Security | News

Washington State School District Beefs Up Transportation Security with Mobile Surveillance App

• By Kanoe Namahoe
• 08/08/12

Stanwood-Camano School District (SCSD), in northwestern Washington State, has beefed up its transportation security system. The 4,900-student school district has added mobile surveillance to its fixed security system as a way to quickly identify and respond to potential security incidents.

SCSD is using MobileCamViewer by mobiDEOS. The mobile surveillance application enables remote monitoring from smartphones, tablets, cameras, DVRs, NVRs, video servers, and PC and Mac computers, according to a statement released this week by the company.

SCSD Director of Transportation Lee Heinrichs discovered MobileCamViewer during a search for a surveillance application that could speed up incident response. He uses the app on his iPad.

"My iPad is instant on, so it is quicker to access my cameras than booting up my home computer and making a connection," said Heinrichs. "This offers the potential for quicker analysis of a security breach, and offers a fresh approach from doing it the old way."

The tablet's large display area enables Heinrichs to view all "perimeter cameras live from a single screen." Seven cameras provide views of parking lots, a fuel tank, and central motor pool.

"As far as I can envision, there is a big advantage to being able to look at my cameras from a mobile applications, especially if I get a call while out on the road," said Heinrichs.

The basic version of the app is available at no cost. MobileCamViewer-Lite starts at $2.49, per month, for up to two cameras and goes up to $14.99, per month, for 32 cameras. Monthly fees for MobileCamViewer-Premium range from $4.99, for up to two cameras, to $29.99, for up to 32 cameras.