Reality Mobile Steps Up Security at the Port of Los Angeles

Earlier today we announced that we’ve been awarded a subcontract from SAIC® to implement our RealityVision® mobile collaboration platform for the Port of Los Angeles (POLA) Police Department. We are very pleased to team with SAIC and others to support the Port Police in this critical safety initiative.            

The Port Police are one of a few forces in the nation tasked with protecting a complex mix of assets on land and in the water, around-the-clock, 365 days a year. Their primary goal is to maintain the safety and security of the Port, which is the busiest container port in the US and the 8th busiest in the world, as well as the busiest cruise ship center on the West Coast. As Julia Kirwan, manager of the harbor’s police technology says in a recent article on the project in CIO Magazine:

"When cargo stops coming into Los Angeles Harbor, they stop building cars in Michigan." Read the full CIO article here.

This, plus the Port’s 46 miles of water front and 14 square miles of heavy industrial complex, makes “domain awareness” a critical task.  Here is an aerial view of the Port courtesy of the POLA photo gallery.

The Port Police previously relied on a video surveillance system to act as a “force multiplier” helping them to extend their monitoring capabilities across the sprawling complex. Taking in video from over 350 cameras, these feeds currently run into a central threat detection center for analysis. This is a proven model, and one we’ve send many times, including when we used RealityVision at the Super Bowl and President Obama’s Inauguration. However, while this system is useful in identifying critical situations, it does not support the Port and particularly field personnel in better responding in real-time to emergency situations.

Now, with Reality Mobile and SAIC, the Port of LA is elevating their domain awareness and response capabilities to an entirely new level. Every day, the Port faces situations that demand a rapid response. RealityVision delivers clear transmission of high-quality images and associated GPS information that can easily be interpreted, even on the compact screen of a cell phone. This is especially important for the Port’s field operators because, not only is the technology intuitive, it is also highly mobile, ensuring that an officer can share real-time images between the field and the command center.  Additionally, the GPS tagging capabilities give the Port the ability to implement what they call “Blue Force Tracking” so that they can actively view where Port Police vehicles and vessels are located and efficiently optimize the deployment of personnel and assets.

From a technical standpoint, another key benefit of RealityVision for the Port is the ease with which it will integrate with their existing systems and new technologies such as  ORSUS Situator. This will allow them to create a complete Integrated Command and Control Center that uses all of the best-in-breed technologies they need.

We are pleased to be working with the Port and SAIC. Please check back here in the coming months for more updates on our work with the Port and other clients.

For more on how RealityVision supports port security, read our Cut the Red Wire scenario.