Dynetics releases new 360-degree radar

HUNTSVILLE, Ala.—Dynetics, which designs, builds and installs radar units, announced the latest offering in its GroundAware line: GA1360, a 360-degree radar system with a range of one kilometer.

“The utility industry specifically wanted to be able to cover smaller sites for which a multiple-kilometer radar is just overkill. But also, some of our larger footprint customers are using it as gap fillers … they can put this system in to augment our other long-range systems and to create a completely covered perimeter,” Mike Stokes, Dynetics' GroundAware product manager, told Security Systems News.

How does GroundAware differentiate itself from other offerings? “[Other radar systems] operate in higher frequency bands—KA- and X-bands, specifically. Our system operates in S-band which is, we believe, [much] more suited for the ground surveillance environment.”

Additionally, Dynetics' system continually monitors the environment, as opposed to other systems which turn on and off or rotate, Stokes said. “We don't have false tracks; if you see something moving on our system, it's a real-life entity.”

GroundAware also uses a proprietary classification algorithm for identifying objects and movement.

“Most security professionals are moving toward a layered security architecture approach,” Stokes said. The GroundAware systems can reduce the number of camera systems needed to monitor a site's perimeter, he continued. “We replace systems that [sometimes] have dozens of cameras with one or two radars, paired with one or two cameras.”

The new offering was unveiled Jan. 25 at the DistribuTECH annual electric power transmission and distribution conference in San Diego.

The company is also working on a longer-range 360-degree model, for release this summer.

Dynetics, which employs about 1,500, is based here. The company primarily operates direct-to-consumer with some resellers.