CCTV PROVIDES GLIMPSE INSIDE MIGHTY MO

Sep 1, 2002 12:00 PM

While Pearl Harbor may no longer be the only “Day of Infamy” etched into America's collective mind, Pearl Harbor's Battleship Row remains a memorial to the people and historic events reflecting our nation's strength, resolve and sacrifice.

The Battleship Missouri, nicknamed the “Mighty Mo,” is located on Battleship Row. It opened as a floating museum on January 29, 1999. The 887-foot, 45,000-ton USS Missouri served in World War II, Korea and Desert Storm over a five-decade span. It is best known for being at the site of Japan's surrender to the Allied Forces on Sept. 2, 1945, ending World War II. Today, the Mighty Mo is berthed approximately 300 yards from the USS Arizona Memorial, the two memorials symbolizing the beginning and end of America's involvement in the last great war.

The USS Missouri Memorial Association is a Hawaiian-based non-profit organization designated by the U.S. Navy as caretaker of the Battleship Missouri Memorial. The association, formed in 1994, includes a cross-section of leaders from Hawaii's business, civic, political and retired military communities. Lee Collins, the Missouri's marketing director and a resident of Oahu for the past 16 years, has worked for the Mighty Mo since it opened to tours in 1999. Collins was instrumental in deciding to install a Web-cam system on the ship featuring Ultrak CCTV equipment.

Once completed, the Ultrak system will provide a comprehensive virtual experience for physically challenged visitors with a Visitor Alternative Media Center, offering virtual tours on the Internet.

Phase I of the installation (the mast-mounted cameras) lasted nearly four months. Numerous donor companies joined Ultrak in making the project possible, including Dell Corp. with computers and servers; Microsoft with software; South Pacific Communications with installation services and consulting; and Avaya with more than 38 miles of fiber and wire. Volunteers pulled cable and installed cameras, computers and software.

National Video Technologies donated PTZ control modules to allow the cameras to transmit and receive video and data via hardwire as opposed to thicker cable — a significant contribution due to limited space on the ship for running cable.

In its current configuration, the system enables the ship to be viewed on the Internet using real-time video. The staff can also monitor daily activities and provide direction and assistance.

Says Don Hess, the Missouri's vice president of operations and CEO: “As we bring more cameras online, anyone with a connection to the Internet will be able to explore the rich history of the Mighty Mo.”

Ultrak will ultimately donate nearly 187 cameras to the ship, which are being installed in several phases.

FOR THE RECORD

ABOUT THE COMPANIES

For information, please circle the appropriate Reader Service number (listed below) on one of the Reader Service cards in the issue or visit infoLINK at www.securitysolutions.com.

Avaya	68
National Video Technologies	69
South Pacific Communications	70
Ultrak Inc.	71

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