REVIEW – TOP EXHIBITORS
Evolving security through innovation: International Security Expo review 2023
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he International Security Expo is the only privately-run event to have full backing from the UK Government, demonstrated this year by the attendance of the Rt Hon UK Minister for National Security: Tom Tugendhat MBE VR MP. The global premier Government and end-user security event took place from the 26th-27th September at the Olympia in London and brought together leading exhibitors and visitors from the public and private sectors. Over 350 international exhibitors from key security areas such as: perimeter protection, CCTV & surveillance, forensics, biometrics, drone/counterdrone, cyber security and many more sectors,
launched over 1,000 products. With the sensitive nature of security in mind, only 10,000 vetted visitors were permitted to attend from over 85 countries around the world. This was a truly global event, showcasing new product launches from the pinnacle of biometric technologies, to AI-enabled drone protection, keeping companies and whole countries safe at all times. The Thermal Radar™ for example, offers robust threat protection for substations and power grid applications and the latest in IoT technology offers cutting-edge protection for environment workers working for NGOs in hazardous locations. Visitors were introduced to state-of-the-art 3D laser scanning and remote sensing for application across many industries. There were over 150 renowned, high calibre speakers sharing security thoughts, predictions and ideas with packed audiences across the Global Counter-Terror & Services & Organised Crime, International Security Conference and International Risk & Resilience Conference. These included keynote speakers included: Joel Aleburu: Security Delivery Manager at Microsoft and Mike Butler: Chief Resilience Officer at Santander. The Production Innovation Theatre was buzzing with the latest security demonstrations and with buyers from major players such as: Google,
Microsoft, Tesco, British Airways, HSBC, United Nations, Network Rail, to Amazon, exhibitors were able to showcase to a truly international audience. With 75% of the global active buyers actively looking for the latest security innovations, it is estimated that £109K is the average spend of expected orders placed with exhibitors by visitors in the next 12 months, making this the place to be seen with eyecatching SMART security product innovation and services. This is the definitive calendar event of the year for the international security industry, bringing together quantifiable security product innovation, expert speakers and senior global buyers. From counterterrorism personnel, British Transport Police, cybersecurity experts, senior fire chiefs, to forensic staff: all vetted visitors were impressed with the latest security products and services on offer. This is our pick of the best exhibitors from this year’s event, listed here: Bluelite Graphics & Science & Technology Facilities Council. Further details can be found on this page and the next. Save the date: 24th-25th September 2024: Olympia, London (Co-located with Cyber Expo 2024) https://www.internationalsecurityexpo.com
How STFC is using innovation capabilities to address security challenges
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s one of the research councils making up UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), the Science and Technology Facilities Council’s (STFC) goal is to deliver economic, societal, scientific, and international benefits to the UK and its people. We are committed to using our worldleading national and international research facilities and our wide-ranging expertise to target national priorities and transformative technologies including security and defence. A key STFC facility which can support businesses in the security field is ASTeC – our particle accelerator science and technology centre. Our research and development facilities, such as our 6MeV compact linear accelerator, and the expertise in designing and building large scale particle accelerators are particularly applicable to security scanning technologies. An example of this is the work we carried out with Rapiscan Systems to improve the performance of systems that screen cargo for customs and security purposes. In recent years, the Central Laser Facility (CLF) have worked closely with UK’s Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (Dstl) to deliver a research and development programme focusing on advanced inspection technologies for security applications based on laser-driven secondary
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sources. The spectroscopic techniques developed by CLF also have applications in the security sector. For example, did you know that the technology behind the Insight airport scanners currently in use at several airports in both the UK and the EU was originally developed at CLF? Cobalt Light Systems who were spun out of STFC and are now part of Agilent, developed this application using unique Raman technologies designed for non-invasive through barrier analysis. As well as these facilities, which have been at the forefront of STFC’s security commitment for years, we also have other facilities specialising in quantum, high performance computing, AI, and machine learning. For example, STFC’s Hartree Centre partnered with Chilton Computing, Huduma and Oxfordshire County Council as part of an Innovate UK funded project focusing on cyber security in connected autonomous vehicles (CAVs). They were able to quantify the security level of a CAV system and
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develop a model for data-driven decision-making in a CAV framework. STFC attended the International Security EXPO event in London from the 26th–27th September, where we had the chance to discuss many different opportunities and solutions, from one-off support to long term collaborative projects. We hope that, with our industry-leading expertise, we can continue to support the development of companies looking to expand on their security and defence capabilities. https://www.ukri.org/councils/stfc
