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LANXESS textile unit develops liquid for new surveillance system

24 Oct '05

3 min read

Leading chemical producer LANXESS AG presents a new type of surveillance system. This new product protects against terrorism.

Revolutionary concept enables reliable monitoring of broad terrain and property that is difficult to access.

Leading chemical producer LANXESS AG provides the basis for a new type of security system that can put property protection and plant safety on a completely new footing.

LANXESS CEO Dr. Axel C. Heitmann stated that through the use of thier new substance it is possible for the first time to effectively monitor facilities that stretch over an expansive area such as railroad tracks, pipelines or airports.

A laser camera attached to the main corpus of a helicopter films area marked with the luminescent liquid. A computer then compares real-time images with recorded pictures taken directly after spraying and can even identify changes as small as a postcard.

The new system was recently presented to military and security experts from Germany and abroad on a testing ground on the Lüneburg heath belonging to Rheinmetall AG. The key to the new surveillance system is a weather-resistant liquid developed by LANXESS's Textile Processing Chemicals Business Unit.

This can be sprayed on the terrain to be protected, by helicopter for example, and is invisible to the human eye. However, when seen under a laser, the sprayed areas are luminescent. A computer compares real-time images of the area taken with a laser camera with pictures recorded immediately after spraying. Even from a height of some 100 meters it is possible to identify changes in territory or to property the size of a postcard, day and night.

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