Raytheon JPS launches in-car video system

Aug 1, 2007 12:00 AM, By Donny Jackson

Raytheon JPS announced a partnership with Votan Research to globally market the DVU-1000, a new digital in-car video system with a solid-state architecture designed to provide greater picture quality and reliability.

Most public-safety entities that use in-car video systems store the data on VHS tapes, which can be problematic for law enforcement, said Don Scott, vice president of business development for Raytheon JPS. Even if the camera records an incriminating act, the picture quality often is not clear enough to be used effectively in court.

VHS- and DVD-based systems also offer several practical challenges, Scott said. Video quality can be compromised while the vehicle is moving because bumps in the terrain can cause the recording device to skip. In addition, the tape or disk must be removed from the vehicle so it can be accessed and stored by headquarters — a task that must be done correctly to ensure that the video can be used in court.

“You've got to bond the people that handle them, because the main goal with that kind of evidence is that it not be tampered,” Scott said.

The DVU-1000 system minimizes these issues. Using solid-state memory means there are no moving parts to cause video to skip, and it allows the technology to “operate without fans in the trunk of a car in Phoenix,” Scott said. Meanwhile, the video is uploaded via a wireless connection, so no personnel physically handle the potential evidence.

The Calisto software created by Votan Research features compression algorithms that enable an hour of video to be uploaded via an 802.11 connection in less than a minute. More importantly, the video maintains the kind of quality necessary for use in a court of law, Scott said.

“[The DVU-1000s] allow us to record at DVD quality — D-1 quality — that's very, very high fidelity, as opposed to older technologies,” Scott said. “You can zoom and detect things that you may want to see in the frame.”