FLIR Systems Thermal Imaging Cameras Help Protect the Perimeter of Oubaai Golf Estate

South Africa‘s Garden Route is world famous as a popular and scenic stretch of the southern coast. It includes towns such as Mossel Bay, George, Knysna, Oudtshoorn, Plettenberg Bay and Nature‘s Valley. The area is renowned for its magnificent mountains, indigenous forests, lakes, lagoons and rivers. It is along the Garden Route, in Heroldsbay that the spectacular Oubaai Golf Resort is situated. Recently, The Oubaai Homeowners Association, as part of a five year integrated security plan, had 6 FLIR Systems thermal imaging cameras installed to form part of its active protection plan for its residents, members and guests.

The exclusive residential development comprises 450 residential units consisting of 128 village apartments and 322 single residential properties. Inside Oubaai, the Hyatt Regency Group is constructing a luxurious 100 bedroom hotel which is opened in 2010. Oubaai Golf Club is a Championship Golf Course designed by the South African golf superstar Ernie Els. He is one of the most successful golfers in the history of the game, having won more than 60 tournaments since turning professional in 1989, including two US Opens, an Open Championship and a record seven World Matchplay titles. Ernie has occupied a place in the world's top 10 for over 730 consecutive weeks, more than any other currently active golfer. Els himself has named Oubaai as his favorite course in the world. Oubaai is a beautiful piece of real estate with spectacular views of the Outeniqua mountains, the Gwaing river with its sweeping valleys and the Indian ocean. The estate borders the Indian Ocean and the Gwaing river just 18km from the picturesque town of George. The nearby beach at Herolds Bay is famous for body boarding, swimming, surfing and sunning.

Security here is of extreme importance. „Although the Garden Route is a relatively safe area to live, definitely compared to other parts of South Africa, we do not want to take any risk at Oubaai", explains Louis Olivier, Estate Manager at Oubaai. "We want all residents, their guests and all the people that come here to enjoy a round of golf at our magnificent course to feel safe and secure. We have therefore taken all the necessary security measurements and installed state-of-the-art security equipment."

A Complete Security Network
"Security at Oubaai starts on arrival at the main entrance", says Andre Steenkamp, Regional Manager of Holbert Boikanyo Technologies, initiator and co-designer of the Oubaai Security System. "Not only are CCTV cameras installed at the entrance but biometric readers are in place to ensure accuracy of the access control function. No-one enters Oubaai before their fingerprint is taken. If they are not a resident and/or a bona fide registered guest on the system, they may not enter. We will notify the people they are coming to visit and they need to confirm that they are expecting a visitor", Andre explains.
"But securing an estate of this magnitude means more than just installing equipment at the entrance gate. Without installing ugly fencing, we want to be sure that the entire perimeter is monitored and that we are aware of everyone that is approaching the estate's boundaries. In order to secure the perimeter, I did a thorough study and compared different technologies. Although cost is important when evaluating different systems, my main goal has always been to provide Oubaai with a good solution. In my opinion, saving money on security is not always the best option", Andre continues.

"Although we are using fences at some parts of the perimeter, this is not always the ideal solution. Fences are costly to install since a lot of civil work is required. Furthermore, they are not always the most aesthetic solution at a luxury estate like Oubaai. We also need to keep certain areas of the fence open since animals need to be able to move freely from one area to another. They do not care about who the land belongs to and they need to be able to roam around freely. Furthermore, if you want to see what is happening around the fence, it needs to be complemented by CCTV cameras and in order to see during the night, CCTV cameras need light. Installing light poles everywhere around the fence is definitely not the correct way to go for an estate like Oubaai. Lighting is considered to be too intrusive by the residents."

Infrared Illumination
"Another technology application we have looked at to secure the perimeter, definitely during the night, is infrared illumination." Infrared illuminators shine infrared radiation into the area in front of a camera. The infrared beamers are often placed around the lens of the camera. The infrared radiation is reflected by objects and human beings and converted to an image which can be displayed on a screen. "The initial cost is reasonable but you need to take into account that you need to replace the beamers regularly. Furthermore, if you want some good range performance, you need to install powerful beamers which consume a lot of power", Andre continues. "And infrared illumination has another major disadvantage. Oubaai is situated close to the sea and we are very often faced with very foggy conditions. When you switch on the infrared illuminators they worsen the effect of the fog. You can not see anything anymore."

Radio Frequency Intruder Detection (RAFID)
"Another technology I looked at is RAFID", says Andre. RAFID uses two specially designed cables - one transmitting a radio wave, the other one receiving that wave. Changes in the amount of signal passing between the transmitter cable and receiver cable are analyzed by a signal processor. If the amount of signal changes, this means that someone or something is between the two cables and an alarm will go off. Due to the difference in the signal strength, the system can detect whether these changes are due to the presence of a human or a small animal, for example.

"RAFID is a more aesthetic solution than a fence but it is a fairly expensive system. Not only are full civil works needed to install the cables, once in operation the system requires a lot of maintenance. And although the system can tell the difference between a man and a small animal entering the security perimeter, a lot of false alarms can happen. This means that the RAFID needs to be complemented with a CCTV system so that an operator can determine if an alarm is false or not", Andre explains.

Thermal Imaging Cameras
"I first came into contact with Tinus Diedericks of Timeless Technologies when I was gathering information about a scanning system that can penetrate fog. Also this technology was not exactly what I was looking for and furthermore it is extremely expensive. Tinus explained to me that he is a distributor of FLIR Systems thermal imaging cameras in South Africa and demonstrated the cameras at Oubaai. I was extremely impressed and learned more about the technology. That the cameras perform well during a clear night was immediately clear to me but I was especially interested in their performance in foggy weather conditions."

"Together with Andre we made an initial study of how many cameras would be needed to secure the perimeter", explains Diedericks. "Andre's initial plan was to install a large number of fixed mounted, short range cameras along the area. We looked at it together and quickly found out that it would be better to install a limited number of longer range cameras of which the majority needed to be installed on a pan/tilt mount. Although we needed to use more expensive thermal imaging cameras to do this, the total investment would be a lot cheaper. Furthermore, since we needed less cameras we did not have to install so many poles to mount the cameras on. This again saved money."

"Now we have completed the first phase of the installation", Andre Steenkamp continues. "Along a big part of the perimeter we have installed multiple cameras. Three PTZ-50 MS cameras are installed that contain both a thermal imaging camera as well as a daylight camera. Both are mounted on a robust pan/tilt mount so that we can look in any direction we want. They provide excellent range performance since they can detect a man-sized target at a distance of almost 800 meters."

"At a longer stretch of the perimeter, we decided to install a the PTZ-35x140 MS camera. This is equipped with two thermal imaging cameras, detects man-sized targets at a distance of over 2 kilometers and has the ability to zoom in on suspect activities. It also contains a daylight/lowlight camera which we can use during the daytime. We have installed the PTZ-35x140 MS in the center of the perimeter. Since it is installed on a pan/tilt, we have the ability to see in whatever direction we want. We can see the fence, across the fairway towards the river, as well as a high risk area along the sea. For two very short stretches along the perimeter we opted for a fixed PatrolIR thermal imaging camera that is always overlooking the same area. Although its range performance is a lot less than the one of the other cameras, it is exactly what I need to guard two very short lines along the perimeter."

"Most of the cameras are installed on a pole. Thanks to the excellent range of the FLIR cameras we did not need to install too many of them. Aesthetics are important here at Oubaai so in order to avoid installing poles as much as possible, two of the thermal imaging cameras have been installed on a house. We talked to the owner, and he preferred that we installed the cameras on his house instead of on a pole. Not only does he not have a mast blocking his view, it is probably the best protected house in the estate as well.

More than Just Security
"The main reason for purchasing the cameras was to secure the Oubaai estate. Once they were installed, it became clear, however, that they can have another, sometimes live-saving function. Just below Oubaai is the sea where people tend to stand on the rocks while fishing and they sometimes forget that the sea is dangerous. Tides can come up very quickly and big waves can be formed. These waves can easily knock people off the rocks into the sea. When an accident happens and we are aware of it, we can easily turn the PTZ-35x140 MS in the direction of the sea. We will communicate with the National Sea Rescue Institute (NSRI) which goes out with special rescue boats to save the person. We can spot the person floating in the water with the thermal imaging camera, almost 2km away and direct the crew of the boat in the right direction."

When asked about the performance of these cameras in foggy weather conditions, Andre is very clear. "The performance of thermal imaging in foggy conditions is extremely good. Although the thermal image is slightly obstructed by the fog and we are not getting the same high quality image that we see during clear weather conditions, we still get good range performance. A person walking around in the fog will be hotter than the cold surroundings. Since this type of camera produces an image based on the small temperature differences they are detecting, we can clearly see people walking around. We might not see all the detail, but we will certainly see that a person is there, and that is the most important thing. To detect intruders in total darkness, in practically all weather conditions, there is no better technology than thermal imaging. Other estates have already come to Oubaai to look at the performance of the FLIR Systems cameras and they were amazed when they saw the clear images they produce. Some other estates along the Garden Route are now thinking about installing thermal imaging as well."

Feeling Safe at Oubaai
"Sometimes when I walk through Oubaai I see houses with the doors wide open. Sometimes expensive material is just standing unprotected in gardens. When we notify the owners that they forgot to close their home they are often very surprised as they do not normally do this. To me, it is however the best proof that all the security we have at the gate and alongside the perimeter works. These cameras definitely contribute a lot to the safety and security we have here at Oubaai", Andre concludes.

Holbert was the first technology installer to utilize FLIR Systems thermal imaging cameras on estates of this magnitude within the Republic of South Africa. The system is user friendly and maximizes the technical aspects without compromising on the staffing quotient, i.e. enough guards, but not too many, which is the design approach that Holbert follows in its estate solutions. The relationship between Timeless Technologies and Holbert Boikanyo Technologies is unique where the distributor and integrator join forces in the research, design, project management and implementation of a tailor-made solution for the customer. As the systems and technologies are installed and implemented, Holbert aligns itself with an organization that can monitor the system and utilize the imaging to its maximum effect, such as in specific control center operations. This ensures a total turnkey solution and peace of mind for the customer.