City surveillance in African cities that lack power capacity may get a boost thanks to a solar powered Closed Circuit TV (CCTV) device.

The gadget, dubbed the ‘Solar Powered And Wirelessly Linked Integrated Surveillance System’ (SPAWLISS), is a mobile surveillance unit that integrates with Closed Circuit TV (CCTV) systems.

Every unit is powered by solar energy with batteries that can last for 30 days without recharge.

SPAWLISS is also fitted with wheels that make it mobile and easy to deploy at any site in a matter of minutes.

Taiye Lambo, a security expert from Nigeria with 22 years of expert experience in the UK and US, told ITWeb Africa that he is eyeing to introduce the gadget in sub-Saharan African countries starting this January, through eFortresses, a security company he runs.

“The solution was launched for the first time in Africa in Nigeria in December 2012 and we are looking to launch it in other parts of Sub Saharan Africa this month,” Lambo said.

In Nigeria, the system was introduced to try and curb sporadic terrorist attacks in various parts of the country.

Lambo says that one unit is planned to cost around US$75,000 to purchase “excluding shipping and clearing costs, installation, tools and managed services”.
The purchase of the system comes with a 24/7 monitoring service.

The service is also expected to confidentiality of video data as the on-site infrastructure is on a physically closed network.

It is also set to have capability for live transfer and remote storage of recorded CCTV images that can be accessed from anywhere at anytime.