The T.A.W. Digital Mobile Witness is a dedicated processor with an application-specific, Unix-based real-time operating system and removable 120-gigabyte hard drive. The combination is able to record up to 45 hours of full-motion, 30 frame-per-second audio and video. The absence of videotape means there are almost no moving parts to break and no tapes to archive. Data security is ensured by T.A.W.’s proprietary “hybrid wavelet” file format. The algorithm embeds a reference number on each frame recorded. When the data are downloaded, the same algorithm again reads the frame number and compares it to the original. If the two differ, the system refuses to display an image. Key capabilities are the pre- and post-event recording. The unit records in a continuous loop, capturing 4.25 minutes of action before and after an event. Once the system has been triggered, the previous four-plus minutes are captured. The same amount of images will be captured after the system is switched off. The computer can be programmed to simultaneously record images from up to four cameras and four audio sources, the latter including a wireless microphone on the officer. And due to its digital format, images are superior. More importantly, the images can be easily enhanced. Digitized images also offer e-mail attachments or can be burned onto a CD. With an incident number automatically embedded on the file, any authorized person in the system can quickly retrieve the images. Because the files are tamper-proof, chain-of-custody concerns are unlikely to be an issue. One key advantage of the digital format lies in its archiving images efficiency: a comparative handful of hard drives can replace a large amount of videotapes. The data can also be downloaded to other storage media. The T.A.W. unit will fit onto a motorcycle The unit is priced comparably to a conventional videotape system.
Digital Mobile Witness Recording System
NCJ Number
203146
Journal
Law Enforcement Technology Volume: 30 Issue: 9 Dated: September 2003 Pages: 134,136,140
Date Published
September 2003
Length
6 pages
Annotation
This article discusses the mobile recording system improvement called the T.A.W. Digital Mobile Witness, from T.A.W. Security Concepts.
Abstract