DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR PARK RANGERS DIGITAL VIDEO SOLUTION

Park Rangers are responsible for protecting park sites and the people who visit them. Park rangers must also coordinate interagency fire and fire aviation operations, law enforcement, search and rescue efforts and emergency medical services. This involves interacting with DEA, ATF and the U.S. Coast Guard, as well as local sheriffs, police departments, fire departments and state police. The sites they protect are often subjected to hurricanes, tropical storms and forest fires, and are sometimes the site of poaching, drug dealing and other illegal activities. The park rangers work under the constant challenge of having limited personnel and resources assigned to their region.

To help protect vast territories, park rangers use a mobile digital video solution comprised of Panasonic Toughbook rugged laptops and Toughbook Arbitrators. The solution is rugged enough to withstand the harsh environmental conditions and rough terrains that many park rangers operate in. The Toughbook computers' custom vehicle mounts and the integrated wireless connectivity provide rangers with the ability to communicate with other agencies throughout their large territories. With the Toughbook Arbitrator, park rangers capture potential evidence on digital video while making their rounds. The video footage is wirelessly transferred to a central storage device, eliminating the need for a large storage area to house physical media, such as videotapes. In addition, park rangers catalog, retrieve and scan videos more quickly and easily than traditional media, freeing them to focus on protecting the sites.

NAVY MOBILE DIGITAL VIDEO SOLUTION

The Navy's mobile video systems are relied upon in all weather conditions and battle situations to document missions, analyze enemy territory and determine the need for changes in mission planning. Because the Navy is active in every kind of climate, its digital video system must be ready and capable of operating in all potential conditions, including extreme heat, cold and moisture. Furthermore, it must be able to endure the harsh realities of combat environments, such as shock, water and dust/sand penetration and continual vibration.

Toughbook® mobile computers and the Toughbook Arbitrator are rugged and reliable, performing in the most extreme environments and under combat conditions. Built from the ground up to withstand moisture, vibration and extreme temperatures, Panasonic's Toughbook mobile digital video technology is a major advancement in the way naval operations are captured on video. Instead of recording on videotape, the solid-state Toughbook Arbitrator uses state of the art compression for easy storage and transfer of full-motion video files to a central server. Video and audio files can be searched by date, time, vehicle, incident or other criteria. This allows Navy personnel to analyze videos more quickly, resulting in faster decisions — a critical advantage in wartime situations.

U.S. ARMY MILITARY POLICE SOLUTION

Military police at large U.S. Army bases around the world encounter many of the same issues faced by state and municipal police departments. They operate around the clock in all kinds of weather conditions, including extreme temperatures, high humidity and intense sunlight. Policing bases that often cover tens of thousands of acres requires a staff that can remain in constant contact with headquarters and each other, as well as with local police in the communities surrounding the base. As with state and municipal police, military police must effectively capture, store and manage video evidence, so their computers and video cameras must be able to withstand the rigors of routine—and not so routine—police fieldwork.

U.S. Army Military Police use rugged, weatherproof Panasonic Toughbook mobile computers. With features, such as advanced wireless capabilities, sealed keyboards, shock-mounted hard drives and daylight-viewable touchscreens, officers are able to operate 24/7, rain or shine. And, with the multitude of mounting solutions available, Toughbook computers can be used in cars, trucks, bicycles or even Segways. Adding the Panasonic Toughbook Arbitrator offers military police patrol units the versatile evidence capture and documentation solution they require. The Toughbook Arbitrator is the first solid-state, all-digital video system with an integrated camera, microphone and recorder built to perform in even the harshest environments. Using state of the art compression, the Arbitrator enables rapid wireless transmission of full-motion video files. The captured video is digitally archived, eliminating the need for videotapes, and making it easier to search by a number of criteria, including date, vehicle or incident, Because Toughbook units are the most widely used mobile computers among local police departments, there is a wide range of commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) hardware to meet the needs of the U.S. military police.

U.S. NAVY/MARINE CORPS AAV DIGITAL VIDEO STORAGE SOLUTION

The Amphibious Assault Vehicle (AAV) is the current amphibious troop transport used by the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps. The AAV carries troops and supporting equipment, such as computers and video hardware. It is designed to endure rigorous travel from ship to shore in rough water and surf zones, and to inland destinations once ashore.

AAV crews rely on their computers to maintain continuous communications with the command center and to capture and store video images of the operation. Computers and video equipment must be able to withstand the wet, turbulent and highly-corrosive saline conditions in which the vehicles commonly operate. The failure of any vehicle or its supporting equipment, such as computers and video apparatus, could cost the lives of personnel during combat, field ambulance or bulk refueling operations. Hence, maintenance of AAVs and associated equipment is a top priority for the Navy and Marines.

With rugged magnesium alloy cases, water-resistant keyboards and shock-mounted hard drives, Panasonic Toughbook computers are engineered for the harsh, wet, high-vibration environment commonly found aboard amphibious vehicles. The digital storage capabilities of the Toughbook mobile computing solution make it easy to quickly and reliably transfer video from the AAV to the command center where the data is processed, analyzed and stored. The reliability of Toughbook mobile computers enable crews to carry out their missions with a higher rate of success, and ensures the crews' safety is not compromised.