Remote Video Inspection System
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The Remote Video Inspection System (RVIS) was deployed by United States in the late 1990s at select low-traffic border entry points from Canada. The system allowed passport and customs inspections to be conducted remotely, so that low-risk travelers could enter the country during hours that the border station did not have on-site staff. The system was successfully deployed at a number of entry points, in six different states. RVIS was discontinued following the September 11 attacks.
Conception
In the early 1990s, the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) was interested in finding ways to enable low-risk travelers to enter the United States from Canada at small ports of entry after inspection services had ended for the day. INS commissioned its contractor EDS, as well as the Department of Transportation John A. Volpe National Transportation Systems Center and its contractors Labblee Inc. and Bishop Systems to develop and deploy a system that transmitted audio, video and data to an inspector at a nearby 24-hour port of entry. The system was originally named "Remote Inspection Communicator And Remote Document Observer" (RICARDO), but the name was changed to Remote Video Inspection System (RVIS) prior to its first deployment.
Deployment
RVIS consisted of a series of pan–tilt–zoom cameras (PTZ), an amplified speakerphone, a card reader and a telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD).{{cite magazine |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=--SzkNDkwOsC&pg=PT35 |magazine=INS Communiqué |title=Automated Port-of-Entry Opens in Pittsburgh, New Hampshire |page=9 |publisher=Immigration and Naturalization Service |date=March 1999 |accessdate=July 12, 2020 |via=Google Books}} There were vehicle sensors at the Canada–United States border that initiated the system, and exit sensors that alerted operators that a drive-by had occurred. There were also area lights, a text display and a traffic signal. Some ports of entry had electronic gates for traffic management. Inspectors at the remote location could control the PTZ cameras, and conduct a verbal interview with the driver and passengers.
The first two RVIS sites were at the border crossings of Forest City and Orient in Maine in 1996.{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/55308278/border-hopping-simplified/ |title=Border hopping simplified |first=Wayne |last=Brown |newspaper=Bangor Daily News |location=Bangor, Maine |page=17 |date=March 17, 1996 |accessdate=July 13, 2020 |via=newspapers.com}}{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/55308094/bill-seeks-to-clarify-murky-immigration/ |title=Bill seeks to clarify murky immigration law |first=Wayne |last=Brown |newspaper=Bangor Daily News |location=Bangor, Maine |page=12 |date=September 25, 1997 |accessdate=July 13, 2020 |via=newspapers.com}} By 2000, RVIS systems had been deployed at 18 of 22 planned locations:{{cite magazine |url=https://www.publicsafety.gc.ca/lbrr/archives/cn63684181-eng.pdf |magazine=Canada-United States Accord on Our Shared Border: Update 2000 |date=2000 |publisher=Citizenship and Immigration Canada |via=publicsafety.gc.ca |isbn=0-662-29359-2 |pages=29–31 |title=Alternative Inspection Services Program |accessdate=July 13, 2020}}
File:RVIS system at the Pittsburg NH port of entry.jpg]]
:{{dagger}} Closed since 2006
:{{double dagger}} Closed since 2013
RVIS was planned for the Morses Line Border Crossing in Vermont, but local residents opposed its installation.{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/55221386/residents-criticize-federal-plans-at/ |title=Residents criticize federal plans at Morses Line port |first=Richard |last=Cowperthwait |newspaper=The Burlington Free Press |location=Burlington, Vermont |page=13 |date=September 17, 1997 |accessdate=July 12, 2020 |via=newspapers.com}} However, in 2016, the Canadian side implemented a similar system. {{cite news|first=Allan|last=Woods|title=Eyes on this border crossing are 700 kilometres away|url=https://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2016/09/18/eyes-on-this-border-crossing-are-700-kilometres-away.html|work=Toronto Star|date=2016-09-18|access-date=2016-09-21}}
Decommission
The RVIS system never achieved its full potential because its deployment pre-dated the rollout of high speed data networking at all ports of entry, which caused the video transmission to be slow and cumbersome.{{cn|date=July 2020}} Its usage was suspended following the September 11 attacks,{{cite web |url=https://fas.org/sgp/crs/RL31727.pdf |title=Border Security: Immigration Issues in the 108th Congress |page=CRS-12 |date=May 18, 2004 |first=Lisa M. |last=Seghetti |publisher=Congressional Research Service |accessdate=July 12, 2020 |via=FAS.org}} and the RVIS system was officially decommissioned on November 1, 2002.{{cite press release |url=http://www.cbp.gov/xp/cgov/newsroom/news_releases/archives/legacy/2002/112002/11012002.xml |title=U.S. Customs Project to Enhance Security at Border Crossings |publisher=U.S. Customs and Border Protection |date=November 1, 2002 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090906075913/http://www.cbp.gov/xp/cgov/newsroom/news_releases/archives/legacy/2002/112002/11012002.xml |archive-date=September 6, 2009 |via=Wayback Machine}}{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pOAdAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA422 |title=Department of Homeland Security Appropriations for 2004: Titles I and II |page=422 |publisher=United States Government Printing Office |date=2003 |accessdate=July 12, 2020 |via=Google Books |quote=That is one of the reasons that on October 31, 2002, Commissioner Bonner approved a recommendation by the Office of Field Operations to terminate the RVIS program and incorporate the existing RVIS equipment into the Northern Border Security Project.}}
See also
References
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[https://revcord.com/iq3/rvi%20ar/ Remote Video Inspection (RVI)]
without requiring any additional apps or software. The system allows users to securely and remotely view and analyze live video feeds from multiple sources, including surveillance cameras, drones, and mobile devices.
Further reading
- {{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/55201934/after-hours-visitors-go-on-video-to/ |title=After hours, visitors go on video to cross border |newspaper=Great Falls Tribune |location=Great Falls, Montana |page=37 |date=February 6, 2000 |accessdate=July 12, 2020 |via=newspapers.com}}