Police cruiser equipped with streaming video cameras

To showcase the potential of streaming high-definition cameras, Axis Communications, a Swedish video technology firm, has built a sophisticated prototype police cruiser outfitted with the latest video equipment.

The prototype cruiser is equipped with five high-definition video cameras which can allow officers at a command center or even in another police cruiser to monitor events via a live feed over a 4G wireless Internet connection.

Scott Dunn, the director of business development at Axis, said, “Rather than say, ‘What happened?’, you can say ‘What’s happening?’ ”

The five cameras are located in the front bumper, the windshield, the dashboard, the backseat, and the rear bumper to capture events from every angle.

In the cruiser’s trunk is a network video recorder which functions as both a server to stream video to a cloud network as well as a central repository for the video feeds.

Axis worked in conjunction with the emergency vehicle supplier MHQ to build the prototype, a 2010 Dodge Charger.

Dunn added that networked surveillance technology has vast potential and can be used in many different scenarios including schools, trains, ambulances, buses, and airports.

The Axis police cruiser is not for sale, but rather a vehicle used to showcase the various applications that video technology has. Instead Axis sells its video equipment to integrators like ADT and Siemens.

But for those interested in purchasing a vehicle outfitted with live-streaming video capabilities, Dunn estimates that the NVR system costs $3,000 and individual cameras vary from $500 to $1,000 each.

Axis is based in Sweden but maintains a U.S. headquarters in Chelmsford, Massachusetts.