Plextek, the Cambridge-based electronics and communications design consultancy today announced that its Blighter radar is helping to detect and track illegal immigrants trying to enter the USA across the hills on the Mexican Border. Frustrated by the current intruder interception rate in their local area, a group of ranch owners have developed their own state-of-the-art multi-sensor surveillance systems, utilising the Blighter radar, to protect their land and help the enforcement organisations intercept and apprehend the immigrants.

The Blighter radar system detects humans walking over the rocky, hilly landscape that defines a substantial part of the USA/Mexico border. The Blighter electronic-scanning Doppler Ground Surveillance Radar is uniquely able to detect humans in this complex landscape. The combination of advanced Doppler movement filtering combined with fast electronic-scanning allows the Blighter radar to ignore the rocky landscape yet still detect humans walking slowly through the hills at ranges up to 4km.

The Blighter radar’s tall beam allows it to be sited on the hill tops, surveying the whole area with an eagle-eye view. In a single sweep both the hill crests as well as the valleys/canyons are simultaneously scanned whilst still being able to see objects as close as 20 metres away. Any movement detected by the Blighter radar is clearly displayed by coloured markers on a map of the local area. The display can provide additional information about each target including its precise location, size and speed. Zones can be easily defined within the map, which generate audible alerts when an intruder enters or crosses the zone. Zones can also be defined to exclude or ignore areas of known traffic. An optional target tracker called BlighterTrack allows the operators to see the path travelled by the intruders and at the same time filters out unwanted radar detections from wildlife and wind-blown vegetation.

One of the ranch owners commented: “Of all the surveillance equipment we use here the Blighter radar has proven itself to be the most solid, reliable performer of all. It simply never falters. We regularly experience early morning coastal fog that renders our IR cameras useless. The radar then becomes the primary asset at our disposal. In conjunction with the recently added BlighterTrack software, the targets presented are nearly always verifiable illegals. We have reported many groups of aliens based on Blighter’s alarms alone with which the Border Patrol has made apprehensions. With the radar’s feature set we can also apply settings which pretty much rule out all false targets.”

The complete surveillance system is comprised of the Blighter radar, high performance day/night cameras, acoustic listening and warning system, unattended Ground Sensors and an advanced wireless communication system. All this equipment is remote from a mains power supply and is therefore totally reliant on solar power. The Blighter radar features advanced power saving technology so that maximum operational time is achieved even during the winter months.

The complete Radar system including all power monitoring and control can be remotely accessed over the Internet allowing the operators to control and monitor the system from the comfort and safety of their homes. So far this year the system, operating on an ‘as required’ basis over several kilometres of the border line, has been responsible for detecting hundreds of illegal immigrants attempting to cross the ranchers’ properties.

Plextek will be demonstrating its Blighter radars at ASIS 2009, September 21-24, Anaheim, CA, US on stand 963.

• Longer detection ranges, faster scanning and wider scan angles extend Blighter’s class-leading intruder detection capability

Plextek, the Cambridge-based specialists in electronics design and supply of surveillance products has announced a number of important performance enhancements to its range of Blighter ground surveillance radar, including significantly extended detection ranges and support for wider scan angles as well as introducing its new ‘Vortex Fast-Scan’ technology. These new features further enhance the radars capability to deliver class-leading ‘Persistent Surveillance’, offering unrivalled protection against both conventional and asymmetric threats.

The radar’s scanning speed has been dramatically improved using Blighter’s ‘Vortex Fast-Scan’ technology across the whole Blighter Surveillance range. These modes employ Plextek’s new multi-beam electronic-scanning technology, and maintain Blighter’s ability to detect ultra-slow movement, something which mechanically scanned radars cannot achieve.

In addition, the Blighter B400 Series radars now feature new range modes that extend detection ranges out to either 16 or 32 km. These radars, which are ideal for fixed or mobile applications, can also be configured to detect a walking person in excess of 10 km.

Plextek is also releasing the Blighter B202 Mk 2, Plextek’s new lightweight and compact radar, suited to man-portable and mobile applications. The B202 Mk 2 incorporates new features including an 8 km capability, enhanced antennas enabling an impressive 90 degree electronic-scan angle as well as incorporating the new ‘Vortex Fast-Scan’ technology.

Mark Radford, Plextek’s Director of Security Products comments: “Blighter radars have been proven to greatly increase the response capability and effectiveness of military and/or security personnel. These impressive new enhancements perfectly meet our customers’ needs for high performance, accurate and reliable intruder detection.”

Blighter e-scan radars use modern solid-state electronics and have no moving parts, thereby removing the requirement for routine maintenance as well as offering dramatic improvements in reliability over traditional mechanically rotating radars. The radars also offer exceptional target detection performance in rocky, mountainous terrain. Blighter surveillance products address a broad range of security requirements in the defence, homeland security and civil/commercial markets. Blighter radars are part of a range of advanced Plextek technologies that provide class-leading protection against both conventional and asymmetric terrorist threats. Blighter is currently being used by the UK MoD to meet an urgent operational requirement.

To see a Blighter demonstration, please visit Plextek’s stand No. 498 at DSEi.

• Sustained growth in export sales and the continued development of breakthrough technologies secures awards for Innovation and International Trade Queen’s Awards International Trade

Plextek, the Cambridge-based electronics and communications design consultancy today announced that it has won two coveted Queen’s Awards for Innovation and International Trade. Plextek has shown superb growth in its international sales, nearly trebling exports over the last three years to an aggregate of £48m. The company has also been recognised for its continued innovation, particularly in the field of wireless technologies, as illustrated by the success of its Ultra Narrow Band (UNB) radio devices and its “Blighter” electronic scanning radar technology.

Colin Smithers, co-founder and managing director of Plextek comments: “Plextek, by its very nature, sells innovation and for the last 20 years has been continually developing the best and most effective new technologies for our diverse clients. This innovative culture and advanced technology has helped fuel impressive international sales growth, particularly in the US, Far East and Middle East. It’s a proud feeling knowing that our talented team’s hard work has been recognised and rewarded with, not one, but two prestigious Queen’s Awards.”

Plextek wins the Innovation award for continued innovation in all facets of its business of communications system and product design, in particular the wide commercial application of its proprietary UNB technology and various radar based projects.

Plextek’s Blighter family of portable and fixed electronic scanning radar systems were selected and purchased last year by the UK Ministry of Defence for an ‘urgent operational requirement’ (UOR) and continue to outperform rivals in intruder detection and target identification. Blighter radars have been sold into Europe, Asia, the Middle East and the US.

The UNB technology has formed the core of a low power transmitter system designed for the UK Ministry of Defence enabling communications between military vehicles in convoys, with minimum risk of enemy detection. UNB-based wireless meter readers, with a battery life of ten years, have also been developed for domestic gas and electricity suppliers. Similar systems based on UNB have been developed to monitor hospital cardiac patients, for controlling street lighting and for covertly monitoring stolen vehicles. Plextek continues to design and supply stolen vehicle recovery systems for TRACKER Network in the UK and LoJack Corporation in the US. To date, TRACKER has recovered 17,800 stolen vehicles in the UK resulting in 1700 arrests.

Plextek originated as a pure design consultancy but, after the 2001 tech recession, also turned its hand to product manufacturing and supply. Consequently Plextek displaced a major multinational supplier to become LoJack’s sole supplier to all the licensees for its proprietary in-car stolen vehicle recovery devices. Plextek designed tracking units have been fitted in over 5 million vehicles across 28 countries. The success of this technology has been a key factor in winning the International award for Trade.

For more information on the prestigious Queens Awards for Enterprise please visit The Queen’s Awards Website

Plextek, the Cambridge-based electronics and communications design consultancy, announced today that it has been awarded a contract worth around $3.5 million (£1.75 million) for the supply of its innovative Blighter radar systems. The electronic-scan (e-scan) ground surveillance radars are for a UK MoD urgent operational requirement (UOR). Plextek will be working alongside Ultra Electronics SML Technologies, who are lead systems integrator for the radars. Delivery of the initial units is scheduled for Q4 2008.

Blighter e-scan radars use modern solid-state electronics and have no moving parts, thereby removing the requirement for routine maintenance as well as offering dramatic improvements in reliability over traditional rotating radars. Blighter radars also offer exceptional target detection performance in rocky, mountainous terrain.

Blighter surveillance products address a broad range of security requirements in the defence, homeland security and civil/commercial markets. Blighter radars are part of a range of advanced Plextek technologies that provide class-leading protection against both conventional and asymmetric terrorist threats.

Colin Smithers, MD of Plextek stated “We are delighted that the UK MoD has recognised the numerous technical merits of the Blighter radar and has chosen to use it for such a critical application”.