The Super-Van "The Green Hulk”.

Here comes a press release, with the friendly permission of Carl Zeiss Optics GmbH:
We would like to add that this vehicle is a Mercedes-Benz sprinter with IGLHAUT all-wheel drive, 3 mechanical differential locks, undertray protection and other equipment details added specifically for South Africa.

The Super-Van "The Green Hulk"

The first mobile surveillance vehicles have been delivered to the Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality. They are called "Green Hulk" or "Spy Van": This green monster is a true eye-catcher. The powerful van is the first mobile surveillance vehicle (MSV) built in South Africa. In cooperation with Afrisec, a supplier for integrated security systems, Carl Zeiss Optronics (South Africa) presented the MSV to a number of potential purchasers in summer. The MSV, built on the chassis of a 4 x 4 Mercedes Sprinter, provides 360° all-round surveillance day and night. "We hope that the MSV will soon play an important role in securing borders and fighting crime," project manager Albert du Toit from Carl Zeiss Optronics explains. To find criminals and intruders, the vehicle has been equipped with integrated sensors, a CCD camera with 12-fold enlargement for daylight operation, a high-resolution heat image camera for the night, an eye-safe laser distance meter, a digital magnetic compass and a GPS.

The sensors are placed on an extensible mast that is controlled from the inner space. The observers in the vehicle not only see the video material, but also a digital picture of the environment. For this, all data and targets are shown on a digital map. Software that automatically recognises intruder movement is used to relieve the operators. The video material can also be sent to a control room from the surveillance position. For covert investigations, the vehicle can be moved to strategic places at night with the headlights off thanks to a diver's night vision device. Afrisec will deliver the first vehicle to the Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality to support the region in its fight against crime. Further orders from other towns in South Africa are expected. To date, ZEO has delivered 250 surveillance vehicles that are used to control the European borders.

Jaco Olivier