One company hopes to help increase border security with new surveillance system

TUCSON, Ariz. — TUCSON, Ariz. -- One company is hoping to help increase border security.

Elbit Systems is a technology company with a new mobile surveillance system. Bobby Brown, the senior director, says it's designed for border patrol agents, and operated with an Xbox controller.

"The Xbox control is such a common household device now, people are just 'oh, I know what that is' and so it breaks down those barriers of oh I don't know how to operate this to, I know what that is, I can do this," says Brown.

He says working with a fixed tower, a car can help pick up signals of interest and then send back those signals, just 3 minutes after stopping.

The car can take surveillance just over 6 miles away, without an agent ever having to leave their car. Brown says, this would give 1 agent, the capability to do the work of 10.

He says, "now you have a fleet of 6 vehicles that can be short or long or anything in between." Brown says agents can then use maps to see what the car is seeing, making a potentially blind area, completely visible.

"In the dark of night, without a moon, at 12 clicks away, 6 and a half miles away, it can see an individual. It dcan see you," explains Brown.

Right now, Border Patrol is not using this technology. But Brown says BP did tell Elbit Systems that it is interested.