Smart Electronic Patrol: How Caltta's eChat System Reshapes Efficient and Secure Management?

In today's rapidly developing information society, for certain industries such as large hospitals, office buildings, logistics warehouses, hotels, and security, patrolling is one of the key methods for maintaining public and cargo safety. It helps enterprises or organizations identify potential security risks and take timely measures to address them.

Traditional patrolling methods often rely on personnel signing in at patrol points using logbooks or stickers. This method has many drawbacks, such as difficulty in verifying times, ease of cheating (forging, supplementing, or multi-signing), time-consuming and labor-intensive record checks, and challenges in analyzing loss or negligence incidents, making it hard to clarify responsibilities. Therefore, electronic patrolling systems emerged. These systems, based on modern information technology and combined with electronic devices, automatically record the time, frequency, and routes of patrol personnel, featuring no need for wiring, simple operation, and strong relevance.

However, in some electronic patrolling solutions, patrol personnel still need to carry an additional baton or similar hardware, adding to their load and increasing procurement and management costs for enterprises. Therefore, better solutions have emerged. Today, we will present Caltta's electronic patrolling solution based on the eChat system: on the basis of Caltta's eChat terminal, supported by Bluetooth, NFC, and other punching devices, combined with the backend management platform to achieve electronic patrolling management. This is an added-value service for Caltta users, accurately recording the time, location, and status of patrol personnel's punches, supporting Bluetooth, NFC, and GPS modes, and can replace traditional patrolling methods, helping enterprises and organizations achieve more scientific and standardized management.

Next, we will review the overall solution of Caltta's electronic patrolling products and our experience: for this review, the Whale Accurate Review team obtained the full set of Caltta's call eChat products, including a 1U eChat server, e720 terminal, NFC, Bluetooth, etc.

Caltta's eChat public network communication system is a mainstream system in China, widely used in industries such as transportation, firefighting, customs, law enforcement, sports events, communication, power, security, logistics, transportation, airports, railways, ports, petrochemicals, forestry, and property management. Caltta offers enterprise users a streamlined private deployment solution, enabling all services to be deployed on a 1U physical server, significantly reducing enterprise deployment costs. In addition to traditional functions such as voice communication, positioning, multimedia messages, and video dispatching, the latest version has introduced the electronic patrolling function for enterprise customers.

Caltta's electronic patrolling solution provides users with professional dispatching software, allowing users to quickly and flexibly configure patrol points, patrol routes, and patrol plans through the dispatching platform's electronic patrolling module.

Caltta's electronic patrolling supports multiple forms of patrol check-ins, including GPS, NFC, and Bluetooth, meeting different application scenarios' needs. For the testing handheld terminals, we configured three different patrol methods: GPS, NFC, and Bluetooth, for a complete experience.

NFC Patrol Testing

NFC (Near Field Communication) is a short-range wireless communication technology, typically working within 10 cm and offering transmission speeds of 106 kbit/s, 212 kbit/s, and 424 kbit/s. It allows devices to exchange data quickly, conveniently, and securely without contact.

Patrol personnel can use NFC terminals to quickly punch in at patrol points, recording their arrival time. The application of NFC technology in patrols also includes access systems, allowing quick passage through access controls using NFC cards or phones and inspection punches for critical equipment.

This test simulated daily inspections of critical points, such as air conditioner rooms, weak current rooms, strong current rooms, and elevators. To ensure the inspectors' actual presence on site, NFC was used for punching. Completing the inspection required using the terminal for NFC close-range punching to confirm the inspection.

Bluetooth Patrol

Bluetooth communication enables device connections and data exchange within a certain range (usually 10-50 meters). In patrolling, Bluetooth technology can be used for indoor positioning and patrol punching. By deploying Bluetooth beacons at patrol points, patrol personnel carrying Bluetooth devices can automatically record the time and location of arriving at patrol points, achieving automated patrolling. Bluetooth technology can also connect patrol personnel with the patrol management platform, enabling real-time data transmission and monitoring.

This test used high-quality Bluetooth beacons, achieving patrol recognition within 50 meters. When performing indoor area patrols (e.g., office areas, workshops), Bluetooth beacons can be deployed in patrol areas. When patrol personnel enter the patrol area and approach the Bluetooth beacon (within 50 meters), they can scan and receive the broadcast packets sent by Bluetooth in real-time. The terminal uploads the valid Bluetooth device MAC information to the server for punch matching. The server returns the punch results, and the terminal provides voice prompts for successful punches, early punches, and late punches, reminding patrol personnel of a successful punch.

GPS Patrol

In patrolling, GPS technology is mainly used for outdoor patrols and large-scale facility management. With GPS devices, the real-time location of patrol personnel can be tracked, recording patrol routes and times, suitable for patrolling large areas like factories, large buildings, and campuses.

We set up a GPS patrol point at the north gate of the park through the dispatch platform. Test personnel carried the e720 terminal to the north gate for field testing. The terminal quickly acquired satellite signals outdoors, using GPS to obtain the real-time position of patrol personnel. When approaching the north gate, the terminal automatically completed the GPS punch task.

Electronic Fence

An electronic fence is mainly used to monitor and manage the entry and exit of personnel in specific areas, complementing the electronic patrolling module to standardize the patrol range of staff. Caltta's eChat electronic dispatch system supports user configuration of electronic fences based on maps and can provide intrusion and exit alarms for managed terminals.

We configured the test terminal with intrusion alarms and mapped exclusion zones. When our test personnel entered the exclusion zone carrying the terminal, the dispatch platform immediately displayed an alarm notification. The personnel on the map turned red, and their coordinates could be obtained.

When personnel exit the exclusion zone, the personnel icon automatically turns green, and the intrusion alarm disappears. The one-key alarm function is an emergency response mechanism. Patrol personnel can quickly send an alarm when encountering emergencies during patrols. Caltta's eChat system supports a one-key alarm function, allowing users to quickly trigger an alarm using the SOS button on the e720 terminal. When the terminal initiates the one-key alarm function, the dispatch platform can immediately receive the alarm information and display the personnel's location on the map. After handling the alarm task, the dispatcher can immediately pull up the terminal's video to quickly obtain real-time video of the incident scene. The following is the actual test video:

Experience:

This review of Caltta's electronic patrolling system, with its innovative multi-modal sign-in technology integrating NFC, Bluetooth, and GPS, brings significant valuable changes and references to the modern security management field. The system achieves efficient execution and precise monitoring of patrol tasks through precise positioning technology and real-time data transmission, enhancing the scientific level of management.

NFC technology, with its contactless quick punching, provides convenient solutions for public safety, cargo safety, etc. Bluetooth technology showcases its outstanding automation capabilities in indoor positioning and patrol punching, while GPS technology ensures precise position tracking in outdoor patrols. Additionally, the electronic fence function further reinforces area monitoring, effectively preventing unauthorized entry and exit and ensuring target safety. The introduction of the one-key alarm mechanism provides strong technical support for quick responses in emergencies, ensuring timely handling of sudden incidents.

Overall, Caltta's electronic patrolling system, with its high-tech, intelligent, and automated features, sets a new benchmark in the security management field, showcasing the direction for future safety management development.