Josh Lambert, Director of IT for Mobile Surveillance Solutions, sums it up best: “Surveillance trailers have become the watchtowers of the digital age – mobile, connected, and always watching.”
The Catalyst for Mass Adoption
Surveillance trailers are not new; in fact, one of the companies I worked for deployed Mobile Pro Systems trailers for citywide surveillance applications more than a decade ago. The catalyst that made them a must-have for almost any outdoor security application was to provide the trailer as the platform for delivering monitoring services. LVT was a pioneer in the Trailer-as-a-Service model, and it effectively enabled certain retail chains to purchase them using an operational expenditure (OPEX) model instead of a capital expenditure (CAPEX) model.
The outcome was the retail organization got the benefit without any of the risk of maintenance, movement, etc., and it was a win-win for everyone. However, as Jon Harris, Director of Technical Integration for Mobile Pro Systems, cautions, “Designing, building, and servicing mobile surveillance at scale is more challenging than most realize.“
Except for a few, the sensors on board can be selected by the end-user, or are equipped based on a use-case. A camera is no longer just a camera, but an optical IoT sensor, as well as many other sensors, such as gunshot detection, automated license plate recognition (ALPR), and specialized sensors. The trailer itself is just a structure providing power, communication, and mounting for the sensor(s).
While building-mounted technologies are static, mobile surveillance trailer technologies must be dynamic and specific to the use case.
Target Markets
Retail deployments seem to be the most common use-case where the trailers are actively monitored by a monitoring company. Many include talkdown capabilities and more to deter vandalism and theft in the parking lots. While this deterrence is beneficial, these trailers are also typically located in specific areas of the parking lot to provide other data, such as parking lot queues and people counting. This empirical data has provided retail companies with data that was either manually counted or previously assumed.
Construction: There is no lack of construction sites, but the boom of hyperscale datacenters means there are many more construction site opportunities on the horizon. Construction sites typically have a surveillance trailer at each entrance and more throughout the construction site, depending on site size. Like the retail application, these trailers can be remotely monitored, and many have sensors with advanced analytics to track personal protective equipment (PPE) for OSHA compliance. These analytics help prevent hefty fines from OSHA or the general contractor and help identify (and remove) repeat offenders.
Large gatherings: Almost every large gathering now has surveillance trailers situated across the event space, and they can be deployed by the event production company and/or the local police department. Many times, these gatherings include the combining of resources to ensure the safety of the attendees. Like others, these trailers are typically equipped with cameras, audio sensors, speakers, and lights; however, many have custom sensors, such as drone detection technologies, and radiation and explosive detection.
Vehicle surveillance: Many surveillance trailer companies and their customers are partnering with local law enforcement to provide remote access to the trailer, or to install automated license plate recognition (ALPR) cameras on the trailers for monitoring and alerting based on a plate “hit.”
Business Opportunities for Integrators
Surveillance trailers are successful almost everywhere, but more and more integrators are finding that surveillance trailers can be a wealth of recurring revenue; whether it is an upfront purchase and the integrator controls the lease, or via a reseller and revenue share agreements between the integrator and the manufacturer.
“Mobile Surveillance is one of the most exciting developing markets in the security industry,” Harris says. “The ability to extend your security apparatus outside of the built environment to places that are historically very challenging or cost-prohibitive to do so is underappreciated. Whether it is via mobile trailers or pole-mounted units – powered by solar, batteries, shore-power, or a combination thereof – there is so much opportunity to innovate in this space.”
What is clear is that mobile surveillance is a tech trend, and the market is only growing.
