Optellios Fiber Patrol For Perimeter Security

Nancy,

It appears that none of our readers has specific experience with Optellios, however I have seen (but not installed) similar systems employed at utility plants and correctional facilities.

The system works by transmitting laser light down the fiber optic cabling attached to the fence and a controller analyzes the signal for disturbances and attempts to filter out false alarms such as wind, small animals, tumbleweeds. The controller can generally pinpoint the location of the disturbance to within +/- 30' (10m). The controller is usually interfaced with PTZ camera(s) to aim a camera to a preset position upon alarm, and to trigger lighting if available. These systems can also have their own PC client with an overall map of the facility to indicate the alarm position to a guard or operator and usually has the ability to transmit e-mail messages for alarms. A fiber detection zone can be as short as a several hundred feet or up to 5 miles, depending on the manufacturer and application.

Beside Optellios there are other manufacturers offering these types of systems including Senstar, Fiber SenSys, AFL Global, and Future Fibre Technologies to name a few.

Potential drawbacks to the system include:

• The fiber optic cabling is mounted to the fence and can be tampered with or cut from the outside, however the controller would send a signal that the system has been compromised. Some systems operate redundantly in the event of a single fiber cut.
  
• If not properly calibrated and tested, too many false alarms or missed real alarms are possible. Although some applications, such as correctional facilities prefer them to be super sensitive.

If there is more interest in these types of systems, perhaps we can cover them in a future update as a follow-up to our security fence guide.

I hope this is helpful. Please let us know if you need more information.