Security Electronics & Networks Magazine by Security Electronics & Networks Magazine

MAY 2021 ISSUE 431

FACE MATCH

l IDEMIA Face Recognition Ranked Number 1 By NIST l Hills Appoints James Layton Head Of Security l Special Report: Face Recognition Solutions l What Should Integrators Look For In VMS?

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l The Interview - Rob Meachem, BGWT l Product Review Nirovision Facial Recognition l Product Review Hikvision DS-2XS6A25GO Solar Bullet l Special Report: High Security Solutions l New Product: Axis Camera Station Secure Entry

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editorial S E CU RI TY E L ECTR O NI C S & NETWO R KS MAY 2021 ISSUE 4 31

By John Adams

ETHICAL AI IN THE SECURITY INDUSTRY ORE than any other and without M industry, entirely perceiving it, electronic security is now the forefront of discussions about ethical AI. Not only does artificial intelligence have the power to enliven video streams and data inputs and outputs, our industry’s modest budgets mean security managers are always looking to enhance return on sales through operational drift. At the same time, there’s considerable risk for organisations whose solutions drift into perceptions of bias or breaches of privacy. Challenging for everyone is the ubiquity of AI, which is no longer restricted to specialised applications, but is present in almost every mildly complex solution. AI is in the app of a smarthome hub, the browser interface of a 4-port NVR, it’s installed in almost every CCTV camera and integral to key aspects of functionality in every VMS or SMS available. Something that makes ethical AI harder is that there are few standards framing how ‘ethical’ is to be achieved. Asimov’s First Law – that a robot may not injure a human being or allow a human being to come to harm – helps, but organisations and individuals need their own ethical prism through which to view applications of artificial intelligence - from a home automation solution, to an integrated PSIM and everything in between. Considerations of AI and robo ethics in security applications, include biases around race and gender introduced by skewed initial datasets that may lead to false positive matches or failed authentications. Ethics also covers privacy issues, and presses up against the fundamental questions of just how much automated systems need to know. Part of the industry’s issue moving forward is going

Universally, the manufacturers of digital security product maintain that the greatest difficulty they have when meeting the requirement of purchasers is finding capable installation teams.

to be deep learning, which works best when it’s fed oceans of data – the more data, the more accuracy. But at the same time, the more data, the more potential for intrusion. As well as protecting individual privacy, another key element when it comes to applying AI solutions revolves around transparency, a quality that presupposes AI is explainable. And the wider discussion of ethical AI incorporates terms that tend to be contextual – words like ‘just’ and ‘fair’ and ‘responsible’. These labels are extremely difficult to quantify, particularly for security and law enforcement people, thanks to a profound internal contradiction. Justly and responsibly protecting citizens is an excellent reason to monitor the thoughts of citizens, which breaches the general law of ‘harm no human’. Simultaneously, not monitoring the thoughts of citizens may mean failure to detect planning for a terrorist attack, breaching the general law of ‘harm no human’. A question the electronic industry needs to keep front of mind is the level of decision-making AI is granted. There’s a singleness of purpose to AI and in many applications, human partnerships need to be adjacent so as to add context to the conclusions drawn from datasets. Human oversight needs to be engaged from the decision to use AI in a given application, to the nature of datasets AI is tasked with assessing, to evaluating the results of any AI process. It goes without saying that there needs to be a trail of accountability, too. Does accountability for the use of AI rest with the security integrator,

the security operator, the security manager, senior management, or the board of directors? That accountability needs to be expressed in a site’s security procedures and reflected in the nature of AI applications that can be undertaken. A condition mentioned earlier that’s at once vital and virtually impossible when it comes to AI is ‘transparency’. Deep learning operates by correlating patterns in vast numbers of datasets in ways not even its creators can explain. It’s simply not possible to offer transparency of a system whose workings are based on logical processes that are opaque. This opaqueness makes it challenging to establish the source of AI errors or biases. How to do you investigate the cause of an event, or assign accountability for an event when its cause cannot be explained or investigated? And can you trust the findings of an incoherent process when it comes to critical decisions regarding safety and security? Regardless of the challenges of using AI ethically, this technology is so useful, so capable that it would be wrong not to deploy it everywhere we could. Traditional electronic security solutions collect vast amounts of stateful data every day, from hundreds of millions of sensors and cameras – data that is never used to inform careful decision-making by security and operations management, data that goes entirely to waste. The ability of AI to liberate patterns in this data to enhance our safety and security is enormous. Our responsibility for AI’s ethical use in security applications is enormous, too. n

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7TH A N N UA L

SECURITY AND GOVERNMENT EXPO SECURITY

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THURSDAY 18TH NOVEMBER 2021

DON’T MISS IT! The Realm Hotel, Canberra Bringing the latest security products and technologies to government and commercial end users, installers and consultants in the nation’s capital.

See www.securityandgovernmentexpo.com.au for program and speaker details

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and energise investigations means that no new electronic security solution should be installed without analytics coming into serious consideration. 26: WHAT INTEGRATORS SHOULD LOOK FOR IN VMS

MAY 21 8: IDEMIA FACE RECOGNITION RANKED NUMBER 1 BY NIST

For security integrators, what constitutes a quality VMS varies from what’s most desirable for an end user – integrators need flexibility, simplicity of setup and a capacity for integration with supporting security solutions their technical teams already use.

IDEMIA’s facial recognition algorithm achieved best for accuracy in the latest Face Recognition Vendor Test (FRVT) from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) among 75 tested systems and 281 entrants in NIST’s latest FRVT.

28: ROB MEACHEM, BGWT

9: HILLS APPOINTS JAMES LAYTON ACTING HEAD OF SECURITY BUSINESS

32: NIROVISION FACIAL RECOGNITION

HILLS has announced the appointment of James Layton as acting head of distribution in Australia. Layton worked with Hills from 2006 to 2013 and had come back on board in 2020 as general manager, category and technical services. 18: FACE MATCH Video analytics, including face recognition, is at the cutting edge of CCTV, access control, and automated people management systems of all kinds. Its ability to empower existing solutions in extraordinary ways, enhance authentication levels

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In this month’s interview, John Adams chats with BGW Technologies’ Rob Meachem about the challenges of finding new premises in the midst of Melbourne’s COVID-19 crisis.

Nirovision’s Face Recognition solution highlights the integrated nature of the latest electronic security technologies. This solution empowers CCTV and access control solutions large and small with high levels of authentication, while delivering layers of reporting that deliver iron clad court admissibility. 36: HIKVISION DS-2XS6A25GO SOLAR BULLET REVIEW Hikvision DS-2XS6A25GO is a solar powered 1080p bullet camera system with a ½.8-inch progressive scan CMOS sensor with minimum scene illumination of 0.004 in colour at F1.4 with AGC on, or 0.002 lux,

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44 48 8

regulars

0 Lux with IR on in monochrome. Key to this camera is a battery pack that allows the unit to operate for 7 days if the 20Ah lithium battery is fully charged by the 40W photovoltaic panel. 42: WHAT SHOULD A HIGH SECURITY SOLUTION INCLUDE? What should a high security solution include, in SEN’s opinion? And how would you broadly define a high security site? 45: AXIS CAMERA STATION SECURE ENTRY

FACE MATCH

l IDEMIA Face Recognition Ranked Number 1 By NIST l Hills Appoints James Layton Head Of Security l Special Report: Face Recognition Solutions l What Should Integrators Look For In VMS?

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Publisher Bridge Publishing Aust. Pty Ltd ABN 11 083 704 858 PO Box 237 Darlinghurst NSW 1300 tel 61 2 9280 4425 fax 61 2 9280 4428 email info@bridge publishing.com.au

Latest business, product and technical news from Australia and around the world. 40: MONITORING Alarm monitoring, which has been drifting away from standalone solid state controllers to networked hubs for many years, is now perfectly positioned for the rapid penetration into its functionality suite of analytics. 44: EDITOR’S CHOICE What’s new from our electronic security manufacturers.

AXIS Camera Station now unifies video surveillance and access control via AXIS Camera Station Secure Entry, which adds access management to the company’s highly polished video management software.

MAY 2021 ISSUE 431

8: NEWS

48: HELPDESK Our team of electronic security experts answers your tough technical questions.

Editor John Adams Advertising Manager Monique Keatinge Customer Service Annette Mathews tel 61 2 9280 4425 annette@bridge publishing.com.au

Design Tania Simanowsky e: tania@ taniasdesign.com.au

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NEWS IN BRIEF M AY 2 0 2 1

IDEMIA FACE RECOGNITION RANKED NUMBER 1 BY NIST n IDEMIA’s facial recognition algorithm achieved best for accuracy in the latest Face Recognition Vendor Test (FRVT) from the National

Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) among 75 tested systems and 281 entrants in NIST’s latest FRVT. FRVT measures how

well facial recognition systems work for civil, law enforcement and security applications covering accuracy, speed, storage, and memory criteria.

IDEMIA Morpho Face

HIKVISION GROWTH ACCELERATES INTO 2021

n HIKVISION reports it generated a total revenue of RMB63.50 billion in 2020, delivering year-on-year growth of 10.14 per cent, with net profits attributable to shareholders being RMB13.39 billion, reflecting growth of 7.82 per cent. Hikvision has also disclosed its financial results for the first quarter of 2021, with a revenue of RMB 13.99

billion, representing a YoY increase of 48.36 per cent. Net profits attributable to shareholders of the company in the first quarter was RMB 2.17 billion, representing a YoY growth of 44.99 per cent. In 2020, Hikvision further expanded its investment in R&D, with a spending of RMB 6.38 billion. The R&D expense ratio has continuously increased over the past few years,

from 7.62 per cent in 2017 to 8.99 per cent in 2018, 9.51 per cent in 2019, and 10.04 per cent in 2020. Hikvision says technological innovation has been the key area of focus driving the successful development of the company, and Hikvision will continue providing more innovative technologies, products and solutions to help increase safety, operational efficiency and sustainability in communities, companies and global societies. As new external uncertainties emerged in 2020, Hikvision worked closely with partners and suppliers globally to maintain stability and integrity in its supply chain, enhance its intelligent manufacturing processes, and optimize delivery efficiencies, as well as ensure reliable business development.

FRVT test results are acknowledged to be the gold standard of the global security industry. According to IDEMIA, NIST’s test results establish beyond all doubt that the company has the best identification system on the market. Taking border control systems as an example, IDEMIA achieved the best accuracy score of 99.65 per cent correct matches out of 1.6 million face images. One of the important aspects of AI-based automated facial recognition is to teach its various algorithms not only to be accurate, but equally important fast and optimized for fairness. IDEMIA’s facial recognition solutions work with or

without masks and with the best trade-off between speed and accuracy, demographic parity and can process face profile images. FRVT evaluated IDEMIA’s core algorithms underlying all its systems using facial recognition which address access control, public security and border control needs.

TAKING BORDER CONTROL SYSTEMS AS AN EXAMPLE, IDEMIA ACHIEVED THE BEST ACCURACY SCORE OF 99.65 PER CENT CORRECT MATCHES OUT OF 1.6 MILLION FACE IMAGES.

SECURITAS APPOINTS DANNY BERKOVIC COUNTRY PRESIDENT, AUSTRALIA n SECURITAS has appointed Danny Berkovic its new country president of Australia, with Gert Erik Engelien taking on a new role with Securitas Norway. “It is with great pleasure that Securitas AMEA leadership team congratulates Danny Berkovic as he begins transitioning into his new role as country president, Australia,” Engelien said. “A leader in the Australian electronic security industry, Danny has been instrumental in the acceleration of our strategy Danny Berkovic

in Australia and is well placed to lead Securitas Australia through this next phase of growth.” Berkovic joined Securitas after Australia’s Fredon Security was acquired on January 9, 2020. That sale will see Fredon Security transition and rebrand to Securitas by 2022. “I am excited to join the Securitas family which has shown demonstrable leadership in the global security market and identified electronic security as a key focus area for future growth in Australia,” Berkovic said at the time. “Joining Securitas will provide excellent opportunities for our clients and team of outstanding professionals. I look forward to the journey in the years to come with a continued focus on our clients’ success and new opportunities.”

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MyNet Alarm Seeks ALULA Connect+ Dealers p.10 Melbourne Metro’s CCTV Upgrade Doubles Retention Times p.12 Bosch Points To IoT, AI, Electromobility Future p.13 Aussie Telcos Spend $A650 Million On 5G Spectrum p.14 Suprema Delivers Biometric Algorithm To Samsung p.16

COMPILED BY JOHN ADAMS

HILLS APPOINTS JAMES LAYTON ACTING HEAD OF SECURITY BUSINESS

Vincent Leung, SecuSafe

VINCENT LEUNG JOINS SECUSAFE n SECUSAFE’S Andy Lee reports that Vincent Leung has joined the team as senior sales technician. “The customer journey and experience are paramount to the success of any business and Secusafe prides itself on customer satisfaction,” Lee said. “Appointing CCTV industry veteran Vincent to the Secusafe team bolsters our expertise in targeting customer need and building a loyal customer base. “We know our customers

depend on our team to walk the customer journey with them right from the beginning when they are looking for a suitable solution, to when they need tech support with the installed solution. Vincent is well experienced in problem solving, analysing customer need and building strong customer relationships. We’re very excited to welcome him to the Secusafe team.” Leung, who’s appointment sees the NSW Secusafe

team grow to 15, said he was delighted to be joining the SecuSafe team. “Joining Secusafe feels like I’ve just been adopted by a large family,” Leung said. “It’s a great culture to work in and I look forward to meeting our customers.” According to Lee, recruiting a CCTV industry sales specialist like Leung provides SecuSafe a formidable presence in the sales and support element of the CCTV wholesale industry.

n HILLS has announced the appointment of James Layton as acting head of distribution in Australia. Layton worked with Hills from 2006 to 2013 and had come back on board in 2020 as general manager, category and technical services. “We needed someone passionate and knowledgeable to take charge of our distribution business,” said Hills CEO and managing director, David Lenz. “James has a deep understanding of the industry and is committed to ensuring Hills is delivering the best possible outcomes to both customers and vendors” Layton, who has over 21 years of experience in the security industry and has worked with leading global companies, said he was looking forward to the opportunities and challenges that the appointment will bring. “I originally joined Hills 15 years ago as a sales representative and

have always felt it was a privilege to work for an iconic Australian company,” he said. “To be given the opportunity to lead Hills into the future is very proud moment for me.” Based in Sydney, Layton will be responsible for leading the Security, Surveillance, and IT distribution business in Australia. Layton has already presented plans around some innovative strategies that aim to improve the Hills customer experience and grow the business in new ways. James Layton, Hills

GALLAGHER ANNOUNCES GLOBAL DISTRIBUTION AGREEMENT WITH INVIXIUM n GALLAGHER and Invixium have signed a distribution agreement that will see the NZbased access control manufacturer distributing Invixium products. This distribution agreement aligns with Invixium’s and Gallagher’s continuous efforts to modernize and adapt physical security in the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. This agreement also follows the successful integration of Gallagher’s Command Centre with IXM WEB. According to Gallagher, the new integration unlocks the full potential

of Invixium temperature screening, mask detection, and face recognition while wearing a mask. The joint solution, provided by integrating Gallagher’s Command Centre with IXM WEB, delivers a complete answer for visitor screening, access control or healthy workforce management, including temperature screening, mask detection and more. The Command Centre platform will notify administrators of elevated body temperature or maskrelated access events in the Alarm Viewer.

Along with Invixium’s flagship healthy access solution, Gallagher will re-sell Invixium products to provide their global customers with a range of products to satisfy their most demanding health and safety requirements. “This partnership is one of many activities that allow us to remain at the forefront as a security provider, and we look forward to offering our customers new technology options that complement our security platform and deliver a safer, healthier future,” said Mark Junge, global general manager for Security, Gallagher.”

Mark Junge, Gallagher

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NEWS M AY 2 0 2 1

MYNET ALARM SEEKS ALULA CONNECT+ DEALERS n MYNET Alarm’s ALULA Connect+ Family of Products is an IP-first gateway to the ALULA Network, an encrypted platform that responds immediately to user commands. According to MyNet Alarm’s Don Tummillo, Connect+ is Alula’s flagship security panel, designed to wirelessly merge alarm monitoring, video cameras and home automation devices into a reliable and secure control centre. “With several different models, the Connect+ Panel custom-matches the different needs of your accounts to tailor a perfect solution, every time, backed by our 5-year warranty,” Tumillo said. “From a cost-effective starter system to the most advanced integration, you gain a competitive advantage, saving installation time

and building long-term customer loyalty. Alula’s vertical network and hardware integration is your all to your customers’ advantage. A network response time from the app command to the IoT device happens in 38ms – that’s 10 times faster than a blink of an eye.” Tummillo said Connect+ was engineered to put installers in control. “With one device, ALULA’s flagship security, video and automation hub gives you the flexibility other security panels can’t deliver, including speed installs facilitated by the new preenrolled kit. “There’s also Z-Wave automation, CAT M1, 4G/5G cellular, and an encrypted DeviceLink Wi-Fi card, making Connect+ the most advanced Alula Hub. “The Slimline 7-inch TouchPad and multiple sensor types, including 3

NanoMax door/window sensors and a pet immune motion sensor are preenrolled at the factory and ready to place. All that’s left is activating the new account in the ALULA/ MyNet Alarm management portal and powering up on-site. “And if you want to take the system further, you can quickly add automated locks, thermostats, lights, garage door controllers or other Z-Wave certified devices,” Tummilo said. “The Connect+ platform also delivers healthcarerelated activity monitoring and video services to enable independent living for your customers. “Real-time sensors assist in the day-to-day activity monitoring and include alerts to increase awareness of movement in and out of the home. They can monitor caregiver’s arrival and departures,

including real-time video. It’s also possible to simplify routines with automated lights, locks, and comfort controls while delivering critical intrusion, fire, and carbon dioxide protection.” When it comes to comms, Connect+ is an IP-first wireless hub, easily modified to add 4G/5G cellular alarm reporting, Wi-Fi, Z-Wave, Touchpads or translators for takeovers. Connect+ also incorporates CAT-M1 cellular technology to increase range where cellular signal strengths are weak in a building or in cases where internet is patchy. The CAT-M1 cellular expansion card is

perfected to communicate with 4G LTE and pending 5G networks from AT&T Roaming onto Telstra. “Becoming a MyNet Alarm dealer makes security simple, by saving partners time and money on a modern security platform to fit any installation need,” Tummillo said. “MyNet Alarm provides turn-key marketing materials, a partnerbranded app (T/C apply) for customers, and a dedicated portal for remote panel configuration. There are also in-depth webinars and training.” You can find out more by calling 0401778899.

AI OVERSIGHT IS NOT A PUBLIC RESPONSIBILITY n THE public doesn’t need to know how artificial intelligence works to trust it – they just need to know that someone with the necessary skillset is examining AI and has the authority to sanction it should AI applications cause harm. “I’m certain that the public is incapable of determining the trustworthiness of individual Ais…but we don’t need them to do this – it’s not their responsibility to keep AI honest,” argues Dr Bran Knowles, a senior lecturer in data science at Lancaster University. Dr Knowles, who recently presented a research

paper, ‘The Sanction of Authority: Promoting Public Trust in AI’, at the ACM Conference on Fairness, Accountability and Transparency (ACM FAccT) co-authored by John T. Richards, of IBM’s T.J. Watson Research Center, argues that greater transparency and more accessible explanations of how AI systems work, perceived to be a means of increasing trust, do not address the public’s concerns. Instead, they argue a regulatory ecosystem is the only way that AI will be meaningfully accountable to the public

sufficiently to earn its trust. “The public does not routinely concern itself with the trustworthiness of food, aviation, and pharmaceuticals because it trusts there is a system which regulates these things and punishes any breach of safety protocols,” says Dr Richards. And, adds Dr Knowles: “Rather than asking that the public gain skills to make informed decisions about which AIs are worthy of their trust, the public needs the same guarantees that any AI they might encounter is not going to cause them harm.” Dr Knowles stresses the critical role of

AI documentation in enabling this trustworthy regulatory ecosystem. As an example, the paper discusses work by IBM on AI Factsheets, documentation designed to capture key facts regarding an AI’s development and testing. But, while such documentation can provide information needed by internal auditors and external regulators to assess compliance with emerging frameworks for trustworthy AI, Dr Knowles cautions against relying on it to directly foster public trust. “If we fail to recognise that the burden to oversee trustworthiness of AI must lie with highly skilled regulators, then there’s a good chance that the future of AI documentation is yet another terms and conditions-style consent mechanism — something no one really reads or understands,” she says.

AI HAS MATERIAL CONSEQUENCES IN OUR WORLD WHICH AFFECT REAL PEOPLE; AND WE NEED GENUINE ACCOUNTABILITY TO ENSURE THAT THE AI THAT PERVADES OUR WORLD IS HELPING TO MAKE THAT WORLD BETTER.

AI HAS MATERIAL CONSEQUENCES WORLD WHICH A PEOPLE; AND WE ACCOUNTABILITY THAT THE AI THA OUR WORLD IS H MAKE THAT WOR

The paper calls for AI documentation to be properly understood as a means to empower specialists to assess trustworthiness. “AI has material consequences in our world which affect real people; and we need genuine accountability to ensure that the AI that pervades our world is helping to make that world better,” says Dr Knowles. The findings could point the way forward for government and industry to make the most of AI, without harming public trust.

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NEWS M AY 2 0 2 1

SECURITY DISTRIBUTOR GSA SYSTEMS ANNOUNCES EXPANSION INTO NSW n GSA Systems, formed in 2018 with the primary focus of providing value-added support to installers and integrators in the electronic security industry, has announced it

will expand into NSW, with a new branch to open at Rydalmere in April. Management-owned with branches in Tullamarine and Clayton in Victoria, Banyo in Queensland and

shortly, Rydalmere in NSW, GSA recently signed a distribution agreement with Hanwha Techwin to supply the Wisenet/ Wave CCTV brands to the Australian market.

“We are excited by the introduction of the Wisenet/Wave brands and already seeing significant uptake of the NDAA-compliant Hanwha products,” said GSA Systems’ director, Glenn Opray. “GSA’s emphasis on pre and post systems support puts confidence in integrators and end users. From product recommendations and systems design to prestaging and providing assistance onsite with commissioning and training – integrators and end users get the full experience they expect from their electronic security distributor. “GSA also manufactures value added products for remote electronic security solutions such as relocatable custom solar

systems and custom CCTV solar trailers. The team at GSA Systems is proud of what we have achieved in a little over 2 years, but we know that without support from our suppliers and loyal customer base we couldn’t have come this far.” Along with Hanwha/ Wisenet, GSA Systems also distributes selected products and solutions from manufacturers including ASSA ABLOY, UMBO and NUUO.

THE TEAM AT GSA SYSTEMS IS PROUD OF WHAT WE HAVE ACHIEVED IN A LITTLE OVER 2 YEARS, BUT WE KNOW THAT WITHOUT SUPPORT FROM OUR SUPPLIERS AND LOYAL CUSTOMER BASE WE COULDN’T HAVE COME THIS FAR.

HILLS AND IDIS SAVIC MOTORCYCLE PROMO HITS WARP SPEED n ACCORDING to Hills’ James Layton, the Hills and IDIS Savic electric motorcycle promotion has had a great reception, with high levels of interest in IDIS products thanks to the opportunity to win one of Australia’s first fullsized electric motorcycles. “The Savic promotion has led to an influx of enquires from customers who perhaps weren’t familiar with the IDIS’ offering,” Layton said. The promotion has been enhanced by the recent IDIS release of its DV3100 AI Box which takes video solutions beyond security. The DV-3100

offers functionality that adds value to video solutions including queue management, occupancy control, crowd detection and more. These functions are invaluable in a time where security teams must remain diligent to ensure continued control of COVID-19.” Hills is offering multiple ways to enter the Savic motorcycle prize draw, including buying IDIS products, and attending IDIS events – including training courses. The Hills and IDIS Savic promotion is running until November 30.

Savic C Electric Motorcycle

MELBOURNE METRO’S CCTV UPGRADE DOUBLES RETENTION TIMES n MELBOURNE Metro’s CCTV upgrade, which has been completed over the past 6 months, will allow recordings from the system’s 7400 cameras to be retained for 60 days in support of investigations by Metro and Victoria Police. “While our passengers and the general public may not notice these changes, this upgrade gives us a greater ability to capture and record passenger and trespasser incidents with greater speed and

functionality,” Metro project manager John Agosta told Rail Express. “It will also provide increased capability and access to historical CCTV footage up to 60 days – doubling the capabilities of the previous system.” The upgrade includes the installation of servers at multiple secure locations storing video footage from stations and trains. “By having an integrated system, Metro, police and other authorities have faster, more reliable

access to security footage,” Minister for Public Transport Ben Carroll told Rail Express. “These upgrades are just another way we’re improving the safety and reliability of our public transport network – minimising disruptions and improving the passenger experience. “As our city continues to grow, we’re investing in the latest technology to get people where they need to go as quickly and as safely as possible.”

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TELEDYNE FINALISES FLIR ACQUISITION FINANCING

n TELEDYNE Technologies has finalised financing for its $US8 Billion acquisition of thermal imaging specialist, FLIR Systems. Teledyne recently closed an offering of $3 billion investment-grade bonds, including $300 million aggregate principal amount of 0.65 per cent notes due 2023, $450 million aggregate principal amount of 0.95 per cent notes due 2024, $450 million aggregate principal amount of 1.60 per cent notes due 2026, $700

million aggregate principal amount of 2.25 per cent notes due 2028 and $1.1 billion aggregate principal amount of 2.75 per cent notes due 2031. Previously on March 4, Teledyne entered into a $1 billion term loan credit agreement and amended and restated credit agreement with capacity of $1.15 billion both maturing on March 4, 2026. The company said it intends to use the proceeds from the notes together with the proceeds

from the $1 billion term loan and cash on hand to pay the cash portion of the consideration for the FLIR acquisition and refinance certain existing debt. The transaction, which has been approved by the boards of directors of both companies, is expected to close in the middle of 2021 subject to the receipt of required regulatory approvals, including expiration or termination of the applicable waiting period under the HartScott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act, approvals of Teledyne and FLIR stockholders and other customary closing conditions. Teledyne Technologies is a provider of instrumentation, digital imaging products and software, aerospace and defence electronics and engineered systems. The FLIR acquisition adds the world’s foremost thermal imaging solutions to its product list.

GENETEC APPOINTS DJEFFRI SETIAWAN FIRST CHANNEL SALES MANAGER, ANZ n GENETEC has appointed Djeffri Setiawan as its first-ever dedicated channel sales manager for ANZ. In this newly created role, Setiawan will lead the company’s channel strategy and partner ecosystem growth across the Australia and New Zealand market. Reporting to Genetec ANZ country manager George Moawad, he will assume responsibility for the dayto-day management of all ANZ channel partners. “I’m looking forward to using my wealth of experience in the ANZ market to further expand and deepen channel relationships for Genetec,” Setiawan said. “We have an established reputation for introducing pioneering best in market security solutions and I’m thrilled to be part of our expanding local team.” Setiawan joins Genetec from telecommunications carrier Nexthop where he was head of channel and

Djeffri Setiawan, Genetec

more AI will be able to do, including accurate accident detection, the company says. “Bosch came through the first year of the coronavirus pandemic well,” said Dr. Volkmar Denner, the chairman of the board of management of Robert Bosch GmbH, at the press conference to present the company’s 2020 annual report. “We are one of the winners in the transition to electromobility, and we are significantly expanding our software business by tying in artificial intelligence.” Bosch aims to leverage the competitive advantage it derives from its wealth of experience in combining connectivity (the internet of things, IoT) and artificial intelligence (AI) to generate future business and become a leading AIoT

company. Bosch foresees that AI-enabled products will generate sales worth billions of euros over the next few years. Sales of connectivityenabled devices for the home are expected to double from 4 million last year to around 8 million units in 2021. In addition, Bosch wants to use AI to evaluate data relating to how its customers use its products, and in this way to provide software updates that create new functions and services for those customers. “Connecting things leads to knowledge about how things are used,” Denner said. “This lets us continuously improve our products, keep them up to date, and provide our customers with more benefits.”

alliances. He previously spent 9 years in various roles at Hills Limited, most recently as general manager, IT & Networking Sales. He also held a role as Channel Account Manager at Lan1. “Djeffri brings a vast knowledge in Channel management to the table and it is extremely exciting to have such a high energy and customer focused individual as our first ever channel sales manager,” said Moawad. “We will be looking to Djeffri to accelerate the momentum we have gained since unveiling our direct to the channel strategy at the end of 2020.”

BOSCH POINTS TO IOT, AI, ELECTROMOBILITY FUTURE n BOSCH is combining the internet of things (IoT) with artificial intelligence (AI) and believes electromobility will allow it to develop new business opportunities on the back of the profound technological and ecological changes

currently occurring. In the field of video security, for example, video analysis based on neural networks opens up new possibilities. To this end, Bosch is integrating detectors into new cameras and into an AI box that can be connected to

installed devices. The first application is a traffic detector that will initially be able to detect and locate vehicles precisely in busy traffic situations, even under difficult lighting conditions. The more data that flows into the customer application, the

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GALLAGHER CARE PLAN DELIVERS 10-YEAR WARRANTY n GALLAGHER, has launched Gallagher Care Plan, a tailored system and support package designed to deliver significantly more value to software maintenance customers. Through Care Plan, customers will have access to added value and benefits, including an extension of the current 5-year hardware warranty

on selected Gallagher security solutions, allowing customers total warranty protection for up to 10 years. As with a number of recent product and service offerings, Gallagher will provide Care Plan at no cost to customers in their software maintenance programmes. Gallagher Care Plan was developed in response to

Gallagher’s Voice of the Customer programme, which highlighted an opportunity to help customers optimize their system configuration, gain a wider understanding of Gallagher solutions, and maximize the value of their investment. Through this new initiative, customers have access to support across 4 key areas: product releases and warranty, training, advisory services, and development – complementing the support and service offerings they receive from their integrator. “Care Plan gives customers peace of mind that their Gallagher investment is optimized and protected now and in the long term,” said Gallagher’s global general manager for security, Mark Junge. “Gallagher’s commitment to bringing innovative solutions to market, combined with benefits

such as an incredible 10year warranty, makes Care Plan an industry leading initiative. “It also represents an exciting opportunity for us to work closer with our customers and, along with integrators, deliver greater customer value through a broader collection of support offerings than ever before.” As part of Gallagher’s commitment to product training and education, Gallagher Care Plan offers online and in-person training courses for customers to gain a deeper understanding of how their security system works, helping customers utilize their solution in the best way for their site’s needs. In the last 12 months, over 7000 security professionals around the world have enrolled in Gallagher’s online training certifications. Customer operator and

administration training will continue to be made available through Care Plan at no additional cost, with further online courses being continually added. Gallagher Care Plan adds to Gallagher’s long history of delivering outstanding value, including an industry leading warranty and the award-winning Security Health Check and Proximity and Contact Tracing Report tools – both made available free-ofcharge to Gallagher’s customers during the COVID-19 pandemic.

CARE PLAN GIVES CUSTOMERS PEACE OF MIND THAT THEIR GALLAGHER INVESTMENT IS OPTIMIZED AND PROTECTED NOW AND IN THE LONG TERM.

ADT TECHS NOW INSTALLING GOOGLE NEST SMART HOMES n ADT says its customers can now purchase Google Nest Mini, Nest Hub, and Nest Hub Max products and have them professionally installed by its network of smart home technicians. Customers with ADT Command & Control and Blue by ADT smart home security systems can now control system arming and disarming, connected lights, locks, ADT thermostats and system status using voice instead of using an app or panel. The integration also enables control of ADTcompatible smart devices through touch control using the Nest Hub and Nest Hub Max. Last year the companies said their relationship would see Google fully integrate its hardware and services with ADT’s DIY and professionally installed smart home

security solutions. As part of the partnership, Google also acquired 6.6 per cent ownership of ADT. ADT announced in November that it would accelerate the release of its new ADT + Google doit-for-me professionally installed system to the second half of 2021. The new platform will feature co-branding with Google, integrated Google Maps products, Nest cameras and thermostats, and Google video analytics.

AUSSIE TELCOS SPEND $A650 MILLION ON 5G SPECTRUM n AUSTRALIAN telcos have stumped $A650 million on 5G radio wave spectrum as part of a push to big band wireless networks. Telstra has paid $276.6 million for 1000MHz of high speed 26GHz spectrum, while TPG paid $108.2 million for licences in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Perth. Optus spent $226.2 million for spectrum in each Australian capital city.

Telstra chief executive Andrew Penn told The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age. “[Spectrum] gives you so much more capacity to be able to let the data flow through.” Telstra chief executive Andrew Penn said the spectrum would allow the telco giant to invest in building standalone 5G networks and 5G fixed wireless services. “If we can provide a better solution using 5G than

they are able to get with NBN technology…that’s what we do,” Penn said. TPG Telecom chief executive Iñaki Berroeta said spectrum will enable TPG to deliver 5G fixed wireless services as a compelling NBN alternative, and it will also benefit mobile services in high foot-traffic areas such as CBDs.” A second auction for the 850MHz/900MHz bands will occur later this year.

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Gallagher Care Plan Our brand-new system and support package designed to deliver more value to Software Maintenance, offering peace of mind that your Gallagher system is optimised and protected now and in the future.

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security.gallagher.com

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AXIS COMMUNICATIONS & VIDEONETICS STRENGTHEN PARTNERSHIP n VIDEONETICS has strengthened its technology partnership with Axis Communications by cocreating and delivering numerous integrated solutions under the Axis Application Development Partner (ADP) program, to meet growing demands of different market segments. The Axis Application Development Partner (ADP) Program is designed to help software vendors streamlining their software integration for Axis range of IP Cameras and other Network system devices. Videonetics and Axis Communications have successfully completed following integrations: • Videonetics Intelligent VMS 3.0 supports AXIS Zipstream technology that reduces the cost of bandwidth, server

equipment, data storage systems and lowers the complexity of the video surveillance system, along with the total cost of ownership. • Integration with AXIS network speakers allow users to react immediately to suspicious situations by making a live announcement and VMS sends the alert to designated operators to deter potential intruders and they can replay audio clips as and when required. • Videonetics Intelligent VMS 3.0 when integrated with AXIS Radar, provides additional visual information of the scene with help of many cameras connected to IVMS, thus providing much needed situational awareness, detects realtime threats or multiple intrusions at the same time, while reducing false

alarms. • Videonetics AI-enabled Video Analytics has been embedded directly to the AXIS IP cameras ‘on the edge’ enabling each camera to operate independently with realtime detection capabilities, while eliminating the need for additional hardware. • Similarly, Intelligent VMS 3.0 integration with edge storage of AXIS cameras, minimise loss of video in the event of connection issues or network failure between recording servers and cameras. • Intelligent VMS 3.0 has added a new level of secure integration with cameras from Axis, based on Secure Real-time Transport Protocol (SRTP) as a means of hardening surveillance content against cyber-attacks and unauthorised interception.

MSS REPORTS KEY CUSTOMERS RETURNING TO NORMAL n MSS, which has 7000 security staff and operates across Australia, says that after a challenging COVID-19 year the team is beginning to see key customers returning to more normal operations. “Pleasingly, we are starting to see our clients return to more normal operations as critical sectors rebound,” said Geoff Alcock, MSS managing director. “Victoria’s major event and venue business is regaining momentum. Higher educational institutions’ resilience and flexibility have served them well as they pivot to online learning and maintain healthy enrolments of domestic students. Aviation is strengthening as interstate

business and leisure travel continues to grow. “As Australia’s largest provider of security, emergency response and paramedic services, we have been challenged; and we have responded exceptionally well to the many and varied demands posed by the pandemic while our clients have continued to deliver for their stakeholders and customers. “On behalf of the management of MSS Security, I would like to sincerely thank our staff for their dedication and professionalism through a difficult year, and our clients for their support and understanding during a time of great uncertainty and constant change.”

information obtained from the larger sensing area of the second-generation Qualcomm 3D Sonic Sensor Gen 2 installed in the Galaxy S21 series. With a 77 per cent larger fingerprint sensing area, the Qualcomm 3D Sonic Sensor Gen 2, can significantly improve fingerprint recognition performance. The ultrasonic sensor has ultra-thin form factors and is optically isolated from the display panel, allowing for sleek smartphone designs. “Suprema’s fingerprint

recognition technology has been continuously selected for the Samsung Galaxy S series, proving to the world the technological superiority of our solution,” said Brian Song, president of Suprema.

SUPREMA DELIVERS BIOMETRIC ALGORITHM TO SAMSUNG n SUPREMA reports it has supplied its BioSign 4.0 under-display fingerprint recognition algorithm for Samsung Galaxy S21 smartphones with support from Qualcomm Technologies. BioSign 4.0 is 50 per cent faster and more than twice as accurate in terms of recognition performance than the previous iteration. BioSign 4.0 employs deeplearning mechanisms to optimise fingerprint analysis to efficiently recognise rich fingerprint

BIOSIGN 4.0 IS 50 PER CENT FASTER AND MORE THAN TWICE AS ACCURATE IN TERMS OF RECOGNITION PERFORMANCE THAN THE PREVIOUS ITERATION.

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ANALYTICS Video analytics, including face recognition, are at the cutting edge of CCTV, access control, and automated people management systems of all kinds. Their ability to empower existing solutions in extraordinary ways, enhance authentication levels and energise investigations means no new electronic security solution should be installed without analytics coming into serious consideration. hat are the most important aspects of successful face recognition applications and what should integrators and end users be on top of before they even start looking? There’s plenty to think about – not only functionality, but the importance of getting the basics around camera installation right. According to Gallagher’s Steve Bell, making sure ambient lighting and management of variable lighting in software is adequate is key to accuracy. “Earlier face recognition solutions suffered from poor lighting of the subject,” Bell says. “Where the light in the environment is relied upon to light the person’s face then there can be variability in performance that meant the sensitivity of the recognition was turned down so that people could gain reliable access. More recent face recognition technologies have solved this problem with smart software and by providing a light source.” Bell says face recognition and mask detection have helped during the COVID epidemic.

“Managing compliance to corporate policy is often difficult and COVID has created many new risks where the employer has the need to ensure the safety of their workforce,” he says. “A face recognition solution that includes the ability to check for and report the people who are not complying with a mask wearing policy is useful for the employer to help mitigate risk. The addition of temperature sensing is another option that many companies are implementing as an indicator that can be used to help mitigate health and safety risk, where use of this technology is appropriate.” For integrators, a sales hook with face recognition is its ability to save a customer money by circumventing the need to manage expensive card libraries but there’s cap-ex as well as op-ex to consider. Bell says that currently, reputable face recognition solutions do have a cost that is much higher than traditional solutions for physical access control. “Many facilities are maintaining cards for a visual indication to all personnel that a person is ‘one of us’ or a visitor,” he explains. “When there is a large number of people in a facility that do not value the visual identifier being worn, then there can be a significant saving in time and materials for managing the card base using face recognition.” As an access control manufacturer, Gallagher has a strong sense of how interested the end user market is when it comes to face recognition “Many markets are interested in contactless biometrics and face recognition has achieved the accuracy and reliability of detection to be one of the simplest non-contact biometric options,” Bell says. Over at Hills, Orlando Chiang, says important aspects of a successful facial recognition application include the ability to capture, process and match faces within a few a reasonable time. “In some scenarios when there are too many faces being presented, some systems can’t keep up and this creates a processing queue, which in turn forces the alerts/match events to be delayed,” he explains. “What integrators and end users need to be aware of is how they intend to use the alerts and events generated by the face recognition (FR) system – for instance, how soon after the event do they need to react? This reaction time will determine what solution they go with. “Not every solution requires real time events. For instance, do they need real time events, or are they content with some delay? If they expect to have high traffic areas with the intention to capture all the faces as they pass in the scene, then they need to expect latency when it comes to matching faces to watchlists, as generally every face presented is compared to every face in the watchlist. This in turn means that they will require higher processing power, compared with a scenario that is capturing individuals being funnelled through designated capture point.”

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BY J O H N A D A M S

“Whatever the application, the best face recognition systems must differentiate between a real life individual and a photo of the same individual. They also need to be able to identify the same individual regardless of head cover, face cover or face angle towards the camera. Image quality of incoming video is also essential in achieving high accuracy. This also applies to the enrolling images used to compare all other images. As the saying goes, rubbish in, rubbish out.” When it comes to the challenges of installing and managing face recognition solutions, Chiang says the initial challenge for any installation is sizing the system correctly for the environment. “I have seen many systems that have been under sized and performance compromises have been made to satisfy the requirements,” he explains. “I’ve also seen systems that were over-sized with hardware being under-utilised. When it comes to management, the challenge is usually maintaining current usable images that the FR system will use as

MANY MARKETS ARE INTERESTED IN CONTACTLESS BIOMETRICS AND FACE RECOGNITION HAS ACHIEVED THE ACCURACY AND RELIABILITY OF DETECTION TO BE ONE OF THE SIMPLEST NON-CONTACT BIOMETRIC OPTIONS. reference matching images in its watchlists.” Chiang says it’s important that integrators and end users ensure they get the best of the best in software algorithms when selecting face recognition solutions. “FR algorithms are constantly being improved,” he says. “Using organisations like NIST and its ‘Face Recognition Vendor Test’ (FRVT) can help narrow choices based on tests. Generally, not all vendors rank high in all tests - even though some vendor algorithms rank high in some tests, it does not mean that the algorithm will work in the scenario

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specified by the customer – it’s a case of horses for courses. There’s enormous flexibility in the application of face recognition analytics – not only for security but in terms of the ability to drive sub systems, report events and streamline investigations. What are the most exciting applications of the technology and which might offer users the best return on investment, in Chiang’s opinion? “Some exciting applications of FR are in the health care sector,” he says. “FR can be used for tracking dementia patients, alerting staff if they have exited the building on their own, or if they have left with an accompanied authorised person. Another exciting application is in education, where student’s attendance and examinations images are matched with enrolment information, preventing cheating.” Securing face recognition systems – what’s the key here – how can security integrators and security managers ensure private data stays private – or are privacy fears overblown? “Face recognition requires the highest level of cyber security,” Chiang says. “Unlike physical access control cards, you can’t just cancel your face. The FR ID that is generated by the algorithm is unique to your face and does not change unless your face changes. Keeping these FR IDs in a secure, encrypted location is essential to prevent identify theft. I have seen demonstrations where these IDs have been captured and used to grant access to hackers in both physical premises and virtual systems. Security of these ID should not be taken as lightly as the protection of passwords have been in the past.”

WITH THE CURRENT UPFRONT COSTS OF FR, I WOULD SAY THAT IT WOULD TAKE A LONG TIME TO PAY ITSELF OFF WHEN COMPARED TO PHYSICAL CARDS IN AN ACCESS CONTROL CONTEXT.

As the COVID-19 pandemic unfolded, Chiang says it was very interesting to see how quickly FR providers reworked their algorithms to detect the presence or lack of face masks. “Overall, I do not think there will be much uptake within Australia, since mandatory mask wearing is now relaxed,” he says. “In other countries, which are struggling with the pandemic, the story will be different. In my opinion, some countries are not taking the pandemic seriously, so I would assume their uptake of mask detection may also be low.” How interested is the end user market when it comes to face recognition – is there hunger for the technology? “We have seen a lot of interest from the end user market, however, it seems to be an afterthought and a ‘like to have’, instead of designing the whole system around FR to solve a specific operational problem. It’s only once the end user sees the cost savings, that they reconsider and try to find a problem that FR can solve. “With the current upfront costs of FR, I would say that it would take a long time to pay itself off when compared to physical cards in an access control context, plus the management for both systems will be about the same. What I would say instead is that FR will complement physical cards via dual authentication and help with accompanied access or tailgating, which physical cards can’t address. In scenarios like this FR has paid for itself on day 1.” Jason Allen of Nirovision says the most important aspects of successful face recognition applications for integrators and end users are the most important aspect of any facial recognition software.

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ELS

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Built-in analytics

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15m IR IP66/IK10 (Turret only)

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FACE RECOGNITION REQUIRES THE HIGHEST LEVEL OF CYBER SECURITY.UNLIKE PHYSICAL ACCESS CONTROL CARDS, YOU CAN’T JUST CANCEL YOUR FACE. “It starts with how simple it is to build the facial recognition database,” Allen explains. “Can you easily upload names and photos? Can you have people self-enrol? Once people are in the database, how accurate is recognition? Are tools provided to help improve and strengthen identities? Also important is how end users access insights and reports, create and manage watch lists and audit results and if there are integrations available to access control solutions and VMS. “It’s important to keep these topics in consideration when reviewing the different solutions in the market. Is there a web app and mobile apps so information can be accessed from anywhere and is support available locally to assist if you need help with anything? Hardware is also a consideration. Do you need a server and professionally installed cameras, or can the software run off an iPad that people can present in front of? It’s important to review all these things before considering what other applications a facial recognition system integrates with. “The best features really depend on what a workplace wants to use facial recognition for. If using it for visitor and access management, the ability to offer different people different workflows – with different processes and questions depending on who’s in front of the camera - is vital to streamline people flow and gather the most appropriate information in each case. Offering users the ability to self-enrol is also desirable, to give them the opportunity to consent to the information being collected and its use. Lastly, having the ability to receive missed registration alerts, sent in the event an individual skips any step of the process, helps audit the process in an unmanned way. “While most vendors focus on onboarding features, it’s the everyday management that makes or breaks facial recognition solutions. Making physical administration easier with digital processes is especially relevant when working alongside integrations such as access control. For instance, how simple is it to create an identity, and replicate its access levels across systems? How simple is it to enrol and dis-enrol someone?” What is the greatest challenge of installing and managing a face recognition solution in Allen’s opinion? “Traditional security cameras are generally not well-placed for facial recognition,” Allen says. “Repositioning cameras or installing new cameras will likely be required if a business wants to track the movement of people around the workplace. Every

environment is particular, and changes throughout the day: lightning conditions, types of traffic. These changes, despite being barely noticeable to the human eye, have a tremendous impact on the accuracy of facial recognition results: the more different the faces seen by the cameras from the faces enrolled, the less accurate the results. “Installations need to be assessed and adjusted once the system is online and detecting faces, especially if there are multiple, disparate cameras in use. Having tools and local support in place to help with the installation, configuration and calibration of cameras and thresholds is crucial to streamline this process.” When it comes to the underlying software algorithms that deliver face recognition, how can integrators and end users ensure they get the best of the best? “In the early years of computer vision, accuracy used to be the variable that helped distinguish good from bad performing algorithms,” Allen explains. “A lot of progress has been made since those early days, to a point where hundreds of algorithms surveyed in the latest Ongoing Face Recognition Vendor Test from NIST claim meaningful accuracy figures. With so many options, it’s more important than even to work with a manufacturer committed to innovate, invested in experimenting with the newest technologies and, continuously deploying product enhancements and updates. Working with a trustworthy security integrator is also crucial, understanding how important hardware quality and placement are for the success of facial recognition deployments. “Image quality is paramount with face recognition, but that doesn’t mean you need the highest resolution cameras to recognise faces accurately. More important is sensor quality bigger sensors capture more light than smaller sensors - and its relationship to resolution and therefore, pixel size. The better the quality of faces detected, the better the quality of the results. That’s why placement is as important as hardware quality, to ensure faces are being captured front on, sharp and with detailed features. Image focus and blur can have similar effects on performance as very low resolution, so cameras directly looking into sunlight or very dark monitoring areas should be avoided.” In Allen’s opinion, access control is one of the most exciting applications of face recognition technology. “This is due to the magic factor of having a door open simply by looking at a CCTV camera or an iPad camera,” he explains. “In more practical terms, this technology also has a convenience factor, as there’s no need to carry yet another swipe card or key, but an organisation is still able to implement enterprise-grade access levels. In addition, face

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recognition simplifies credential management by reducing the overhead of having to configure access levels individually per door. “Many businesses, with small and large squaremetre footprints alike, do not know the number, nor real-time location of employees and visitors in their premises. Visitor management and time and attendance is another great application for facial recognition, that can save HR and front-ofthe-gate teams a lot of time - or replace receptions altogether - by streamlining different instructions and check-in workflows based on whether the person in frame is an employee, a contractor or a visitor. This information can then be leveraged to produce attendance, muster and contact tracing reports, update payroll and HR systems, or inform management of unusual activity in their premises.” Securing face recognition systems – what’s the key here – how can security integrators and security managers ensure private data stays private? “The idea of being identified by facial recognition software can make some people feel uneasy, because a face is very personal to an individual,” Allen explains. “Yet facial recognition is very secure and a lot more private than other platforms like social media where we freely upload all sorts of photos and sensitive information. “Any cloud technology can be vulnerable to attacks but that doesn’t stop us from banking online, or sending important files by email. Why? Because we are confident that security measures that software providers put in place will protect us against hackers and cyberattacks. Facial recognition platforms are similar in that security protocols are followed to encrypt and protect information, but just like online banking and email, there is some responsibility on users to control what security and privacy procedures are implemented to protect information. “It’s also important to know the origin of the algorithms in use as a lot of products outsource the facial recognition component which means the core technology is not under the control of the enterprise that is selling you. It’s best to enquire if proprietary tech is being used.” How interested is the end user market when it comes to face recognition – is there growing hunger for the technology in Nirovision’s experience? “People in general are more aware of the benefits of facial recognition, thanks to smartphones incorporating the technology,” Allen explains. “Anyone using facial recognition to access their smartphone knows the security, convenience and touchless benefits of doing so. According to an Australian industrial workplace survey Nirovision conducted, the majority of respondents (77 per cent) would be very likely or somewhat likely to invest in new technology to help keep their employees and workplace safe, and when

prompted on the kind of technologies, (67 per cent) of respondents believe that their workplace would be very likely or somewhat likely to invest in facial recognition technology.” How useful is face recognition and mask detection during the COVID epidemic? “Due to its touchless nature, facial recognition is more important than ever in the fight to keep workplaces open and workers safe,” he says. “Whether it’s used for visitor management, worker time and attendance, temperature checks or access control, the benefits are clear and obvious: it can fully automate identification, health and compliance checks, alert upon inconsistencies or problems, and create detailed logs and reports that can be used for contact tracing and auditing purposes.” According to UNV’s Edward Qui, the most important aspect of successful face recognition

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applications is accuracy of functionality and the ease of use. “Accuracy of face recognition systems can reach up to 99 per cent with the advanced algorithm adopted by Uniview and when it comes to ease of use, Uniview’s face recognition access control solutions support indoor and outdoor installation with waterproof shields,” he explains. “It also includes integration with 3rd party or existing systems, which can save costs through utilization of used equipment. This means integrators and end users should identify their core needs and ultimate requirements first, then find products to meet their operational goals. “The best face recognition systems should be capable of determining who is allowed to enter or exit, where they are allowed to enter or exit, and when they are allowed to enter or exit - restricting entry to a property, a building, or a room.” What is the greatest challenge of installing and managing a face recognition solution in Qui’s opinion? “Actually, the biggest difference between the face recognition access control solution and the traditional IC card solution is that the access controller stores not a series of numbers, but the eigenvalues of a face, which means the data volume of the face access control system is much larger than that of the traditional IC card scheme when large-scale face permissions are required,” Qui said. “This requires manufacturers to have high requirements on image processing ability. Uniview has many years of accumulation and rich technical reserves in video and image processing technology,

which makes our products manage hundreds of face access control, and the face access control system can operate normally. “When face recognition applied to CCTV systems, image quality plays an increasingly important part. A good image quality captured by Uniview’s access control can greatly increase the accuracy of face recognition and improve the efficiency of retrieval.” How can integrators and end users ensure they get the best of the best when thinking about FR algorithms? “Uniview’s algorithm is trained on a large number of faces to ensure that face recognition accuracy is up to 99,” Qui says. “Customers can also test sample before purchase to ensure that the desired results are achieved.” How can security integrators and security managers ensure private data stays private? “Users in some countries do have high requirements on the data security of face images, but this, to some extent, is overblown,” Qui says. “On the one hand, few professional security access control systems will be deployed on the WAN, and most will be deployed in the LAN. These systems are generally well protected by firewalls to prevent criminals from invading the security system to obtain user data. “On the other hand, Uniview’s face access control device uses EMMC storage, which is more secure than SD cards because EMMC can’t be removed artificially. At the same time, Uniview’s face access control can be configured not to store face images, which fundamentally eliminates users’ concerns about the privacy of face images.

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How interested is the end user market when it comes to face recognition? “As biometrics, face recognition is becoming more and more popular. Compared with traditional methods, such as card identification and password authentication, it is more convenient and free from any physical tools – it’s also faster, improving the efficiency of personnel moving in and out,” Qui says. “For these reasons face recognition will be increasingly popular with end users. “As part of this epidemic prevention and control is a necessary topic nowadays. Face recognition also avoids physical contact between people, and between people and devices, to reduce the risk of infection. Mask detection is also an important measure that needs to be taken during the epidemic period. To remind people to wear masks on specific occasions can play a great role in epidemic prevention.” BGW Technologies’ Mark Shannon says that as with all technologies, it’s important to ensure that key stake holders have a full understanding of what the end user is wanting to achieve with face recognition, as well as their expectations. “This way the manufacturer, the distributor, the system integrator and all parties, advise the end user what it will take to achieve those expectations - all parties need to be aligned,” Shannon explains. When it comes to general features the best face recognition systems should have, Shannon says a solution needs to do the basics right first. “High accuracy and being able to be integrated into all the key access control and VMS platforms is important, too,” Shannon says. “Just like a card reader is integrated into an access control system or a camera integrated with a VMS platform – it needs to be as seamless as possible and then you build from there. And image quality is critical. Don’t mess with quality if you want accuracy. I cannot put it more simply than that.” When it comes to the greatest challenges of installing and managing face recognition solutions, Shannon goes back to early expectations. “The first challenge is to dispel the hype and replace it with reality,” he says. “Secondly, you need to get all parties aligned on what is wanted and what can be achieved. After this, you need to follow up by ensuring the installation meets the facial recognition platform requirements. “Integrators need an understanding of how facial recognition works in terms of what it needs in order to achieve its peak performance,” says Shannon. “Key, too, is ensuring the system is installed, set up and configured as required. Parameters like the right number of pixels in the field of view for the face, image quality presented to the algorithm and the correct installation angles of the imagers (read that as cameras) form a critical part of the facial recognition system success. We have seen it done right and the outcomes are nothing short of awesome.”

WE ARE CURRENTLY ROLLING OUT A SYSTEM WHERE IT HELPS PROBLEM GAMBLERS TO SELF-EXCLUDE FROM GAMING VENUES.

Shannon agrees there’s enormous flexibility in the application of face recognition analytics – not only for security but in terms of the ability to drive sub systems, report events and streamline investigations. “I think this is where the technology stands out – this is really exciting,” he says. “We have implemented several roll outs that harness the extra capabilities of facial recognition beyond the standard ‘open a door with your face’ scenario. They include finding lost children in shopping centres quickly and easily by scanning an image of child and asking the facial recognition system to scan its history and locate where the child has been and gone. And we are currently rolling out a system where it helps problem gamblers to selfexclude from gaming venues – so much easier than the normal operator being expected to remember a bunch of photos/people. This solution utilises a centralised database, so the problem gambler cannot go to another venue to circumvent their habit. There are so many capabilities right now and there are so many more capabilities coming.” Securing face recognition systems – what’s the key here? “Privacy fears are a reasonable concern when you hear about major organisations being breached,” Shannon says. “On each of these occasions, there will always be a situation where something was not updated in time or simply not maintained. However, we only ever hear of the breaches compared to the reality of the many systems not hacked into. So, if the data is encrypted, systems are kept up to date, the latest password algorithms and authentication are used combined with mandated safe practices, this is where concerns will be eased.” How useful do you think face recognition and mask detection have been during the COVID epidemic? “Over the last 6 months, a lot of work has gone into this space and detection has now improved – systems and their algorithms have catered for masks well,” Shannon says. “These systems are using AI algorithms, so they do improve from learning. Situations will always pop up where ongoing development will be needed, just like any technology. At BGW Technologies we are lucky – we have an excellent leading Australian face recognition development company that we are able to work with to cater for these situations. The end user market is definitely interested in face recognition technology – there’s absolute hunger. It’s hot, hot and hot.” n

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VMS

BY J O H N A D A M S

WHAT INTEGRATORS SHOULD LOOK FOR IN VMS For security integrators, what constitutes a quality VMS varies from what’s most desirable for an end user – integrators need flexibility, simplicity of setup and a capacity for integration with supporting security solutions their technical teams already use. LSO important for integration teams are deep integrations with key pieces of software, like video analytics, and the complexity and rapid evolution of such solutions calls for profound trusted partnerships, as well as rock-solid support from VMS providers. According to Matt Harrison of Network Optix, from the point of view of integrators, there are a number of things a quality VMS can offer them as part of their overall solutions portfolio. “If I was a security integrator, I’d be looking for a few key things,” Harrison explains. “These would include the following: 1. Easy to install on any OS - especially Linux. The more time you save me during installation the more efficient I am and the more time I can spend designing/solving problems for my customers. Nx Witness, for example, can be installed in minutes and has no prerequisite software for a reason. We also focus on Ubuntu Linux as a key OS so that integrators can offer more affordable, higher margin solutions that are stable and can be deployed as independent embedded solutions. 2. Easy to maintain - not rocket science, we know. But with Nx Witness one of the biggest things we focused on was removing the pain of upgrades. You have one button to push to upgrade a system, regardless of the size. It’s a thing of beauty. 3. Reliability - again, no secret here. A VMS should be reliable. You should be able to get the video you need (live, recorded, searched, etc), when you need it, and it should get delivered fast and with no hiccups. 4. Extensibility - this one is newer. Integrators in the past have had to wait on and depend on VMS companies to do the integrations they want. Often times the business case just wasn’t there or the resources weren’t available and getting an integration between one system and another could take years. With Nx Witness and our open development tools and works with Nx integrations ecosystem integrators can discover

new integrated solutions or write their own.” Harrison highlights the importance of training, too. “A VMS should be instantly usable by anyone, and at a high level,” he says. “Training should focus on all the ins and outs of the VMS, why things are done a certain way, the benefits to the approach, and how to take advantage of tools that allow integrators to create custom experiences for their customers. You can’t have a customer without custom.” Meanwhile, Orlando Chiang of Hills says a quality VMS system should be easy to install, configure, maintain and have fast and effective support team ready and waiting. “The VMS system should be able to be expanded and maintained with little to no impact on the production system,” Chiang says. “When designing a VMS system, a lot of factors need to be taken into consideration. When the system is poorly designed the end result is either an underperforming system that does not meet the customer expectations or an overpriced system where the integrator losses the job. Finding the right partner that can take all the factors into consideration and provide the right solution for the customer will save both the integrator and the customer money, time and frustration.” For Andrew Cho of EOS Australia, the most important things a quality VMS can offer them are centred around the fundamentals. “VMS needs to communicate strongly on what it can deliver, rather than offering a pack of features where it is difficult to use or not being used at all,” he says. “Further, VMS needs to be open to as many 3rd party integrations as it can, it must be easy to install, easy to configure and have a simple operating approach.” n

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[Print]2021 Hikvision Oceania Solar-Powered 4G Security Station AD 2021.pdf

23/4/21

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Hikvision Oceania

29/4/21 3:09 pm

● Regulars

The Interview

Rob Meachem, BGWT In this month’s interview, John Adams chats with BGW Technologies’ Rob Meachem about the challenges of finding new premises in the midst of Melbourne’s COVID-19 crisis. JA: Where was BGW Technologies originally located in Melbourne? RM: The branch was originally in South Melbourne, with the product and management team in Clayton, but the lease came up in South Melbourne and we had to move. We were looking for a place in the same area because it services the whole of Melbourne. An issue with the move was making sure we didn’t create a major drama for staff in terms of travel times. If you move out West, anybody living the other way gets affected and vice versa. The branch was previously collocated with BGW’s electrical wholesaler CNW, so we are now on our own for the first time in Victoria. JA: What was the process, given Melbourne was in lockdown at the time – that must have been a real curve ball. RM: When it was clear we had to move we were right at the start of the 3-month lockdown in Victoria with an expiring lease, so yeah, that was a curve ball, as real estate agents weren’t able to go out

and show any properties. Online searches and driving by properties on the way to the office was the only way to do it, then as restrictions eased, I had to pounce on the properties I had short listed. The moment I saw the inside of this property, I knew it was perfect. The beauty of it is that it’s central and the spaces are well balanced for our team. We’ve got the product guys and me upstairs in an open office – essentially with hot desks. We don’t have an enclosed office structure, we’re just one team sitting together. Over the past 12 months or so we realized we didn’t need to be in the office the whole time, particularly the product team – in part that’s what COVID-19 did to us, it forced us to change to a degree and now we see the benefits. The rest of the space is designed to be flexible, too. Upstairs with the open offices is a multi-purpose demonstration room – it’s a training room, a boardroom and a staging area for larger projects. All the tables there are on wheels and can move around or be folded away. And

the CCTV demo gear from Panasonic, Pelco, Milestone and others can be wheeled around, put into vehicles for on-site demos, or we can pull out any of the intrusion or access control kit. Then there’s the branch space at the front and the warehouse at the rear with a staging and pre-commissioning area in between. JA: It’s flexible space – do you think the way distributors manage space is changing? Less stock, more training, more commissioning? RM: I think the challenge for distributors now is that there are fewer and fewer customers coming to branches – integrators and installers are more inclined to have product delivered to them. Customers turning up early in the morning to pick up all their gear before going to the job site are less common,

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ROB ME ACHEM WITH JOHN ADAMS

even with the intrusion/alarm customers. Installers and integrators are better organised because the opportunity cost for an installer to drive to and from branches doesn’t add up - it’s expensive in terms of time and ultimately cheaper to use a courier or to buy multiple items occasionally and to hold a small amount of stock. The old way of setting up a branch would have been to have a counter with everything revolving around that. You’d have a bunch of product on the walls, some stock in the counter area, and a big warehouse. That would be your approach. What you can see downstairs here is that there’s less stock, everybody in the branch office is close together so they can communicate easily. We do have the demo boards for the intrusion,

access control and intercom equipment, if customers come in – downstairs these are all fully wired and operational systems. But we also need quiet space - we can head upstairs to do training, CCTV demos and planning meetings. Downstairs at the back is the warehousing space. It’ still a big warehouse - the idea was to have extra space so that if we were doing projects with customers, we can be a warehouse for them so as to add a bit more value. Upstairs there’s a balcony that will be good for doing camera shootouts – it has a good depth of field and there’s traffic flow and infrastructure, with the city in the distance and plenty of people moving in the park. JA: In terms of this site, what was

WHEN WE DECIDED WE NEEDED TO MOVE WE WERE RIGHT IN THE MIDDLE OF THE COVID LOCKDOWN WITH AN EXPIRING LEASE, SO YEAH, THAT WAS A CURVE BALL... required to turn it into a BGW Technologies’ branch? RM: The place was empty, with the exception of the upstairs room and the downstairs bathrooms – the rest was open space – this site had been used as a warehouse. We put all the walls in, we repainted, recarpeted, put all the racking in, we had to redo all IT networks and power cabling, lighting, the phone system, build out the kitchen and all the new demonstration boards and systems. We built the wall below the second-floor

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● Regulars

The Interview

multi-purpose room to separate office and warehouse space, and did all the finishing. There’s more than 300 square metres of space in total and the branch has 3-quarters of that. JA: You mentioned an expiring lease - was it a lengthy process or were you rushing to get in? RM: We had a timeline - the entire process took about 2 months. There were definitely time constraints. We signed the lease in the first week of November, took delivery and started the fit-out on December 1, and finished the fit-out by Christmas to ensure we were moved by the end of December. In January we did the finishing touches - we were ready to do the grand opening in February but a changing COVID situation meant we had to postpone it a month or so. JA: Is pre-commissioning and staging of solutions before integrators collect gear a big thing for BGW Technologies? RM: Absolutely. We are constantly building servers and workstations and loading software. If someone buys a server from us, we will buy all the components, take it out of the box, upgrade the firmware, the software, do all the updates, then load the system software, and put together whatever configuration the customer wants. We then dispatch gear ready to go. This doesn’t happen every time, but we are really good at staging, really good at it. And it takes a huge amount of pain away

from the integrator that wants to focus their expertise elsewhere. JA: Is BGW Technologies a different sort of distributor compared to others? RM: We are different. We’re a projectdriven, Tier 1 type distributor, typically selling products for government and enterprise. That’s why we are more inclined to have an office-type environment in the branch, versus a trade counter-type environment. We have a very good intrusion and access control customer base as well, and the branch

WE’RE A PROJECT-DRIVEN, TIER 1 DISTRIBUTOR, TYPICALLY SELLING PRODUCTS FOR GOVERNMENT AND ENTERPRISE. layout with the demo boards and loads of inventory in the warehouse keeps these customers happy. Since we relocated, foot traffic has increased markedly. The new branch is cleaner in layout - much more like an office. We still have the coffee machine and the couch, barstools and a kitchen area, so customers can come and have coffee or lunch and talk product or solutions. But it’s more about communicating than just selling boxes. JA: Site aside, are you happy with the new location? RM: Absolutely - the space has worked out really well, and the location is beautiful, too. We are 500m from the beach at Port Philip Bay, and we have a park right outside with a 1500m walking trail around it. And the balcony, which is great for camera demos, also means in the months ahead we can get a BBQ and have a bite to eat as a team, or with customers, while enjoying a view of the parkland and community gardens. That’s a big part of the reason I liked the site – I hope the team on their breaks can go for walks and enjoy the surroundings away from the office, which I think is important. n

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28/4/21 10:44 am

● Product Review

Nirovision

NIROVISION FACIAL RECOGNITION Nirovision’s Face Recognition solution highlights the integrated nature of the latest electronic security technologies. This solution empowers CCTV and access control solutions large and small with high levels of authentication, while delivering layers of reporting that deliver iron clad court admissibility. EN got a demo of the Nirovision facial recognition solution at the company’s Sydney office recently and it impressed with its seamless functionality, the slickness of its app and potential to lubricate investigations and answer security or operational questions. The ongoing challenges of COVID safety at the entrance are met with face recognition and contact tracing capability that’s not only exceptional in its ability to leave nothing out, but empowered by an unusually good user interface.

Front of house tablet-driven, Nirovision Doorkeeper delivers touchless check-in using a dynamic QR code sign-in process, virtual badges, visual contact tracing and, where appropriate, the system supports temperature analytics. The system also offers labelling and dishes up alarm notifications in real time based on user defined lists that might be built around an individual or a group. Nirovision developed its face recognition solution as part of technological evolution that was initially driven by the capture of lots of event data – perhaps it’s this ancestry that makes the Nirovision solution so compelling. Nirovision is a deep diver that allows the use of faces to generate instant reports offering serious lateral insights into site activities. Particularly valuable is its ability to create instant contact tracing reports locally or remotely. And integration with access control solutions, including Inner Range and ICT, as well as with VMS systems, like NxWitness, give end users significantly enhanced entry management and reporting capabilities that are especially valuable in low touch environments and unstaffed reception areas. According to Nirovision’s Eliana Bettio, the

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BY J O H N A D A M S

Nirovision face recognition solution has attracted plenty of interest throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. “Many businesses were optimistic about the impact of COVID-19, but they still chose to take precautions, including touchless authentication and mask detection,” Bettio explains. “Other attractions of the system include time and attendance support and customers simply not wanting to have to deal with card libraries manually.” As part of our demo, Bettio suggests I go through the check-in experience but first we take a look at the app. “You can see here the check in process which we define and that creates workflows for employees and for visitors to follow,” she explains. “This might require everyone to check in on a thermal camera where applicable – if someone skips the process of check-in but is recognised by other cameras around the office an alert will be sent to an administrator. “The overall entry process is powered by this Doorkeeper unit. The minute Doorkeeper sees a face it offers the person a QR code that’s specific to them to scan – the QR code once scanned brings up a questionnaire. Once the answers are complete, that information is stored alongside the check in Nirovision management software.” Bettio explains that you can also have the entry process running out of an Apple TV, a layout she says is optimal for free-flowing environments, like big distribution centres or abattoirs, which have a traffic flow they want employees to follow. “As a Nivovision employee, this system recognises me – it will not offer a QR code – it will just log me in as having arrived and in markets where it’s appropriate, it will log my temperature using a thermal camera, too,” Bettio says. “But if you are a registered contractor, it will ask a different set of questions – regardless, the system’s response will be controlled by your face. You don’t touch anything around you – the system is smart enough to recognise you, ask questions, then assign answers to the appropriate person.” “You can also have the system send you a push notification upon every successfully completed check-in. For instance, that might have been an elevated temperature – instead of seeing a green light, you would see a red flash, indicating you should stop and the system will advise that someone will be with you shortly.” I go through the process, which involves getting in Doorkeeper’s field of view so it can snare my face. Doorkeeper then offers me a QR code to scan, and after the questionnaire opens, I plug in a few basic details on my own device, which is governed by my biometric, making check-in touchless and secure. “Now, you’ve completed your check-in, let’s take a look at the Nirovision web app to see the monitoring and reporting side of the system,” Bettio says. “In the app there are a few images of your recent activity focusing on the check-in process and here’s your information. As system manager, I defined this workflow and asked it to automatically create

THE NIROVISION ENGINEERS HAVE DONE A GREAT JOB GETTING AS MUCH INFORMATION AS POSSIBLE ONTO THE SCREEN IN THE LEAST INTRUSIVE POSSIBLE WAY.

identities for people and that means enrolment happens automatically. The system stores the answers to the enrolment questions alongside your ID. “I can see there is a John in the system, with an outline of your identity that was defined by me. The first thing I see is your face. I have an entry that tells me when you were here last, as well as when you were first seen, all time and date stamped. And because it was linked to a check-in registration, I also have a push notification on my phone saying John checked in and completed the check-in procedure ok. This is all I know of you, but if you were to turn up tomorrow, Nirovision would start populating more details.” While Bettio is explaining this, what strikes me is the simplicity of it all. There’s not a huge acreage on a mobile device but the Nirovision engineers have done a great job getting as much information as possible onto the screen in the least intrusive possible way. If you are not interested in particular elements of the report, including the graphical timelines for other people on site, you can just ignore them. At the same time, the graphical logs allow you to get a sense of who has been on site and who remains on site at a single glance. It’s great situational awareness. The same philosophy is evident when viewing via the browser. “Let’s jump to my identity and see what a typical staff member’s activity looks like,” Bettio, says tapping and swiping away. “You can see I have checked in already. Let’s have a look at last week – a couple of days we had a company event, so I was not in the office on Thursday and Friday. If you were matching these against attendance, it would be immediately obvious. At the same time, you can see I checked in every day. In an appropriate application, this screen could also show that I have been presenting with what we will consider a normal temperature. An abnormal temperature would trigger an alert in real time and advise management. “You can also look at the entire month to cross check against attendance records. This system will show every day you were in and display the time

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● Product Review

Nirovision

you arrived, as well as whether or not there was a successful staff check-in process.” Good if someone is actively monitoring Nirovision, it’s possible to have the system set so that it doesn’t display people’s names, it just highlights results and pushes a real time message to someone to notify them of key events. These notes could be used in conjunction with an identity, as Nirovision are using them here in it’s office - both run the same recognition model that can trigger the analytics you are using for time and attendance. Another component you can link into an access control solution. “For instance, this is Inner Range Inception operating based on my face because I have the appropriate authorizations,” Bettio explains. “If the identification process is ok, I can push open the door and enter. But if there is an issue with the process the authorisation attempt will be flagged as invalid. Doorkeeper can give instructions to take off headwear – such instructions are customisable. You can also put every name and label full privacy mode and just give instructions and feedback to employees.” By this time, it’s becoming clear that there are serious temporal depths to Nirovision’s solution. Exactly how much information you gather and how you present it really depends on the security

procedures of the site and the requirements of the person creating the parameters of each list. “We built many of the latest features because customers already have the Nirovision recognition engine running at their premises,” Bettio explains. “With that engine in place, it’s simply a matter of exposing all the data gathered in consumable ways, including time and attendance, association with contacts, registrations and all the rest. “From the point of view of management, maybe there’s an issue and you need to do a more specific report on my attendance, for instance, who I was with at the office. Nirovision reporting allows me to set up a time frame and a contact window – part of that contact window is a buffer between before and after each event – that I want to take into consideration when running this report. “Maybe I want to be more aggressive in my time reference. Maybe I want to expand it a little more. This report crunches the same data in the system generated in terms of events gathered from site cameras. It is ordered from the greatest number of events to the least number to give an idea of traffic and location. It makes sense that the lobby cameras are where I was seen the most, but in other applications this will be completely different. Something to remember is that these reports are available locally or remotely and I can play videos of events online by clicking on the images in the report, or I can export them to CSV files.” According to Bettio, one of the most interesting aspects of reporting is its ability to establish and investigate close contacts. “These highlighted people are the people I was seen in a camera frame with,” she says. “It’s quite simple and, depending on your camera coverage, it can be very powerful. Close contact lists give you clues as to who has interacted with who. And the system also sorts most seen to least seen within the time frame reference. It also stores all the people seen in the contact window alongside the image. “As you can see, it took me no time to generate this report, and yet I get a very detailed log of every camera that I was seen in and every person I was seen with - some people are identified as close contacts. You also get a CSV file of the identity you chose to run the report against. And that CSV file highlights every camera I was seen walking by with a timestamp and a temperature, if appropriate. Imagine if you had to do this by hand.” Something that remains front of mind as Bettio runs through the demo is just how turbocharged this reporting is, and how detailed. Also playing into the functionality is that detail can be ramped up significantly by linking more CCTV cameras to the system – the more cameras, the more angles of view can be crunched by Nirovision analytics. At the same time, it’s possible to go the other way and to limit the number of cameras to specific high security areas of a site, while ignoring general areas, or public-facing areas.

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It’s interesting watching Bettio conducting searches based on accurate identification of faces – there’s something so perfect about this approach. In the past, security officers or site management might have pulled a timeline and juggled the face recognition themselves in real time. Easier than using a VCR but still a clunky, manual process compared to Nirovision, which does its work automatically across an entire site’s worth of CCTV cameras with virtually no latency. Something else that’s interesting is the way investigators can chase clues by also generating statistics around people who might have been in the same scenes as a person being reviewed. “If I need to provision a report telling who was in the office, say, last Monday, I just click a button and then export it to a CSV file,” Bettio continues. “I can do the same with a filter. For example, I can export all my delivery activity of the past month by running a report of delivery personnel and when and where they have appeared around site. This is powerful but it’s also very simple. “Operationally, what I am doing here is an exploratory activity – as the operator of the system, I am here because I am answering questions I need answers to in real time. Missing a check-in being most common, or elevated temperature where that is appropriate, or the actions of an unknown person who has appeared on site,” she says. “As part of an investigation process, you open Nirovision, decide what parameters you want, build a report with those parameters and then apply that reporting process to a person so they are tracked in real time. Or maybe you want to track a group. In that case, you can assign many people to a label and run reports based on the label. You don’t have to continuously update such a report, the system will do that automatically. You just open the report whenever you need to. Report labels can be exclusive, as well as inclusive – everyone but John could be included in a report.” According to Bettio, some Nirovision customers are using the system to manage authorized area alarms – in this case, some people should not be seen on the cameras, and the system will alert you if they are seen. And you can also follow temperature results where appropriate, or anything relating to a check-in, you can be alerted when someone misses a check-in, or when there’s a problem. And the same information will be in Nirovision apps for you to consume remotely or to export. “Let’s say you were checking a label and you were focusing on a blacklist alarm,” Bettio explains. “You select relevant entry cameras to handle the task, decide when you want the alarm to run, and who to notify, and decide how often you want to receive these notifications. In the event you’re busy, you can always look back to the app and figure out which events triggered which alarms by exploring the activity in the app. “Something we came up with as a way of grouping identities in other systems is a form of watch list.

NIROVISION IS A SOLUTION THAT DELIVERS SERIOUS SECURITY AND MANAGEMENT ENHANCEMENTS WHETHER INTEGRATED TO A SECURITY SYSTEM OR IF USED STAND ALONE.

One of the benefits of Nirovision is you can create unlimited lists and those groupings then act as filters for information. If I want to get information on how many employees show up in a month, I create a list for it. And because of the dynamic nature of the app, it gets updated automatically. You can decide to run these reports at any point in time and it’s very simple for you to create, or to label selected people. You have the ability to explore events in the app, you have real time messaging with employees via the app. Also, you have the operational outcome of recognition – this could be the opening of a door. It could be posting data back to NX Witness or another VMS or a paging system. “The outcome of the action you want to trigger based on a recognition could be one of the integrations we have built, or we have API documentation that you can use to build your own. As a company doing this technology integration is our middle growth strategy because we can’t perceive what our customers’ setups going to look like. There are so many players and systems. “We have done Inner Range, ICT Protege and Nx Witness so far and the plan is to integrate with more systems, because you want the convenience of automating the access control entry or having a lightweight setup that integrators build a solution.”

CONCLUSION Nirovision is a solution that delivers serious security and management enhancements whether integrated to a security system or if used stand alone. There’s something thrilling about a solution that delivers so fully on the promise of woven technologies – video analytics, face recognition, integration with key subsystems, and the capacity to be driven from anywhere – all serving an overarching ability to report movement of individuals or groups in real time, or to be reviewed later, during investigations. Does Nirovision take CCTV and access control to the next level? It definitely does. This solution empowers systems in ways that would have been unthinkable in the past, enhancing situational awareness and giving site management fingertip sensitivity. In the future it’s certain the system will evolve further still and its value in terms of monitoring movements in controlled space will increase. Today, with COVID remaining a serious threat, the system offers layers of value to end users. “Customers want to establish procedures for the long run,” Bettio says. “We’re dealing with COVID-19 today, but who knows what we will be dealing with next? A system like this is a long-term investment that assists with managing COVID-19 safety procedures, as well as handling time and attendance, access control integrations with face recognition, as well as enhancing situational awareness, streamlining investigations and adding convenience to an existing workflow.” n

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● Product Review

Hikvision

HIKVISION DS2XS6A25GO SOLAR BULLET REVIEW Hikvision DS-2XS6A25GO is a solar powered 1080p bullet camera system with a ½.8inch progressive scan CMOS sensor with minimum scene illumination of 0.004 in colour at F1.4 with AGC on, or 0.002 lux or 0 lux (with IR on) in monochrome. Key to this camera is a battery pack that allows the unit to operate for 7 days if the 20Ah lithium battery is fully charged by the 40W photovoltaic panel.

UST released by Hikvision, the day/ night DS-2XS6A25GO bullet is available with the option of a fixed 2.8, 4, or 8mm fixed lens – I have the 4mm version and for this rural application, that focal length is right. There are times I wish for a wider angle of view close to the house, but when monitoring gates, driveways and throughways from a moderate distance on the property, a longer focal length congregates pixels in a pleasing way. Central to this camera’s operation is a battery pack that allows the unit to operate for 7 cloudy days if the 20Ah lithium battery is fully charged by the system’s 40W photovoltaic panel. I discovered less than 5 hours sun is enough to top the battery

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BY J O H N A D A M S

up from 50 to 100 per cent. This means it’s unlikely you’ll ever lose power if the solar array is sited more or less optimally for the position of the sun in the sky. On the topic of the array, it adjusts across 180 degrees in a fixed arc. General features of this camera system include 120dB of WDR, 52dB signal to noise ratio, integrated battery display, battery high-low temperature protection, charge-discharge protection, lowbattery sleep protection and remote wakeup, LTETDD/LTE-FDD/WCDMA/GSM 4G wireless network transmission, support for Micro SIM cards, and water and dust resistance to IP67, which is immersion. Operating range is -30 to 60C, which is strong. The 4mm lens has a moderately fast aperture of F1.4, delivers a horizontal field of view of 86 degrees and a vertical field of view of 46 degrees. The camera’s shutter speed is adjustable from 1s to 1/100,000s There’s 850nm of smart IR support with a range of 30m, 3 video streams, with main offering H.265+, H.265, H.264 plus and H.264; a sub stream of H.265, H.264 or MJPEG; and a third stream of H.265 or H.264. Bit rate range is 32Kbps to 8Mbps, there’s CBR/ VBR bit rate control, scalable video coding (SVC), and 4 fixed regions of interest (ROI) for each stream. Image enhancement functionality includes BLC, HLC, 3D DNR, and defog, while image settings include rotate mode, saturation, brightness, contrast, sharpness, gain, and white balance, all these adjustable in client software or web browser. Comms include RJ45, RS-485 (half-duplex) and integrated 4G. Onboard storage is via a 256GB microSD and recordings can be uploaded to FTP, NAS or the memory card. If you’re using Hik-Connect app, as I am, then images are uploaded to cloud and accessible from an authorised smart device from anywhere. A standalone surveillance solution like this, which just begs to be used in locations you’d never dream of installing wired cameras, needs analytics to automate recording functions. With the DS2XS6A25GO you have motion detection, video tampering alarm, exception (network disconnected, IP address conflict, illegal login, HDD full, HDD error), smart events like line crossing detection with up to 4 configurable regions, region entrance detection with 4 configurable regions, region exiting detection with 4 regions for config and unattended baggage and object detection in 4 regions. There’s also scene change detection. Other features of the camera include 6 channels of simultaneous live view accessible by 32 users organised in 3 levels, open API, open interfaces, including PROFILE S, PROFILE G, PROFILE T; there’s ISAPI, SDK, and Ehome, and Hikvision’s laundry list of supported protocols, including TCP/IP, ICMP, HTTP, HTTPS, FTP, SFTP, DHCP, DNS, DDNS, RTP, RTSP, RTCP, NTP,UPnP, SMTP, SNMP, IGMP, 802.1X, QoS, IPv6, UDP, Bonjour and SSL/TLS. There’s also anti- flicker, 3 stream heartbeat, mirror, flash log, password reset via e-mail, pixel counter, software reset and remote firmware updates.

Camera performance is solid.

Plate from about 10 metres.

Security is also comprehensive and includes password protection, complicated password, HTTPS encryption, 802.1X authentication (EAP-TLS, EAP-LEAP, EAP-MD5), watermark, IP address filter, basic and digest authentication for HTTP/HTTPS, WSSE and digest authentication for ONVI, RTP/RTSP OVER HTTPS, Control timeout settings and TLS 1.2. Client options include iVMS-4200, Hik-Connect and Hik-Central and there’s a plug-in for live view. Mobile communications include 4G frequencies in the LTE-TDD band at 38/40/41, LTE-FDD bands of 1/3/5/7/8/20/28, and WCDMA bands of 1/5/8 and GSM in bands 3/5/8. 12V DC power consumption is modest – it’s 1.76W excluding 4G comms at 50 per cent IR illumination. According to Hikvision, the solar requirement for constant operation is 1.77 hours of direct sunlight on the panel every 24 hours. The power interface is a 5.5mm plug and for external applications you’d need to weatherproof this connection by installing it inside a $10 waterproof junction box – a trivial customisation. Camera system dimensions are 760mm x 732.6mm x 586.9mm and weight is just under 13kg. On the battery side, the charge voltage is 12.6V – that’s less than an LA or AGM battery because this is Li-Ion, and battery life is quoted at 800 cycles, but is likely to be considerably more than that.

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● Product Review

Hikvision

TEST DRIVING HIKVISION DS-2XS6A25GO First impressions with SEN’s version, which sports the longer 4mm fixed focal length, were pleasing, with strong performance in my scenes. Something to note first up is that our test was conducted on a remote rural property in the presence of 2 bars of 4G, dropping at times to 1 bar and occasional network loss. This skimpy network support meant we kept the camera at SD more often than we would have in another location, where HD would have been the order of the day. Because we are at an altitude of 800 metres there were also times cloud forms got between the camera and our nearest 4G tower, which is faintly visible on the far horizon, and these impacted further on our link, causing drop-outs. I should point out that the unit is relatively heavy at 13kg and relatively awkward to handle for one person in terms of installation using the supplied stainless straps. In my application with Northerly sun and a Southerly scene, having the solar panel tilted to the same side as the bracket (it tilts through 180 degrees side-to-side) meant pole or tree-mounting would block the solar array from the Northerly sun. Instead, I found myself positioning the camera on a water tank, a tree stump, a grassy bank, a kitchen chair, an outside table (in my application the

Detail at night is excellent.

ID OF VEHICLES GOING THROUGH GATES WAS IRON-CLAD AND WITH MOVEMENT DETECTION SET, YOU CAN VIEW THESE IMAGES REMOTELY SHOULD AN EVENT BE TRIGGERED.

perfect solution would be a 2m pole with the camera mounted a few inches from the top). All these organic mounting points highlighted just what a flexible CCTV solution Hikvision has built. You can put the DS-2XS6A25GO solar bullet anywhere you like that’s stable and which offers a field of view. You can move it any time you like to meet unfolding threats or monitoring requirements. In my case those locations included approaches to the house, the front gate, the front yard between house and garage – on a whim I connected to the camera while it was sitting in the back of the car. Battery performance was good, too, even with lower Autumn sun the system charged quickly and having the battery percentage front and centre on the app screen meant I never needed to wonder about battery life remaining or consumption. Quite quickly I realised the system wasn’t power hungry, even with me using it constantly. You drive the unit via the Hik-Connect app, which I found very easy to use. The app interface is simple, with a couple of tools and icons and an easy one-press snapshot function. In fact, I drove the entire camera test using my phone. I had an iPad to hand, but I was happy with a standard iPhone and Hik-Connect. This made the camera very easy to interact with because my phone was always in my hand. Setup was easy, too – you load the app, scan the camera mounted QR code and away you go. But what really shone through was the flexibility of this solution in the hand. Tap the app, and away you go. In Hik-Connect there’s movement detection and other AI stuff to play with, making monitoring automatic and limiting storage requirements. And if you have movement detection set up, each time you get movement you get a notification from which you click through to view the event image and/or take a look at the live footage. I’ve made a thing about the flexibility of location with this camera – you could lean it against a wall and power it up and away it would go – but the flexibility doesn’t end there. You can also connect to it anywhere you like – for me that included while lying in front of the fire, while parked outside a supermarket 20km away, while standing beside the unit checking I was happy with the angle of view and while lying in bed at 2am wondering about a weird tapping noise at the front door (it was the fly strip blowing in the wind). I should reiterate how good the night performance was – it’s an excellent image with auto IR, which activated relatively early in the evening. Yes, I know it’s assisted performance but there are plenty of cameras that do badly with IR, and this isn’t one of them. Night images are high contrast with surprising sharpness and high levels of detail from the organic surfaces of the wattle and daub walls of the house, suggesting excellence with tone. The IR array has a good spread and plenty of penetration – in fact that 30 metres of IR range pushes past the camera’s optimum night-time depth of field. In my application best performance was from the lens to about 8-12 metres.

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After the night test was complete, we went through the motion detection images from the evening, fingers crossed in hopes we might see the last mainland Thylacine, or even just a wallaby, but the only thing moving in the camera’s angle of view was that flailing fly strip. The process of scrolling through images saved by motion events in the app was as simple as you’d expect it to be. In terms of daytime performance, the 2MP bullet impressed with good colour rendition, decent work against backlight and great handling of variable scenes. Hikvision makes a good camera engine and even in relatively modest bullet form like this, performance was dependable across a range of conditions. The first day of the test there were periods of bright sunlight and periods of moderate shadow and the camera did well - you can see how rich the colour rendition is in the images - the red brick is 10m from the lens. There’s good sharpness in these scenes and you can see the hyperfocal distance is within half a metre – the grass stems are right in front of the lens. I felt performance popped more in full sun, with excellent colours and high levels of detail, thanks to a strength in tone, all this is no doubt enhanced by the simplicity of the fixed lens equation. As light levels fell, the colour temperature drifted towards the warmer end and colour rendition fell away. Something I did note in a couple of high contrast scenes were widespread chromatic aberrations, but they were not impacting on my ability to get faces, plates and other details. At the same time, there was no barrel distortion from the 4mm lens. Recognition and identification were strong, and you have to bear in mind that I did not have the camera at full resolution the entire time, as the 4G network in my corner of the country is merely passable and is always made worse by intervening cloud cover, showers of rain and atmospheric variations. With a more robust network, the camera would have been able to run full out the whole time. That performance would be available anywhere around a regional town, or in any metro area, or even just closer than we are to 4G tower. The DORI numbers with the 4mm lens are detect at 53 metres, observe at 21 metres, recognise at 11 metres and identify at 5 metres. In my opinion these numbers aren’t accurate – I could identify at over 10 metres and recognise past 15 metres. I felt observation at 21 metres was accurate but that detection at 53 metres might be a stretch – things get soft that far in. Generally, I was impressed with this camera’s ability to get faces and useful plates at 10-12 metres, even when operating at lower than full resolution. The camera’s ability to jag plates and faces mid-scene was appreciated in this application. I was getting plates at 15 metres, useable faces at the same depth. On acreage, that ability is seriously valuable. Performance against vehicles inside 10 metres was particularly strong. ID of vehicles going through gates was iron-clad and with movement detection set, you can view these images remotely should an event be triggered. I was able to view a vehicle at the gate from 200 metres away in the

Colour temp alters in shadow.

orchard, as well as check the gate from a nearby town while on a shopping trip. For rural applications where regular thefts occur, the ability of this camera to deliver the goods is unquestionable. There’s none of the creation story light flares and massive angles of view with zero depth of field and huge barrel distortions you typically get with the sorts of cameras used in compact standalone camera systems. At the same time, this camera is not a hugely expensive customised solution. It’s simple and functional, works out of the box and best of all, it performs well in the field.

CONCLUSION Hikvision’s DS-2XS6A25GO solar bullet camera is an excellent solution. Thinking about it later, I came up with many potential applications, from farms, to light industrial, caryards, mobile cameras for large sites, and plenty more. It’s affordable, it’s hugely flexible and it’s easy to manage via phone or tablet. Camera performance is good, too. It’s not a Darkfighter X, but the camera does good work during the day and night performance with IR impressed as well. For my application and for many of yours, this solar bullet proved very capable, indeed. For any application that cannot be cabled, and which is subject to evolving threats, the DS-2XS6A25GO is highly recommended. n

FEATURES OF THE HIKVISION DS2XS6A25GO INCLUDE: l

Solar power and 4G communications

1080p 2 at 30ips

120dB of WDR and 30m of IR

Up to 7 days performance in cloud

Battery management, battery display, low-battery sleep protection and remote wakeup

Comms are LTE-TDD/LTE-FDD/WCDMA/GSM 4G wireless network transmission

Camera is water and dust resistant to IP67.

Plenty of clever analytics to handle remote detection.

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Proudly brought to you by

● Regulars

Monitoring

Your Monitoring Specialists

1300 130 515

www.bensecurity.com.au

Getting Smart Alarm monitoring, which has been drifting away from standalone controllers to networked hubs for many years, is now perfectly positioned for the rapid penetration into its functionality of analytics suites. HERE’S no question that residential and small business alarm technology has changed. The alarm system is increasingly a hub, often integrated into the primary keypad and always connected to a cabled network, as well as reporting to professional monitoring services via redundant mobile wireless. The latest systems of this type are all addressable by users via an app, and monitoring and reporting functionalities continue to evolve in real time at a cadence that matches more closely that of the IT industry than electronic security manufacturing of yore. The switch to hub-based systems hasn’t only given users much more control over their systems – in some cases, it’s giving them more information than is available to the operators of monitoring stations, which are restricted by the parameters of alarm monitoring software. For the latest generation of alarm system manufacturers, no such constraints exist and instead there’s considerable pressure to out-compete the latest software developments of the designers next door. This turbo-charged evolution of alarm system software is going to offer home and small business owners, and monitoring stations, something they’ve never had before. And that something is analytics. Analytics solutions, whether based on NO/ NC sensor inputs or video streams, have been around for a while, but their ubiquity, their rapid evolution, their capability to identify faces, to crunch event data, to react to variations and thresholds tailored to sites, and to be tweaked by enterprising monitoring providers and integrators

in open APIs is what will take alarm monitoring to another level altogether. Something that’s long been an issue for monitoring stations is that video verification of alarm events depends to some extent on getting video streams from a monitored premises to an operator’s workstation for consideration in real time. Because of its complexities, video verification has for many years been a specialised service – it’s been expensive and for monitoring stations it’s comparatively high touch. But the latest analytics solutions can change all that – in particular that killer application - face recognition. The beauty of face recognition as a tool for reporting alarm events is that once all a business or family’s faces are programmed into the system, any unknown person who appears onsite while the system is in alarm will trigger an intrusion event, period. At the same time, this face will be recorded, allowing the intruder’s identity to be delivered to monitoring stations and end users. Further, there’s no need to fill the site with cameras to achieve this – just 1 or 2 cameras covering a secure external approach, an internal foyer and a key internal thoroughfare will be more than enough. Importantly, such cameras don’t need to record or transmit real time image streams on or offsite – all they need do is recognise and notify users and monitoring station operators when they detect unknown faces. It should be pointed out that if intruders cover their faces, ID will not be possible, but masked faces would still represent a variation that could trigger an alert. Face recognition is not the only area

where analytics can inform system owners and monitoring providers. Event data can be assessed in clever ways that would allow a system to notice patterns of events from intrusion sensors, smoke or flood sensors and reeds on doors and windows. A particular strength of the latest solutions is that they have the ability to instantly inform users about operational events – this includes when staff arrive or leave a location, current system state, as well as offering an overview of the entire solution and everything connected to it. Hand in hand with more data crunched by increasingly clever analytics is the evolution of better reporting, which informs site management of events,

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Proudly brought to you by

Your Monitoring Specialists

1300 130 515

www.bensecurity.com.au

T EVO SOF HOM OW STAT NEV SO

DOES ANALYTICS OFFER A WAY TO ELIMINATE FALSE ALARM ALMOST COMPLETELY? IT CERTAINLY DOES AND THE CHANCES SOFTWARE PROVIDERS WILL NOT SEIZE ON THIS CAPABILITY WITH BOTH HANDS IS ZERO.

trends, issues, gaps in coverage and plenty more. Automation of reporting is a key development in the future of operational software and competition between providers will only make this functionality more useful and easier to access. In SEN’s opinion, monitoring stations’ role as a vital 24-hour intermediary between systems and emergency services means they will always be relevant, but analytics has the capacity to make their services more capable still as well as providing customisable hooks for integrators. While there’s a pessimistic view of alarm monitoring which holds that software developments will make professional monitoring redundant, that’s

far from the truth. The capacity for siteby-site customisation of clever alarm and automation solutions, as well as orchestrating law enforcement response and creation and management of investigative reports is considerable. And home and business owners have never been more bombarded with mountains of distracting information – manual assessment of alarm events 24/7 is not something they need to agonise about. There’s a question hovering in the background here and it concerns false alarms, which a recent US report suggested constituted 95 per cent of all alarms generated. This is a huge number that erodes the value of alarm systems in the

eyes of end users and law enforcement responders. Does analytics offer a way to eliminate false alarm almost completely? It certainly does and the chances software providers will not seize on this capability with both hands is zero. Whether systems re-categorise false alarms caused by known faces, or make clever assessments of groups of activations, or take into account circumstances like adjacent thunderstorms, there’s a huge opportunity for installers, integrators and their technology partners to take alarm monitoring to a level we’ve never seen before and that makes its future very exciting, indeed. n

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● Special Report

Security Management

BY J O H N A D A M S

MAXIMUM SECURITY What should a high security solution include, in SEN’s opinion? And how would you broadly define a high security site? peaking broadly, maximum security would apply to a site, or areas of a site, embodying or containing very high value assets, including personnel, resources, information and/or infrastructure, the loss of which will impact on the capacity of a business or organisation to operate. In a high security environment unauthorized access may lead to the loss or destruction of information, including IP, or the disclosure of information, that will impact on the capacity of the business to operate. Obviously, any high security policy must be applied to network security, as well as physical security. Maximum security sites need a mix of perimeter barriers, sterile zones, high security locks, door and window grilles, man-trap entries, high security door surrounds, high security walls, secure external and internal building walls and roofs. Such sites need secure internal walls, floors and ceilings, secure internal doors, all these and internal spaces protected by intrusion detection devices in layers. The application may also require theft and fireproof vaults and safes to protect key items. The site requires internal and external security lighting in support of video surveillance cameras, and to provide an additional deterrent. The surveillance system should record locally and remotely. CCTV should meet its operational requirements of identification of faces and plates

and should be supported by IR, laser, thermal imaging or ambient light sources. The best modern security systems will include video analytics that will automate detection and reporting of intrusion events in support of security procedures. Coverage must deliver real time situational awareness for on site or remote monitoring teams, as well as storing image streams for investigations. The access control and alarm solution should be well designed and highly secure. Any security system installed in such an environment should be designed in such a way to deliver the highest possible level of security, including access control authentication, allowing only persons who actually require access, and who have real operational needs to be allowed entry. In 2021, the access control solution should incorporate COVID-19 safety procedures, including contact tracing. The intrusion detection system must detect intrusion from the boundaries of the protected area – this attacks on includes fences and walls, ceilings, windows, doors. The system should be Class 5 – its sensors and cabling should be encrypted and should report tamper. Intrusion detection systems for high security areas require multiple levels of penetration detection starting at the perimeter, moving through entry points and into the protected spaces. As part of the security system, the alarm monitoring solution should be highly secure and fully redundant and should report any attempts at alteration or tampering. An integrated security system for any high security area must deliver the greatest probability of intrusion detection and prevention of unauthorized access to areas or assets being defended, as well as fast investigations of events in real time. It’s also important to incorporate alarm event response. On the network side, the entire site must be secure – this is a science in itself. You want secure infrastructure, IDS with alarm notifications, a capable firewall that is managed in real time and an IT team that is switched on to security. High security sites may incorporate virtual servers driving access control solutions and cloud video surveillance components – from pit to server, to mobile app, to data centre and everywhere in between, IT needs to be visualised as an ecosystem, not a loose collection of daisy-chained hardware devices. There is no perfect high security site. Any application designed to meet evolving threats from skilled insiders and outsiders must retain the capacity and the budget to evolve in real time through the use of future proof infrastructure and trusted technology partnerships. n

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SEEKING PROFESSIONAL SECURITY TECHNICIANS? Try SEN JobsMarket securityelectronicsandnetworks.com

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● Regulars

Products

Editor’s choice

What’s new in the industry.

BOSCH FLEXIDOME IP STARLIGHT 8000I X

MYNET ALARM ALULA BAT-CONNECT

l FLEXIDOME IP starlight 8000i X series cameras from CSD

l MYNET Alarm’s Don Tummillo says ALULA BAT-Connect is “the ultimate alarm system takeover device, easily upgrading legacy security alarm panels by introducing the BAT-Connect, giving a modern, mobile experience. “Much more than a basic communicator, this intuitive device smartly bridges intrusion security, video, and automation with the Alula iOS or Android apps,” says Tummillo. “Fuelled by the encrypted, lightning-fast Alula network, system control is delivered instantly to the smart devices your customers already use and love. BAT-Connect is backed by our 5-year warranty.” According to Tummillo, the easy-to-install communicator is broadly compatible with common panels, giving installers a game changer upgrade for hundreds of thousands of security systems online today. “Partnering with Alula pulls the security professional ahead of technology change, releasing a burden cell carriers place on the industry,” Tummillo said.

provide the perfect balance between high resolution and extreme low-light sensitivity with starlight X technology, ensuring highly detailed images even in the most challenging situations. HDR X technology enables the camera to capture video with different light levels and without motion artefacts on moving objects. Fast moving objects are easily captured with excellent details at high frame rates. Remote commission features, PRTZ, allowing remote pan tilt, roll and zoom as well as the Bosch Project Assistant app make installation quick and easy even in difficult locations. Distributor: Central Security Distribution Contact: 1300 319 499

Distributor: MyNet Alarm Contact: 0401 778 899

RISCO LUNAR DUAL TECHNOLOGY 360-DEGREE DETECTOR

INNER RANGE INTEGRITI V21 INTEGRATES SUPREMA FACIAL RECOGNITION

l RISCO’S Lunar dual technology 360-degree intrusion detector from C.R. Kennedy is an industrial-grade ceiling mount sensor with a maximum mounting height of 8.6 metres and a detection diameter of 18 metres. The Risco Lunar Dual (RK200DTG3USB) has a 360-degree coverage pattern with a diameter of 18 metres, with the detection zones consisting of 192 fingers delivered by 96 fresnel facets in 3 lens sections. Adding to detection flexibility, each lens section has 4 vertical positions, allowing variable mounting heights and customised coverage. Mounting height ranges from 2.7 metres to 8.6 metres with 4 lens positions according to installation height. The sensor’s intruder detection is dual technology (PIR+MW) with Anti-Cloak technology, GreenLine technology, built-in EOL resistors (triple EOL), temperature compensation, an operating voltage between 9-16V DC and a current consumption of 20mA at 12V DC, or 50mA with all LEDs on. There’s optical filtering for white light protection, a PIR cover filter, RF immunity 40 V/m from 10MHz to 1GHz, operating temperature range from -20C to 55C and dimensions of 99mm x 194mm.

l WITH last week’s V21 Integriti release from Inner Range comes a high-level integration with Suprema, a leading manufacturer of biometric technology for access control. Suprema offers a range of contactless facial recognition terminals now are fully integrated to the Integriti platform. There is no longer the requirement for 2 data bases to be managed to enrol or remove a biometric user within the system, which is a giant leap ahead for database management in Integriti V21. Facial recognition users can be seamlessly enrolled directly into the Integriti software which in turn updates the Suprema databases in the facial recognition access control terminals. Contact CSD for further information or a demonstration. Get more information from your local CSD branch. Distributor: Central Security Distribution Contact: 1300 319 499

Distributor: C.R. Kennedy Contact: +61 3 9823 1555

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AXIS CAMERA STATION SECURE ENTRY l AXIS Camera Station now unifies video surveillance and

access control via AXIS Camera Station Secure Entry, which adds access management to the company’s highly polished video management software. This solution enables operators to manage both video surveillance and access control from the same, unified interface across a single site, with access control functions are available to the operator in the same interface. According to Axis, the benefits of video-verified access control include live-monitoring of access points, assistance in allowing access, and post-incident investigation. When it comes to live monitoring, video-verification through AXIS Camera Station Secure Entry allows operators to check that the individual entering matches the credentials. In addition, for less busy entrances or out of normal working hours, it’s possible to trigger video, alerts, and actions when, for instance, a visitor is approaching, a door has failed to close properly, or access has been denied. Contact: Axis Distributors

DSC BRAVO 5 360-DEGREE PIR, GLASSBREAK FROM BGW TECHNOLOGIES l DSC Bravo 5 (BV-501GB) is a 360-degree ceiling-mount PIR and glassbreak sensor distributed by BGW Technologies that’s ideal for challenging applications like retail, warehousing, which benefit from elevated detectors. Bravo 5 incorporates temperature compensation for improved catch performance at critical temperatures, patented multilevel signal processing (MLSP) for accurate detection of human IR energy over a broad range of temperatures, and sensitivity adjustment to configure the detector for normal or hostile environments. There’s high-level static and transient protection, white light immunity, RF immunity, and digital signal analysis for consistent detection throughout the coverage pattern. The BV-501GB PIR and Glassbreak features a Form A alarm contact (motion), a form C alarm contact (glassbreak) and a tamper switch, while draw is 38/35mA at 9 to 14.5V DC. There’s also an installer test mode for glassbreak sensor – the AFT100 tester is required. Distributor: BGW Technologies Contact: +61 2 9674 4255

HANWHA WISENET PNM-9022V PANORAMIC CAMERA

HIKVISION RELEASES IDS-TCV907-BIR 9MP ANPR ALL-ROUNDER TRAFFIC CAMERA

l HANWHA has released its new H.265 Wisenet PNM-9022V panoramic camera, with IP66, IK10, NEMA4X ratings a flexible viewing options. The new 4-channel PNM-9022V utilizes alpha blending technology to stitch the overlapping images captured by its 4 HD sensors into a seamless 8.3MP 209-degree image. The camera can also be configured to capture 180-degree images with digital PTZ functionality across 2 of the camera’s channels. The PNM-9022V enables colour images to be rendered in light levels as low as .03 Lux. Importantly for lateral applications, this camera includes heatmap video analytics which provide business intelligence on customer density and buying behaviour. Features of the Wisenet PNM-9022V panoramic camera include: • 2MP x 4-channel • 209-degree mode, 180-degree mode support • 2.8mm fixed focal lens x 4 • H.265/H.264 : Max. 30fps • MJPEG maximum frame rate 30fps • Extreme WDR (120dB) • H.265, H.264, MJPEG codec, WiseStreamII supported.

l HIKVISION has released its iDS-TCV907-BIR 9 MP ANPR allrounder traffic camera, designed to improve road safety and optimise traffic flow through speed detection, traffic violation detection, automated plate recognition, and vehicle attribute analysis. The new ITS camera is designed and developed with this multidimensional concept in mind. It’s Hikvision’s first camera to integrate 3 separate modules in one unit – an HD camera, speed radar, and light array inside one housing. Specifically, it works with a multi-tracking radar that continuously monitors 2-3 lanes and identifies the speed and position of objects in the monitored area at a speed of up to 300kmph. If a vehicle violates the speed limit, the embedded radar triggers the connected camera, and a picture is taken of the vehicle and its licence plate. In the event of infringements of traffic rules such as wrong-way driving, improper lane usage, or even failure to use a seat belt, the camera will capture images of the corresponding vehicle, recognise its licence plate and relevant information including vehicle type, colour, brand, and direction of movement.

Distributor: EOS Australia Pty Ltd Contact: +61 2 9749 5888

Contact: Hikvision Distributors

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● Regulars

Products

Editor’s choice

What’s new in the industry.

DSC POWERG WIRELESS SMOKE AND HEAT DETECTOR

MILESTONE XPROTECT AWS CLOUD DEPLOYMENT

l DSC PowerG PG4916 photoelectric wireless smoke and heat detector is now available from BGW Technologies. The sensor incorporates a photoelectric smoke detector with built-in heat sensor, provides alerts for smoke, tamper and device low battery and there’s a visible link quality indication shown on the device. This sensor is fully supervised, with maintenance and battery condition indication, a built-in 85db alarm buzzer and certification to strict international standards. Battery life is 8 years with typical use. The DSC PowerG PG4916 photoelectric wireless smoke and heat detector sensor is compatible with PowerSeries Neo, PowerSeries Pro and Qolsys panels.

l MILESTONE Systems now offers 2 products on Amazon Web Services, including free XProtect Essential+, and XProtect BYOL (Bring Your Own License), which requires a paid license sold through Milestone’s existing distribution partner channels. Each of these products leverages web services provided by AWS to offer a flexible, cost-efficient and reliable cloud deployment alternative to the traditional on-premise VMS systems. XProtect on AWS is deployed directly from AWS Marketplace – a digital catalogue that makes it easy to find, buy, deploy, and manage software and services. By deploying it from AWS Marketplace integrators save time on system set-up with automated OS and VMS installations, and a pre-configured VMS. In such a full-cloud deployment scenario, the cameras and the end-device used to access the system make up the only hardware maintained on-premise. The servers, recorders, and data centres are maintained fully by AWS 24/7, anywhere in the world.

Distributor: BGW Technologies Contact: +61 2 9674 4255

Contact: Milestone Distributors

BGW TECHNOLOGIES RELEASES CV-T701SM VIDEOPHONE

HIKCENTRAL INTEGRATED WITH NEDAP AEOS ACCESS CONTROL SOLUTION

l BGW Technologies has released the Kocom KCV-T701SM Videophone, featuring a 7-inch capacitive touchscreen iconbased GUI, a metal hairline bezel and selectable calling on each connected floor. Kocom’s KCV-T701SM supports all types of CCTV inputs including 1080p AHD, CVI, TVI, and CVBS, features a 100 metre UTP cable connection, AC/DC power options, a maximum of 2 door stations supporting 4 monitors with sub-interphone KIP-32G, selective calling and answering between indoor unit and internal storage of auto still image captures from door cameras. Kocom’s KCV-T701SM is 218mm wide, 119 mm high and 22mm deep – you can find out more about the Kocom KCV-T701SM Videophone from BGW Technologies.

l HIKVISION has announced the integration of its HikCentral video security platform with the Nedap AEOS Access Control Solution to provide single-platform operations for users with Hikvision and Nedap systems. The integration, via Nedap AEOS Connector, provides event information, alarms, and person-data synchronization of access control and intrusion events between AEOS-connected hardware and HikCentral. This integration enables operators to manage doors, detectors and intrusion areas, as well as visually verify and handle alarms in HikCentral Clients. The Nedap AEOS Connector is developed under Hikvision’s latest Optimus framework, which enables systems integrators to easily tailor integrations to individual customers’ needs, building suitable workflows and event-to-action protocols. This is based on a very intuitive and easy-to-use graphical user interface that does not require coding. The Optimus and Nedap AEOS Connector are available for HikCentral version 1.6 and AEOS version 2019.1.5 and are ready for deployment now.

Distributor: BGW Technologies Contact: +61 2 9674 4255

Contact: Hikvision Distributors

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OPTEX VISUAL VERIFICATION BRIDGE

AXIS FLAGS ACAP VERSION 4 RELEASE

l OPTEX Bridge is the hardware component of the OPTEX

l AXIS Communications has announced the upcoming release of AXIS Camera Application Platform (ACAP) version 4 later this year. ACAP assists developers and integrators deliver video analytics that empower security solutions, as well as delivering valuable business intelligence to customers. ACAP version 4 leverages known software development tools and components as well as industry-standard APIs and efficiently reuses components from Axis and other sources. It brings further support for high-level programming languages that will significantly reduce both proof-of-concept builds and time needed to reach production-ready code. Key features include: • Support for running container-based applications on the device • Adoption of known open, de-facto software frameworks and industry-standard APIs • Support for high-level programming languages • Deep learning toolchain and API. Supporting most Axis products and hardware.

Intelligent Visual Monitoring solution and provides a visual verification solution for monitoring stations/alarm receiving centres hosted in the cloud. Connected to the control panel and the network, the Bridge enables indoor and outdoor intrusion sensors, door contacts and panic buttons to be linked with ONVIF compliant cameras or DVRs and map the detection or alarm zones to the associated cameras. During setup, the Bridge should be registered with the monitoring station monitoring the site and with the Visual Monitoring Portal, powered by CHeKT. The alarm system can then become a responsive visual verification solution without any interference to the integrity. Operationally, when an alarm zone is triggered the operator is alerted in a few seconds. The Visual Monitoring Portal presents the operator with the live camera view of the zone that has been triggered, the pre and post-event video recordings, and a site map with the location of additional cameras. Depending on the agreed procedure and the assessment of the alarm, the operator can either take immediate action or push the notification.

Contact: Axis Distributors

Distributor: Hills Contact: 1800 685 487

AVIGILON DUAL HEAD

BOSCH 3000I OUTDOOR RANGE FROM CSD

l AVIGILON’S new H5A Dual Head Camera is a low-profile dual

l BOSCH has expanded the 3000i range of extremely successful IP cameras, to include 2 new versions, including an outdoor micro dome and an outdoor turret. The outdoor turret is available in 2MP or 5MP with built-in IR and is ideal for those installations looking for a high quality, high security, situational camera for outdoors. Fitted with either a 2.3mm or 2.8mm fixed lens and in-built Essential Video Analytics (EVA), the cutting-edge technology employed by the 3000i range allows the user to detect, track, analyse objects and alert you when the predefined conditions are met. Bosch EVA technology can be further utilised to search alarms, events and objects when combined with a compatible video management system. The new IP 3000i models complete a comprehensive range of professional security cameras with powerful analytics at the edge that empowers the user with not only a high security surveillance system but a business management solution for healthcare, OH&S, social distancing and people management. Contact your local CSD branch for more information.

sensor indoor camera that brings enhanced security for hard to secure indoor areas, such as hallways, stairwells, and corner intersections, or any application that requires the coverage of 2 cameras installed in close proximity. The camera includes comprehensive video analytics and is made in the USA. Built with small spaces in mind, the indoor H5A Dual Head allows end-users to gain the security coverage of 2 cameras (2 x 3MP or 2 x 5MP) with 1 installation. Features include increased area coverage, new analytics, including support for people counting, mask detection and expanded object classifications and greater accuracy for faster responses in crowded scenes. There’s native ONVIF Profile S, T and G1 compliance allows easy integration with existing ONVIF infrastructures, and FIPS 1402 compliance with FIPS-compliant cryptography enabled on cameras. There’s a 1/2.7-inch progressive scan CMOS, sensor with 5184 x 1944-pixel maximum resolution, up to 120dB of WDR protection, 3.35-7.0 mm remote varifocal lens with F/1.93 aperture, high power 850nm IR LEDs, minimum Illumination 0.1 lux in colour mode, and 0.05 lux in monochrome.

Distributor: Central Security Distribution Contact: 1300 319 499

Contact: Avigilon Distributors

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● Regulars

Help desk

Our panel of experts answers your questions.

If you have not done much soldering lately, spend a bit of time messing about to get your eye and hand back in. If there’s to be no further stress on the joint, less is probably more when it comes to connection coverage/volume. If you plan to solder the connection while the controller is in the cabinet with all its devices still wired, the usual Hail Mary rules apply.

Q: We have an alarm access controller board that has been working perfectly for a very long time but during recent work a non-security technician has wrenched the controller cabinet in a way that strained the cables and broke the power connection point off the board. Do you think damage like this could be repaired by soldering? A: Soldering manually is an inexact science – solder has quirks of flow that make getting your work right in a predictable way difficult. When soldering you need to ensure the project leaves a little room for unexpected gravitational incidents. That said, if there’s an area manual soldering could apply with older pre or early SMD control boards it’s in the repairing of low voltage connections at the edge. Make your attempt on the work bench at the office or at home, not on site. You need good light, a magnifier, a third hand and plenty of masking material. Ensure uniform temperatures between solder tip and the connection being repaired before introducing the solder wire. Surfaces should be fluxed clean. Be sure the iron tip has a good cover of solder before you get started – and stick to the lower end of the temperature range – super heated solder has a habit of running away on you.

Q: If water had got into the wiring of an alarm or access control system how would it show itself and how should we go about troubleshooting for it? A: Water damage to wiring is much more common than you’d think. As water penetrates the sheath what you’re going to get first is noise on the wire indicating high frequency leakage between the conductors. Water conducts electricity a whole lot better than PVC, remember. You’ll also get greater impedance (this may not be measurable, even on an oscilloscope) and the level of isolation will fall. As the copper corrodes, you’ll get increasing resistance and a lot more noise. In the end you’ll get false alarms as electrical signal drops below the circuit’s designed thresholds. We’d recommend using a gel-filled cable for wet runs. If you need to re-install the job as a result of water damage, invest in this cable type – it won’t let you down.

Q: In SEN’s opinion, what’s the most important quality of an external CCTV camera – is there any one quality that trumps all others? A: Image quality being more or less equal, the most important quality of an external CCTV camera is longevity. Obviously you want decent optics, a good sensor and your operational goals to be met, as far as that’s possible. But the camera also needs to be built in a way that ensures it lasts for many, many years without succumbing to the rigours of UV exposure, thermal expansion and contraction, vibration, etc. Some modern cameras are prone to

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suffering from clouded bubbles and/ or exhibit serious cracking of structural poly after a year or 2 in the field. Others are delivered with metal components of varying nobility – the result being rapid corrosion. Then there are cable entry points that are designed poorly that over time allow water ingress and board failure. There are a couple of storied brands that seem to never die, and you can see them 15-plus years after installation still plugging away in horrible external applications monitoring pivotal infrastructure like traffic networks and shorefront installations. That’s the sort of performance you want, especially if the cameras are located in difficult to reach places – elevated mounting points like bridges or above busy motorways. Servicing a failed camera in these sorts of tough locations can cost almost as much as replacing it entirely. Q: Where would you avoid installing smoke alarms in a typical residence or SME application? A: Smoke alarms shouldn’t be installed anywhere they may miss ignition events or generate nuisance alarms. It’s worth pointing out that best standard in Australia and New Zealand is considered to be the photoelectric smoke alarm. These sensors are more expensive than ionizing smoke alarms but are considered less likely to miss smouldering fires. The sensitivity of the photoelectric alarm is lower than an ionization alarm if smoke particles are invisible or light in colour. They are also less sensitive when smoke particles are very dark in colour because dark particles absorb light from the internal LED, rather than reflecting it onto the internal facets of the photoelectric device to trigger an alarm event. To minimize nuisance alarms, we would avoid installing photoelectric smoke sensors in places like kitchens, or near kitchen airflows. Other places to avoid include garages where there may be exhaust fumes, bathrooms where there may be steam or high humidity, laundries where there may be high humidity. Sensors should be kept at least 3 metres from such areas.

It’s all also a good idea to stay away from water heaters, unflued space heaters and open fireplaces. You need to be 6-7 metres from an unflued gas heater and that still may not be enough. In early winter gas heaters that have not been used for a while will initially burn some dust, causing smoke particles to generate false alarms. Sometimes gas supplies may incorporate contaminants, and these might generate smoke particles from time to time. You should also avoid dusty, dirty areas, or locations prone to insect infestation – if the sensor comes with dust cover this could be deployed using it during periods of construction. Some smoke alarms can be fitted with an insect screen and this might ensure it does not become a home of cockroaches in summer. Try to avoid areas with strong air currents or fresh air flows, these drafts may prevent internal smoke from reaching the sensor and install photoelectric smoke sensors further than 1.5 metres from fluorescent lights. Fluorescent lights emit EMI and RFI signals that can trigger sensor circuitry in generating alarms. Dead air spaces are also to be avoided. These are typically found in the peak of cathedral ceilings or A-frame ceilings. Functional ranges for smoke alarms are between 5C and 45C. Avoid areas with higher temperatures – external metal sheds, especially in elevated locations. Finally, smoke sensors should not be installed in places where their audible-only

alarm can’t be heard – especially if they can’t be heard from sleeping quarters. Assessing the ideal location from this point of view is organic and may require hardwiring sensors in series, using smart device apps to deliver alarm notifications, or the locating of a smoke sensor in places fire ignition is unlikely but which is the furthest place from a bedroom a sleeper might be woken by a detector siren – for instance, an adjoining hallway or an internal landing. Q: What’s the detection performance of the Ness Quantum sensor from the early 2000s and do you know its mounting height? We are working on an installation with a number of these sensors, all still working happily away, and are planning to reposition and rewire them in support of a new alarm access panel. A: Ness’s Quantum dual technology sensor was engineered in Australia and features include inbuilt temperature compensation, 15m range with creep zone, selectable PIR pulse count adjustment and separate microwave range control. There’s an NC dry contact with 47 series resistor (tamper, alarm relay), 20mA current draw with 28mA walk test, screwless snap-in circuit board locator, click height adjuster and 1.1-3.1m mounting height, microwave frequency of 10.525GHz. Contact the Ness Corp team for more info on this sensor and the Ness intrusion detection range. n se&n 49

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AMPLIFY YOUR MESSAGE

sen

P R I N T l D I G I TA L l E V E N T S

events Secutech International Date: July 7-9, 2021 Location: Nangang Exhibition Hall, Taipei, Taiwan Contact: +886 2 8729 1017 Secutech Taiwan is the leading trade fair for fire, safety and securityelectronic. It is the largest fair of its kind and opens exhibiting companies access to the Taiwanese security market.

IFSEC International Date: July 12-14, 2021 Location: Excel, London, UK Contact: +44 (0)20 7921 8166 IFSEC International is an annual trade fair and conference for the global security industry. Organised by Informa Markets, it is held at ExCeL London alongside FIREX International, Safety & Health Expo and Facilities Show.

Security Electronics & Networks Magazine securityelectronicsandnetworks.com Weekly Enewsletter Weekly AAA Enewsletter securityandgovernmentexpo.com.au sectechroadshow.com.au

ISC West Date: July 19-21, 2021 Location: Sands Expo, Las Vegas, U.S. Contact: +1 203 840 5602 Taking place July 19-21 at the Sands Expo in Las Vegas, ISC West looks forward to welcoming the security & public safety industry back to accelerate market recovery and re-define the roadmap ahead.

Security Exhibition & Conference & Integrate Date: 21-23 July, 2021 Location: ICC Sydney Contact: securityexpo@divcom.net.au Diversified Communications Australia is pleased to announce that the 35th edition of the Security Exhibition & Conference in 2021 will for the first time ever, be co-located with our sister show, Integrate Exhibition, Australia’s premier audio visual and integration exhibition.

S E C U R I T Y Security & Government & GOVERNMENT EXPO

Expo 2021

Date: 18 November, 2021 Location: Realm Hotel, Canberra Contact: +61 2 9280 4425 Held in partnership with ASIS ACT, SAGE and the ASIS seminars and ASIS dinner give government security managers and facilities managers, security installers, security integrators, and security consultants, the perfect opportunity to get a look at the latest security technologies at a relaxed one-day event in the nation’s capital.

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Origo

2 in 1

DATABASE MANAGEMENT

The Integriti management software now provides a single platform for the end user to assign HID Mobile Access credentials to staff and visitors on site. No longer are two data bases and two management programs required to achieve the same outcome.

Another fantastic integration |

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