Cohu MX: Long-Range Perimeter Surveillance for Critical Installations in Peru

The perimeter surveillance problem at Peruvian critical installations

Critical installation perimeters in Peru — a copper concentrator at 4,200 m.a.s.l., an LNG terminal on the coast, an SEIN grid node in high jungle — have characteristics that make conventional surveillance systems inefficient: extensive perimeters (8-25 km linear for mid-scale mines), harsh environments (coastal fog, open-pit dust, Amazon rain), and conventional camera blindness at night.

Technical architecture: EO/IR on two-axis stabilized gimbal

The Cohu MX integrates a high-resolution visible sensor and an uncooled LWIR thermal sensor (640×480 or 1280×1024 px depending on variant) in a single stabilized gimbal housing, with visible+LWIR image fusion in a single video stream.

Stabilized gimbal: Two-axis inertial stabilization with <30 μrad pointing error. At 2,000 m, 30 μrad = 6 cm position error — a Cohu MX mounted on a vibrating coastal mast or moving vehicle produces sharp images of a human-sized target at 2,000 m. Impossible for a standard PTZ without stabilization.

LWIR fusion: The thermal sensor detects object radiation by temperature. A human at normal body temperature emits ~300 W of thermal radiation — fully detectable at 3,000 m regardless of ambient illumination, moderate fog, or dust. Night detection without active illumination.

Detection and classification capabilities (DRI)

A single Cohu MX sensor on a central mast covers a 1,500 m radius security perimeter — sufficient for a 500 m radius installation with 1 km buffer zone.

Applications in Peru

Open-pit mining perimeters (Las Bambas, Quellaveco, Cerro Verde): 15-40 km linear perimeters. The mobile variant (MX-10M on 4x4 vehicle with 360° slip ring) gives security patrols long-range surveillance capability in movement — sensor auto-tracks the target as the vehicle changes direction.

Port maritime perimeter control (Callao, Ilo, Paita): LWIR sensor detects diver thermal signature in water at 800-1,000 m — activates response protocol before the target reaches vessel hull or pier structure.

Remote border zones: Solar-powered fixed masts with Cohu MX + radio mesh transmission (Rajant or TrellisWare) to nearest observation post — surveillance coverage where permanent patrol is operationally unsustainable.

EMAR SYSTEMS provides sensor positioning design (FOV simulation coverage planning), certified engineer-supervised installation, security team training, and annual preventive maintenance (optics cleaning, gimbal calibration, firmware update — one day per unit).