As technology becomes more advanced, George Orwell’s prediction of a “big brother” may not be so farfetched for illegal immigrants trying to cross the border.

Customs and Border Patrol have begun to integrate new technology unveiled this year that detects movement and focuses on it, constantly watching what will happen next.

The machines, called Mobile Surveillance Systems, are like nothing that have ever been used before. They cost $500,000 each and help detect illegal immigrants by sensing movement through radar, zeroing in with a camera, giving GPS coordinates of the location and triggering a laser, which is invisible to the naked eye, that leads directly to the movement.

“It’s a mobile camera that has a radar system with thermal imaging and a GPS range finder,” said Michael Scioli, a border patrol agent. “We’ve had one of each of the technologies before, but to have it all combined with a radar system makes this unit unique. It is the future of the Border Patrol.”

The system works by using a radar sweep of the land first, Scioli said. It does a 180 degree sweep of the land in only 10 second. During this sweep, the radar can identify any figure and monitor it on a screen.

“It is sophisticated in the sense that if there is a group of 10 people walking out there, instead of the sensor going off like before, when you did not know if it was people or cattle, we know now,” Scioli said. “This device can pick that up on the radar, focus in on it, identify it, radio into the field agents, and let them know how many people there are and if they are carrying anything.”

Before this new technology, a single agent could be sent to check on a tripped sensor, he said. It could have been an animal, or it could have been three armed individuals, something that no agent wants to go into alone.

Once the radar has locked in on the movement, the GPS tracker gives the operator an exact location of where it is happening. It is then possible for the operator to send air support if necessary. The GPS feature also has an infrared laser identifier.

This laser points to the exact GPS coordinates where the movement is in order to easily guide agents in total darkness to the location of the movement.

Another perk of the new technology is that it is operated by only one person. Before, many agents would be placed on patrol of a large area. Now, because the radar can see for 10 miles, it is not necessary to have as many people out in the field. Instead, they can be called upon as needed.

“The Mobile Surveillance System is a fully integrated system,” said Bobby Brown, the vice president of Business Development at Telephonics in New York, the company that produce the system. “This is the first time that radar, cameras, and maps have all been fully integrated into a unique system that blends it all together. Before, there was one-layered, meaning that no one element works with the other. If you were to have ground surveillance radar, you would have one level of performance, ability, and success. If you were to just have a camera, whether it is night or day vision, you would only have one level of performance.”

Now the one-layered elements blend, Brown said. He used the analogy of a Lego to explain the power all the systems have together. With only one Lego, you cannot make much, but when you combine many Legos you can build intricate systems like a space shuttle or castle. That is what this system does.

It took more than three years to develop the new system, which is the first and only one of its kind. Twenty-three have been placed in the Tucson sector and more are expected.

“We worked hand in hand with U.S. Customs and Border Protection,” Brown said. “We wanted to augment agents in the fields with technology that allowed them to perform their jobs at the level they have been chartered to perform. It meets and exceeds every goal we set out for it to meet.”

Brown said he believed that the system has been very effective.

Scioli agreed that the system has been effective in many ways. Throughout October, November and December, Border Patrol has confiscated over 40,000 pounds of marijuana because of the system.

“Smugglers know there is something out there, and the best part is that this equipment is mobile so we can just move it,” Scioli said.

Scioli also believes that this technology will change the face of border protection forever.

“We’ve become an altruist agency,” he said. “We have to adapt to any situation that comes across the border. It is not only illegal immigrants, but there are narcotics and terrorists too. This machine helps us adapt in a very good way.”