The Illinois International Port District has selected Siemens Building Technologies Inc., Buffalo Grove, Ill., to provide perimeter surveillance security improvements to its Iroquois Landing and Calumet Harbor facilities.

Siemens will manage the design and construction of an automated wide-area perimeter surveillance system that can combine data from multiple security systems and sensors – such as video cameras and intrusion detection devices – and show it in one situational display.

The sophisticated system provides security operators with a bird’s-eye view of the entire port facility on a three-dimensional map in real time.

In addition, the system provides security personnel with the ability to apply intelligent software analysis to the identification of an object based on height, width, speed and other characteristics, and then track the object’s exact location within the port district area.

The installation of the new perimeter surveillance systems is expected to be completed by 2008.

At both Iroquois Landing and Calumet Harbor, the project includes the installation of an access control and badging system; construction of guard stations with vehicle access gates, gate controls, card readers and surveillance cameras; installation of a video motion detection system, intrusion detection fence sensors, CCTV monitors integrated with the access control alarm system, and DVRs.