One likely use for a system such as this would be for tracking the movements of vehicles around the established perimeter of any kind of building or facility that requires a high level of protection.

The system features two-way communications, which allows messages that are sent back to the tracking unit to be displayed. The system also allows information, such as rate of acceleration, turning radius and speed, to be determined and displayed in real-time.

"Cubic found that it can respond to the needs in the homeland security area more quickly by teaming with companies, such as S3, because of the large amounts of commercial off-the-shelf-technology they bring to the table," said Rick Lober, senior vice president of Cubic's Communications Business Unit.

"This agreement between our companies will lead to systems that achieve a significant -- and higher -- level of homeland security," said President of Satellite Security Systems (S3) John Phillips.

"The market presence, systems integration capability, and core homeland security technologies Cubic is known for will help maximize the effectiveness of the S3 technology in this growing area."

The Cubic/S3 system includes Cubic's PC-RIS product, a proprietary software system that produces maps showing precise location data and visual positions of objects or vehicles (both stationary and in-motion), coupled with S3's GlobalGuard system, the unit that tracks the objects, using GPS.

While many tracking systems use cellular technology, this system uses satellite technology, which is more reliable and offers better geographical coverage, with a reach that extends across North and South America.

"We think this system has great potential for home station training of troops, for hazardous material vehicle tracking, or for port security authorities or emergency response personnel," said Mike Steele, vice president of Defense Solutions for Cubic Defense Applications Inc., and leader of the company's Homeland Security Task Force.

"In addition, we will be exploring how S3's GlobalGuard technology might be used with some of Cubic's other technologies, such as Cubic's weapons effects threat assessment and disaster prediction capabilities."

Cubic Defense Applications Inc. produces instrumented air and ground combat training systems, battle command training, simulations and simulation support for U.S. and allied military forces.

Satellite Security Systems' GlobalGuard technology secures, tracks and controls assets throughout the U.S., Mexico and Canada with law enforcement agencies as well as in the consumer market. With GlobalGuard technology, users can communicate with, monitor, track, analyze and control the movement of virtually any object in transit.

The integration of Motorola's two-way satellite communications, on-board CPU and an integrated Global Positioning System (GPS) make it possible for GlobalGuard users to send data back and forth from a central command unit or monitoring center while being continually alerted to new or dynamic changes.

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