BY ROBERTA NEIGER- TECHNION FOCUS FEBRUARY 2005

The stakes couldn’t be higher. In August 2004, hundreds of thousands of athletes and spectators gathered in a concentrated area in Athens for the Olympic Games. The world’s eyes were fixed on the marvels of athletic achievement – and on the Greek security forces faced with threatening mega-terror. In securing the games, which had once again returned to their homeland, Greece spared no effort. To protect the city’s immense seaport, the Olympic security authorities employed two dozen cameras developed and produced by the Israeli company, Controp Precision Technologies Ltd. 

Established in 1988 and based in Hod Hasharon, Controp provides some of the world’s most advanced equipment for surveillance and reconnaissance on air, land and sea. Not only deployed in Athens, Controp systems are at work around the clock in Israel, affixed at borders and flown aboard Unmanned Airborne Vehicles (UAVs) and other aircraft. Purchased by the U.S. Air Force, Army, and Navy, the devices continue to help protect American forces in Afghanistan. The company’s products monitor sensitive sites in Europe and the Far East.

“Quickly identifying a potential threat is vital to preventing it
from becoming a real threat."

Two of Controp’s four founders – its current CEO, Shlomo Nir, and Director of Business Development, Eli Ben Aharon – are graduates of the Technion’s Faculty of Electrical Engineering. Sent to Technion by the Israeli Air Force, Nir earned his B.Sc. in 1970. With Ben Aharon, who received his M.Sc. in 1980, and two other partners, Nir founded Controp, which as its name implies, combines servo control and optics. 

"Intruder detection systems point out the presence of people who are in places they shouldn’t be,” says Nir. Obviously useful in combating terrorism, the systems provide protection against smuggling, theft and illegal immigration. Among Controp’s international customers, common ground applications include the surveillance of airports, water reservoirs and power plants.

Summarizing the company’s mission, Nir says that "quickly identifying a potential threat is vital to preventing it from becoming a real threat.” And unlike other intruder detection equipment on the market, Controp systems detect penetration attempts automatically, and in difficult conditions. Continually scanning a given area, the systems’ optic sensors lock in on strange objects, and issue warnings to operators. If necessary, operators cans hift to manual mode, and zoom in on the suspicious object to receive a detailed picture.

Having started by producing payload cameras for aircraft, Controp brought its technology down to earth and sea. So when the U.S. and Israeli defense establishments approached the company in 1999 with the idea of jointly developing a new ground-based intruder detection system, the company was ready. Three years later, the fruit of this union, the SPIDER, was born, representing the most sophisticated intruder detection system available today. Incorporating a thermal imaging sensor for night use, and a day sensor that provides TV quality color images, the system boasts an extra long-range surveillance capability. Uniquely, the SPIDER can be installed on unstable platforms, like vehicles or high poles. American forces mount it on HUMMER field vehicles.

Another of the company’s main products, CEDAR, which was used in Athens, is also outfitted with different cameras for day or night operation. The system’s modular nature allows for custom-tailored performance and cost. Ideal for coastal and port surveillance, CEDAR incorporates sophisticated algorithms that enable it to differentiate between the movement of waves and small dinghies in water. ‘Ignoring’ the water’s natural movement, the system can detect small boats, which may be armed with weapons or explosive devices. To prevent false alarms, CEDAR can be programmed to disregard small animals or objects.

	SPIDER on HUMMER field vehicle
Controp’s CEDAR in Jerusalem outfitted with different cameras for day or night operation was also deployed at the 2004 Athens Olympics to protect the seaport.

"Unfortunately, it took 9/11 to draw world attention to the
importance of homeland security, and the need for this
equipment.”  

Looking ahead, Nir plans to "continue development in the same areas and expand opportunities in Israel and throughout the world.” Already, the company has opened its first subsidiary, in Lake Success, NY. Now addressing customer needs in the United States, Controp USA is targeted to become a manufacturing facility as well.

One need not look far to see that intruder detection has become a global priority. "Unfortunately, it took 9/11 to draw world attention to the importance of homeland security, and the need for this equipment,” says Nir. “Given this climate, and the fact that CEDAR and SPIDER are revolutionary systems, unmatched in their sophistication, our growth is virtually guaranteed."