LaserCraft Monitors Traffic Intersections with AirLink

LaserCraft is a 55-person Georgia-based company that co-invented laser speed detection and specializes in automated law enforcement technology, including red light and speed enforcement cameras. LaserCraft currently has over 100 installations in place nationwide and plans expansion into additional states, including Missouri, Tennessee, Texas and Washington.

Challenges

LaserCraft’s initial red light and speed enforcement camera installations used DSL over telco landlines to control and monitor cameras and download digital images. Unfortunately, the DSL deployment proved to be a costly and lengthy process. “It can take a month just to get a corner address to the signal control,” recalled Scott Patterson, LaserCraft’s president. “In all, city permitting and construction added three to five months and $10,000-$25,000 to each project. And we were losing potential revenue while we waited to go live unless we hired someone to go to the site every day to pull images.”

When LaserCraft won a contract in Maryland to replace 100 existing film cameras, it had to find an alternative to implementing a lengthy DSL over landline solution. They needed a quicker and less expensive way to backhaul digital images with sufficient geographic coverage and data throughput to transport images from its mobile speed enforcement vans.

Solution

With so many economic drivers in play, opting for an advanced wireless Internet solution was the remedy for Lasercraft’s wireline headaches. Lasercraft chose a AirLink Raven X from Sierra Wireless for an optimal solution for quick, reliable and cost-effective photo radar deployments. Fixed red light cameras and mobile speed enforcement equipment were linked wirelessly to the company’s headquarters enabling Lasercraft to upload digital images securely to designated servers and remotely monitor and maintain equipment functionality.

With the exceptional intelligence of ALEOS and its ability to be upgraded over-the-air, LaserCraft was able to deploy reliable “always-on, always there” solutions for automated law enforcement in areas where landline installation would have been difficult, excessively costly or even impossible.

“When cars drive past the checkpoint, our laser measures the speed and a camera snaps a picture, which is sent back over the AirLink Raven X to be processed,” Patterson explained. “If there’s a problem, we can use the modem for troubleshooting instantly.”

The solution deployment using AirLink Raven modems resulted in:

• Simplified solution & accelerated deployment – shortened process by three to five months
• Reduced infrastructure expenses – saved $10,000-$25,000 per fixed camera location
• Streamlined operations – negated the need for manual image downloads on-site
• Decreased operational expenses – prevented costly on-site repairs and increased up-time through remote modem maintenance capability
• Increased citation revenue generation – provided a way for local law enforcement agencies to collect additional monthly revenue due to earlier deployment