SMART CAMPUS

Security

Making College Safer with a Smart Campus

Colleges and universities are getting connected. Using Internet of Things (IoT) technologies,

they’re linking anything and everything to create new applications that elevate the campus

experience. And they’re unlocking huge savings along the way. It’s called a Smart Campus.

And it’s transforming campus life for students, faculty and visitors.

At the highest level, a Smart Campus links devices,

applications and people over a common, shared technology

infrastructure. When everything is connected, devices and

applications can interact with users and with each other

in ways that weren’t possible before: digital classrooms,

connected campus ID cards, connected lighting and building

environmental systems and much more. (For details, see the

eBook Smart Campus: The Journey Starts Here: smartcampus-

ebook. But there’s a big part of the Smart Campus story that’s

just as valuable to colleges and universities, even if it doesn’t

always capture the headlines: campus safety and security.

As innovative institutions embrace IoT technologies, they’re

ﬁnding that the same platform that supports digital learning

and connected experiences can enable applications that make

campus safer and more secure for everyone living, learning or

working there.

Building a Safer Campus

Student safety may not be the ﬁrst thing you think of when

considering cutting-edge technology. But to parents, their sons

and daughters are their most precious asset. Many are sending

their children away from home for the ﬁrst time, and they

want to know their student will be safe. On a Smart Campus,

you can build a compelling story around using technology

to protect the safety and security of students everywhere on

campus, 24/7.

RUCKUS SOLUTION BRIEF

Video surveillance: Traditional closed-circuit security cameras require physical connections to a

switch—making deployments expensive and, in some outdoor areas, almost impossible. On a Smart

Campus, anywhere you have a power source, you can deploy a smart IP video camera and use

wireless meshing to connect it. Using smart lighting? Use the same poles and power for cameras.

Using body cameras for security personnel? Connect the over the same wireless mesh network.

Extend video surveillance to places you could never reach before, including outdoor areas hundreds

of meters from the core network.

Smart locks and access control: Connected locks make it easy to control who has access to

hundreds of buildings on campus. Combine them with other Smart Campus systems—smart ID card

readers, video surveillance, perimeter controls—and you can now closely monitor every individual

coming and going at all times. Use behavior-based alarms to alert campus security if someone tries to

enter a building during off hours or even if a door has been left open. In residence halls, verify that

everyone entering the building at night is actually a resident.

Tracking assets: Combine ubiquitous wireless coverage with location-based services to track

anything moving across campus. Attach Bluetooth beacons to projectors, TV screens, lab equipment

and vehicles, and pinpoint their precise location on campus. Use geofencing to receive alerts if an

asset moves outside a given area.

Tracking people: You can even apply asset tracking concepts to human beings. Use smart campus

ID cards to track the location of students in a building during an emergency evacuation. Or, use

connected medical alert wristbands that alert responders to the precise location of a student having a

seizure or other medical emergency.

2 RUCKUS SOLUTION BRIEF | Smart Campus - Security