Page 2 - EngineerIT March 2022

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The GSCR system has the same benefits
traditionally associated with utilising radar for
detection, namely coverage over extremely
long ranges, as well as all-weather, and day
and night operation.
In addition, the CSIR-designed and built
electronically-steered antenna technology
employed increases the sensitivy, making
it even more difficult for poachers to hide.
This enables merging of the radar detection
and radar-based classification functions to
provide a true recognisable area picture, with
or without the intervention of an operator.
Utilisation of the system places rich and up-
to-date information in the hands of decision-
makers to enable appropriate responses to
situations developing on the ground. “The
CSIR has also invested in expanding and
optimising the electro-optical system to
CSIR-developed surveillance match different scenarios. A smaller and more
power-efficient day and night camera, called
Rino, and a fully integrated passive camera
radar for the protection of for shorter ranges, known as Tyto, have been
added to our range of sensors”, says Petzer.
The WASS is funded by SANParks and the
critical assets, infrastructure Peace Parks Foundation, in partnership with

the United Kingdom Post Code Lottery. n

he Meerkat Wide Area Surveillance System (WASS) is being successfully For more information on the CSIR’s
utilised to detect and classify people and animals over a wide area, and radar capabilities, contact
Thas had well-documented successes in curbing rhino poaching incidents Charl Petzer at cpetzer1@csir.co.za.
through wide-area surveillance. Recent additional upgrades have applications in the Visit https://www.csir.co.za/
protection of critical infrastructure, border safeguarding, maritime surveillance and surveillance-systems for more.
safeguarding rural and agricultural environments.
The Meerkat WASS uses a Reutech Radar Systems ground surveillance radar
sensor to detect and localise the movements of suspicious objects, and a CSIR-
developed electro-optic day and night sensor to classify these as either human
or animal. The sensor system can be remotely deployed on an unprepared site to
optimise sensor placement. Information regarding the suspicious object is displayed
in a control room on a geo-referenced electronic map, providing actionable
intelligence to facilitate the co-ordination of counter-poaching operations. “From
the lessons learned through the successful operational deployment and optimisation
of the Meerkat system, it became obvious that automating the functions in the
Meerkat system would have a marked effect on the operations in an application
that requires 24/7 wide area surveillance,” explains Charl Petzer, CSIR Programme
Manager: Integrated Security, adding that this would reduce the large burden on an
organisation’s operational costs, brought about by relying on operators to perform
the differentiation of humans from animals.

Upgrading the Meerkat WASS
With support from the Department of Science and Innovation, the CSIR has
developed the Ground-based Surveillance and Classification Radar (GSCR), utilising
several leading-edge technologies that have evolved across multiple projects within
the CSIR’s radar area.