibre Optic Cable for Construction Perimeter Security

Intruders on railway construction are a major problem for the industry, as this may expose intruders to significant safety risks, the construction company a risk of theft, or the customer a disruption to their schedule due to either of these. Rapid intervention acts as a deterrent for return visitors and can prevent acts of vandalism and theft. Our proposed system, Cable CoPS, will make pinpointing an intruder's exact location easier and more reliable than current state-of-the-art technology.

This proposal is for the delivery of a Phase 1 Feasibility Study to determine the applicability and costs of a Phase 2 onsite trial to use technology to provide the following: * remote sensory system, anti-trespass systems, unattended monitoring for trespass

* innovation in perimeter protection and monitoring technology to address planning or aesthetic considerations, and to reduce security costs of physical infrastructure, including the use of non-barrier technology

The feasibility study and Phase 2 trial will build on trials of this fibre optic technology that Thales are currently undertaking to determine the most effective installation in a greenfield application. Current trials delivered on existing infrastructure do not allow for optimisation of the type and location of fibre used or how it is installed.

Conventional site monitoring technologies have downfalls e.g. short ranges, high false positive rates, as well as high deployment cost. Large construction sites require systems that can protect many areas of vulnerability automatically, with minimal human supervision and suitable precision to direct responders to the correct location. In the scenario of the GCRE Test Track this needs to be done as quickly as possible to minimise the security threat risk.

Thales and their technology provider Focus Sensors have developed a system capable of delivering a persistent perimeter detection system that can sense someone approaching a site before they reach a perimeter. It would alert staff to a trespassers precise location allowing them to respond to the issue efficiently.

This technology can be utilised in many environments -- currently it is being validated along regular sections of the railway -- and in the Cable CoPS project we will understand its operation at specific, sensitive locations such as warehouses or construction sites. Due to the long range and autonomous nature of the system, it drastically reduces the workload of staff.

Instead of relying on a significant number of CCTV cameras, walls and fence, our system would allow for independent operation to detect intruders.