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Objectives
The objective of the SASS project was to develop a satellite based alarm and surveillance system. The system has been designed to provide connectivity between alarm and surveillance systems on one side and security centers and other receivers, for example to protect the owners of the property, on the other.
The design goals were:
- To comply with the highest performance classification of alarm transmission systems in accordance with the relevant system directives, in particular EN 50136 and VdS 2471,
- To provide a transparent link between any 3rd party alarm transmitter and receiver systems conforming to EN 50131 (Intruder Alarm Systems) and EN 50132 (CCTV Systems) and the applicable VdS directives,
- To support the transmission of alarms as well as of video, audio and data information for alarm verification, emergency communications and surveillance purposes,
- To enable Quality-of-Service provisioning depending on traffic priorities and application type.
In addition to the development and engineering testing of the required hardware and software components, the project conducted a 4 months field trial phase with the objective to validate the system and service performance with real end users including private security service providers and institutional organisations concerned with security tasks.
Challenges
The SASS project addressed a number of issues related to the use of satellites for security applications:
- The characteristics of satellite links are limiting the performance of alarm transmission. The SASS Alarm Transmission Protocol (SATP) ensures alarm transmission with the highest performance classification according to the relevant directives,
- The interfaces of standard security equipment are not compatible with basic satellite terminals. The SASS Indoor Unit is equipped with the required interface adapters,
- Standard IP satellite services are not managed. The SASS service management mechanisms support on-demand session setup depending on traffic priority and application type.
Plan
The project started in January 2004. In the first 3 months, the system design and service capabilities were specified in co-operation with security service providers, security system manufacturers and certification authorities.
The development of the SASS hardware and software components and the integration with off-the-shelf parts was completed in March 2005. Engineering tests have been conducted using a satellite link emulator and real DVB-RCS satellite links. Thereafter, the system was operated during a 4 months field trial phase.
After validation of the system performance against the user needs and technical specifications, the project was completed in February 2006.
Current Status
The project has been completed successfully in February 2006. The main achievements are:
- The development of prototype Satellite Terminal Units with standardised alarm system interfaces and built-in video/audio codec software,
- The implementation of Network Management System software for provisioning of alarm transmission services and managed IP services for other security applications,
- The development of software based Alarm Receiver Systems with advanced capabilities for alarm verification based on live video pictures, emergency calling and data transmission,
- The specifications and implementation of a set of alarm transmission and IP session control protocols optimised for security applications via satellite,
- The implementation and validation of mechanisms for the assignment of satellite IP bandwidth depending of traffic types and priorities.
The migration to commercial operation is envisaged into the following phases:
- Development of the production version of the Satellite Terminal Units and Beta Testing,
- Deployment of the Network Management System and establishment of the commercial organisation to provide the SASS services,
- Commercial launch and operation.
Subject to the detailed business planning the first two phases are planned to be completed until mid 2006 followed by the launch of commercial operation in the 3rd quarter 2006.
