A&s #I202 oct 2015 by Messe Frankfurt New Era Business Media Ltd. Taiwan Branch

Oct 2015 Viewpoint

Vertical Market

Industry Trends Drive Open Platform Development

Vicon Industries used to be the market leader in analog video surveillance equipment. Now, a year after corporate reorganization and under the leadership of a new CEO, the company is back to its old glory.

Network Transmission for Public Transportation – Combining Fiber and Wireless

Systems integrators working in the public transportation vertical can choose between fiber optics or wireless networks to transfer information between stations, mobile units, and control centers. However, budget and logistics constraints make a hybrid solution the most practical way to go.

Railway Vandalism: Never Mind the Drones; Double Down on Video Surveillance

SMAHome

News Feature

Training and Support Create Value for Channel Partners

a&s talked to Daniel Wan, Channel Marketing Manager for U.K. and Ireland at Honeywell Security to discuss the current status of channel players in the security market.

Multifunctional Sensors Search for New Applications and Value

OCT 2015 ● www.asmag.com

Smart Sensor Makers’ Multiple Sales Strategies

Contents........................................p.14 Editor’s Note..................................p.18 Application Cases..........................p.20 Products of the Month...................p.26 Show Review..................................p.82 Show Calendar...............................p.84 New Products.................................p.86 Companies in This Issue.................p.93

a&s International, published by Messe Frankfurt New Era Business Media Ltd., is a monthly professional publication for channel players in the worldwide electronic security industry since 1997. It updates importers, distributors, OEM/ODM searchers, systems integrators, and other product purchasers on product sources and identifies developments in Video Surveillance, Access Control, Biometrics, Intrusion Alarm, Intercom/Video Door Phone, Home Automation, and other fields relevant to electronic security.

ISSN 1997-6267 中華郵政北台字第1571號執照登記為雜誌交寄

School Security is Still Not Enough

Parson Lee Joseph Lee John Shi

Senior Consultant Consultant Executive Editor-in-Chief

Hubert Duh Charlie Wong

Managing Director/Publisher General Manager

Editorial

General Press Jill Lai Editor-in-Chief Alf Chang Senior Consultant Eifeh Strom Senior Editor William Pao Reporter Lisa Hsu Reporter Prasanth Aby Thomas Reporter Emily Lin Reporter

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Art Design

nother deadly school shooting happened, this time at Umpqua Community College in Roseburg, Oregon, on October 1. The mass shooting took nine lives and injured dozens before the gunman shot himself. The police came immediately, however, the disaster might have been minimized if the campus had a robust access control and mass notification system. The limited school funding is not new to American schools, especially for rural ones, which exposes students to danger and terror. The event once again raised the issue of gun control in the country and also the discussion of how social media can help quickly diagnose anti-socialists in order to prevent tragedies from happening.

the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in Connecticut in 2012, which killed 26; Virginia Tech in 2007, in which 32 people were killed; and Columbine High School in Colorado in 1999, in which 13 people were killed.

Gaven Lee Mao Chang Arthur Wu

Executive Designer Designer Designer

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Circulation & Subscription

Michelle Shih

Officer

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Corporate Management

Collins Yuan Thomas Pin Chihung Lee

Group Manager Account Manager IT Manager

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asmag.com

Jessica Yang

Product Manager

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Secutech

Education institutes have always been an important market sector for the security business. However, telling from these events, security awareness is still not widespread enough at all different levels and regions of US schools. The same situation might also apply to other countries in the world. In other countries, like in Asia, school campuses are usually not open to the public and have strict gun control laws, which may make campuses a little bit more secure. However, as society becomes much more diverse, our schools still have to be well protected.

OCT 2015 ● www.asmag.com

What is most terrifying is the Oregon school shooting is the 41st school shooting this year, according to NBC News. It is now also one of the worst school shootings in US history, among

Echo Lin Trade Fair Manager Peggy Wu Manager Eva Tsai Project Manager

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International Advertising

[Headquarters]

Juihui Lin Kay Yang Audrey Fang

Manager Operation Officer Coordinator

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[Branches & Representatives]

Bobbie Ferraro Carolina Pattuelli Tenzile Cavus Evris Consolos Muris Hadzic Manish Gandhi Iris Lai Cliff Kang Y. C. Suh Takashi Komori Nguyen Thu Ha

USA/Canada Europe (Italy) Europe (Turkey) Europe (U.K.) Southeast Europe India Taiwan China Korea Japan Vietnam

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Messe Frankfurt New Era Business Media Ltd. Taiwan Branch: 2F, No. 8, Lane 360, Sec. 1, Nei-Hu Rd.,Taipei 114, Taiwan Phone/886 2 2659 9080 Fax/886 2 2659 9069 Website/www.mfnewera.com Messe Frankfurt New Era Business Media Ltd., a company formed by Messe Frankfurt (HK) Ltd. and former A&S Group in 2009, is an integrated media service provider in the security industry. Our service covers magazines, websites, events, and trade shows. The portfolio of a&s magazines includes a&s International, a&s Asia (above published in English), a&s China, a&s Installer, a&s Solution, and a&s Taiwan (above published in Chinese). a&s Turkiye, a&s Adria, a&s Italy, a&s India, a&s Japan and a&s Vietnam are licensed editions. For changes of address or subscription problems, contact us at mfne-circulation@newera.messefrankfurt.com Copyright© 2015 Messe Frankfurt New Era Business Media Ltd. All rights reserved. No part of this magazine may be republished, reprinted or redistributed in any forms, including electronic, without written consent from the publisher.

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jill.lai@newera.messefrankfurt.com 18

Training and Support Create Value for

Daniel Wan, Channel Marketing Manager, U.K. and Ireland, Honeywell Security

Channel Partners

a&s talked to Daniel Wan, Channel Marketing Manager for U.K. and Ireland at Honeywell Security to discuss the current status of channel players in the security market. Honeywell would like to create real benefits for their prestigious partners to help them weather the price competition in the market, not only through products, but also through their channel program. BY Jill Lai

a&s: What is the biggest challenge for distribution partners in the current market? Wan: I think the major problem for our distribution partners is how they can differentiate between all the manufacturers and vendors. There are multiple manufacturers in the market, and each manufacturer has its own portfolio. So where should the distributors start? How do they pick the right solution? The most challenging part for them is how to easily define and differentiate between different products, and find out what the value is in one particular solution.

What is the core value of Honeywell, for your channel partners? I would say not many manufacturers are able to offer such a wide portfolio, ranging from video surveillance, access control, and intruder systems. The key message to our partners and systems integrators is the power of our integration. You can have vendors that work within a certain discipline, but it is hard to find one that can offer a complete integrated solution. That is our core strength, providing solutions from the entry level through to the enterprise level. We have strength within access control, intrusion and video surveillance, but we can also work across each discipline, from top to the bottom, in terms of integration. For Honeywell, we donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t have products alone â&#x20AC;&#x201D; we also have the integration capability and services to back them up. These are as equally important as the products themselves. We support our integrator partners from entry-level to enterprise solutions, helping them to achieve higher value and higher margin business, which benefits all distributors and systems integrators in the longer term. Currently, the security market is very pricedriven, leading to a demand for entry-level,

OCT 2015 â&#x2014;? www.asmag.com

commoditized products. Honeywell’s philosophy is to support these entrylevel customers and help them scale up, expand, and migrate to system-led solutions that provide more benefits.

What is so special about Honeywell’s channel partner program? The Honeywell Channel Partner Program is an EMEA-wide initiative designed to support and reward installers and systems integrators for their loyalty to Honeywell, and ensure that they are well placed to sell our products and solutions by providing them with training and support. The Channel Partner Program consists of four levels: Registered Security Partner, Bronze, Silver, and Gold. How we tier our partners depends on how well they are trained on our solutions, and not just about how much they use our products. For instance, if they are trained and actively install our intrusion detection, access control and video surveillance solution, then we rate them very high in the program as they are the type of systems integrators we really

The key message to our partners and systems integrators is the power of our integration. You can have vendors that work within a certain discipline, but it is hard to find one that can offer a complete integrated solution. want to support. We can trust them to deliver a good experience to end users using Honeywell integrated solutions. A common complaint from some systems integrators regarding other vendors’ partner programes is they don’t see the benefits from being involved in the scheme. To tackle this, the Honeywell Channel Partner Program provides benefits and support at all levels. For instance, systems integrators will want to know if they will receive a certain level of technical support depending on their tier. In our program, Partners know that when they pick up the phone, and they will get prioritized support from Honeywell. The program also provides added benefits in terms of service support. Within the program, our partners have the assurance of knowing they have access to an advance replacement service. If they grow their business by working with Honeywell, we will reward them with a growth rebate no matter which tier they belong to. In addition to that, partners within the program are also able to accrue funds for marketing development to promote their business. The benefits of the program are very wide ranging.

Besides the program, how do you strengthen your relationship with systems integrators? Honeywell does this a little differently in different regions. In the U.K., we run regional road shows for our partners. These events provide the opportunity to have in-depth conversations with our partners, and build that close relationship while presenting them with our latest technologies. We have also recently launched the Honeywell Specifier Program, designed for security consultants, planners, and specifiers. We have a unique understanding of their needs and our aim is to help them deliver the most cost-effective, value-added solutions to their customers on time, every time.

The Honeywell Security Specifier Program includes: • T raining sessions so that specifiers can readily advise customers on design, ordering, and installation of integrated security solutions; • A ccess to a dedicated online portal where they can view key marketing tools and production information, including the latest product architect and engineering specifications; • A ccess to a powerful new online design tool to help them select the right security technologies and solutions needed for each individual solution design situation. This advanced tool enables specifiers to quickly and accurately identify the most appropriate solution for their project, cutting down on time spent researching and identifying solutions; • C ontinuing Professional Development (CPD) certified seminar program that can also be delivered as “Lunch and Learn” sessions at specifiers’ premises.

Industry Trends Drive

Open Platform Development BY Jill Lai

icon Industries has experienced a dramatic change over the past year. The company acquired the early developer of megapixel IP cameras IQinVision, and a new CEO, the former Chief Sales and Marketing Officer of Milestone Systems, Eric Fullerton, integrated the operations and business of both companies. After a year of restructuring and redirection, the company is ready to make a comeback in the security market. According to the company’s recent announcement, its revenues for the third quarter of fiscal 2015 increased 26 percent to US$11.7 million and gross profit margins also increased to 40 percent. The company’s recent remarkable improvement is due to the acquisition of IQinVision and also its new corporate strategy. Fullerton pointed out several megatrends in the industry, which mainly lead the future development of Vicon Industries. He particularly mentioned that commoditization has changed the dynamic of the security industry to focus more on systems and solutions instead of cameras only. That is why he would like to lead the company to deliver fully standard-compliant, open platforms and products for their customers. OCT 2015 ● www.asmag.com

Industry Trend Impacting the Industry According to Fullerton, one major trend is the siliconization of surveillance cameras, which has impacted the whole security business. “Over the past couple of years, we have seen the functionality of complex megapixel cameras become integrated mainly onto chips. Chipset providers,

Eric Fullerton, CEO, Vicon Industries

Now the big change is that we started to open up our technology as well as our way to conducting business. This is the strategic way we will go forward.

such as Ambarella and Hisilicon, are able to deliver their customers megapixel and sophisticated camera functionality in silicon today. This means the camera industry has gone from innovating on the camera’s performance to being more like a camera OEM business.” “That is why many vendors are able to bring 12-megapixel [4K] cameras to market almost at the same time. This doesn’t mean vendors should get out of the camera business, but what we are suggesting is that the business nature of cameras is changing. It has become much easier to manufacture entry-level cameras and now it is not the camera making the difference, but the functionality, the software you put on it, and how you integrate it into a solution that makes the difference.” “Another trend is the slowing of innovation [in the security industry] or you can say the industry has been lacking innovation for the past few years. Now it is more about how you provide service; how you go to market, and how you package your solution. In a project with hundreds or thousands of cameras, the camera cost is not as important as before since the camera cost has become a smaller part of the total cost. Now, and going forward, it is more about interoperability, networking and solutions. Today the focus is the application or solution, and the value it brings to the business more than just surveillance.” A third trend is that the hardware and basic

did have the IP surveillance product line. However, we were all proprietary even though we did provide APIs for some integration. Now the big change is that we started to open up our technology as well as our way of conducting business. This is the strategic way we will go forward.”

Provides Smooth Migration from Analog to IP

VMS functionality is commoditizing. According to Fullerton, in the past, a VMS vendor could charge end users around one fourth of the total camera cost for a VMS license fee. Now cameras have become much cheaper and customers can get the features they desire from them. Different market conditions are causing basic VMS to become very inexpensive or even free of charge. This commoditization of hardware and software is changing the dynamic of the industry.

Standards-Compliant, Open Platform Commoditization of hardware and software is actually driving some of the recent consolidation we have seen in the industry. Learning from history, these companies eventually will become more proprietary in their technology approaches. “The tendency of this industry is that companies say they are open platform but actually they are using proprietary technologies. In my opinion, the one who controls a consolidation eventually will want to benefit from the synergy of merging two companies. If you embrace the synergy, then you start to become proprietary. So, my prediction for the industry is we might see more of the historical proprietary behaviors of the past which are not very good for end users. So, what I want to do with the new Vicon, is to deliver a 100-percent standards-compliant, open platform,” said Fullerton. All of Vicon’s products, ranging from cameras, VMS to access control systems, will be ONVIF compliant. “Our products are interactive to the devices complying with Profile G and any future profiles of ONVIF. If customers buy our access control products to integrate in a solution, then, I would say, they can freely choose VMS/IP cameras from other vendors. Or they can choose a whole solution from Vicon,” he continued. “In order to build a robust VMS to protect the interest of our end users, we need to be totally standards based. Being ONVIF compliant is truly different from just opening a set of APIs for integration. When I arrived at Vicon, we

It can’t be denied that the global security market still has a large installation base of analog systems, especially in the U.K. To fulfill end users’ needs, Vicon provides a solution for customers to make a smooth migration to IP. Fullerton said, “Vicon has a strong analog to IP conversion base. The company has good products in analog, and we also have megapixel analog and IP products. We can show customers the financially sound way from where they are today to where they want to go. We have seen a spike in the sales of analog matrix switches because customers are embarking on the IP migration. To further help our customers, Vicon is launching a line of low-end analog encoders that would be able to connect the megapixel cameras.”

Future Product Development In terms of Vicon’s recent product development, in addition to upgrading picture quality (e.g., light sensitivity,and field of view) and releasing an updated version of their Vicon VMS, access control is also another sector that Vicon is developing. “What we built is a door control system with PIR, integrated with access control management software. It is all PoE driven and targeted at the market of controlling one to 2,000 doors. In the future, we will strengthen our access control management software to control even larger door counts and to integrate with different equipment, such as door locks and card readers, from other vendors,” he said. Finally, the company will launch several other improvements addressing customer needs and to keep itself cost-effective, according to Fullerton. Telling from its latest financial report, the company’s new strategy is definitely proving to be a success.

Since its introduction, security as a service (SaaS) has been popular in the residential sector. But technological advancement and ease of use is increasingly prompting enterprise clients to opt for this mode of security.

Security as a Service Moves Beyond Residential Sector BY Prasanth Aby Thomas

ecurity as a service (SaaS) is increasingly becoming popular across the globe mainly due to lower costs, flexibility, and the options to use services like high-end video analytics that may require massive computing power. Yet despite its potential, until recently the market for SaaS was mostly restricted to the residential sector. But with improved technology and better customer awareness, this is set to change.

Non-Residential Markets Interested in SaaS OCT 2015 ● www.asmag.com

Understandably the demand for this option outside the residential sector is beginning with the small and medium business (SMB) sector. Aaron Dale, Analyst for Video Surveillance at IHS pointed out quick service restaurants as an example of a potential SaaS end user.

Sébastien Boeynaems, Marketing & Sales Manager, Benelux, Sabelco Pat Camman, Director, Business Development, Acme Security Center

“Video surveillance as a service (VSaaS) is a popular solution in the SMB market as it facilitates a seamless link between multiple sites over a wide geographic area,” Dale said. SMB’s interest in services is largely due to the fact that it helps them avoid the expenses upfront. Sébastien Boeynaems, Marketing & Sales Manager in Benelux at the Belgium-based reseller of Panasonic Cameramanager, Sabelco, said that instead of paying large sums for cameras and recorders, they can pay monthly for a camera-cloud solution and always have the latest technology. Roshan Punnilath, Head of Operations at the Saudi Arabia-based Mega Security Services added that the interest is also because the organizations don’t need to appoint staff to maintain their security services locally, thereby reducing expenses.

From SMBs to Larger Organizations But then as the technology has evolved from its initial days, larger organizations have begun to take an interest in SaaS. “SaaS can be useful for chains of outlet or shops, companies who have warehouses, multiple service center workshops, and anyone who needs centralized monitoring and security management for their premises,” Punnilath said. Other resellers have also pointed out that a potential customer for SaaS is large multinational corporate organizations with several branches but have limited staff.

“For example, many of these companies have a limited or off-site IT staff for their different locations, which causes them not to have a physical IT employee on-premise to address immediate issues or concerns,” said David English, VP of Sales & Marketing at Southeastern Security Professionals (SSP), a dealer of Brivo. Pat Camman, Director of Business Development at Acme Security Center, a reseller of Eagle Eye Networks, agreed that this segment is also popular with small offices. “Professional service organizations that need access control for their employees and visitors as well as security cameras for the ID of possible criminal activity,” Camman said.

Large-Scale Projects for SaaS The potential of this segment is increasingly being realized as customers including those from the government sector are opting for it. Dale pointed out that China is leading by example in this. “Governments or local authorities [in China] are drawn to the billing model offered by

Smart, Speedy, and Stylish:

Turnstiles

Integral Part of Visitor Entry Control BY William Pao

Visitor entry control encompasses many elements. From barricades in parking lots to turnstiles in lobbies, these devices serve as barriers to keep outsiders at bay. This article focuses mostly on turnstiles for office buildings, where users look for security, speed, and aesthetics in their products.

OCT 2015 â&#x2014;? www.asmag.com

Prevention of tailgating is the number one objective. The overall goal is to allow authorized users to enter, while controlling unauthorized users from passing undetected.

Patrick Lim, Director for Group Sales and Marketing, Ademco Security Group

Mark Perkins, Enterprise Accounts Sales Manager, Boon Edam

Tony Smith, Sales and Marketing, IDL

isitor entry control is a critical part of the security implementation of an office building. At the center of it is the lobby area turnstile, which separates employees from those who do not belong. For a long time, the security guard at the building served that purpose, keeping track of who can enter and who should be kept out. But, as buildings get more complex and are occupied by hundreds if not thousands of workers, it has become increasingly unfeasible for security guards to perform that task. Enters the lobby-area turnstile, which offers a more effective way to control visitor entry and reduces the burden on the receptionist staff. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Our clients are looking for a method of controlling and monitoring who enters their environment, and they want this to be efficient, simple to use, and reliable,â&#x20AC;? said Tony Smith, Sales and Marketing Manager at IDL. There are different types of office building turnstiles, and most of them come with advanced features to meet user demands for the following: security, to be able to detect abnormalities and alert relative authorities in the quickest manner; speed, to be able to process large amounts of people in the shortest time; and aesthetics, to naturally blend into the building so that the turnstiles fit the overall dĂŠcor of the lobby.

etwork Transmission

for

BY Israel Gogol, Freelancer

Public Transportation —

Combining Fiber and Wireless

OCT 2015 ● www.asmag.com

ublic transportation is a massive user of surveillance technology. A quick look at a metro station for example will find cameras monitoring platforms, gates, escalators, elevators, etc. This footage is used to ensure the fast flow of traffic and commuters’ safety. Oftentimes, the discussion around surveillance systems for public transportation deals with the choice of the right camera, or choosing video analytics that can detect a person on the tracks or a slip-and-fall event. The challenges of transferring mass amounts of information from stations to the operations control center often stay in the background. In reality, the transfer media is not only a critical choice for the system, but also a costly one that requires detailed attention. The challenges in designing a scalable network for public transportation include designing a reliable, stable, and secured network. When surveillance systems are part of the network, having enough bandwidth and network load sharing are also important. “Between stations and terminals, there is a huge network designed for diversified systems’ data to be transmitted and exchanged; the requirements for network security and reliability greatly affect the total cost of the network system,” said Rich Shih, Senior Sales Manager at OT Systems. “The requirement for a network topology that offers faster recovery options in the millisecond level (so that in case of a malfunction the system is not affected too much) are getting more and more popular. Usually public transport

The transfer media is not only a critical choice for the system, but also a costly one that requires detailed attention.

Tom Larson, Director, Sales & Engineering, BCD Video

Umberto Malesci, CEO and Co-Founder, Fluidmesh Networks

Rich Shih, Senior Sales Manager, OT Systems

operators go for the Cisco network recovery protocols (whose response time is seconds) or choose a proprietary fast recovery ring topology for mission critical system applications.”

Choosing the Right Architecture There are two basic architectures used in public transportation. The first is a distributed architecture — video footage is housed in a server on-site and then transferred to a central location. The second is centralized, all the data is

Communicating With Mobile Units The expectations from public transportation networks are similar to those from other infrastructure projects: network transmission should provide failover capability, redundancy, and scalability for future enhancement. However, apart from stations, video monitoring also takes place on mobile units such as busses and metro cars. This poses a unique challenge to the public transportation vertical — how to get the information from the mobile centers to the control rooms. “Our wireless Ethernet products have been used on busses and trains as a link to upload surveillance video. The way it works is the surveillance video is stored on the bus or train on an onboard digital video recorder. When the bus or train pulls into a terminal or station, the remote wireless endpoint syncs with the central control center access point and the data is uploaded to the control center. All this can happen automatically, many times during the day at stations along

the route,” explained Frank Haight, VP of Marketing at ComNet. Since trains and busses might only make brief stops at stations before continuing on, there is a need to use Frank Haight, VP, self-managed switches Marketing, ComNet with high-throughput. “These switches can aggregate incoming video data streams making them an easier upload to the central control center. The key is to manage the network. The use of these types of switches prevents flooding the network and keeps the important video records intact,” added Haight.

Railway vandalism can include a wide range of criminal activities including drawing graffiti, littering, fly-tipping, damaging company property like fences, bridges, signs and tracks, or even stealing metal to sell on. It’s expensive, can cause delays and disruption, and compromise safety. Typically split into two major categories — damage to track infrastructure and surrounding areas, and damage to train carriages — it has been the scourge of European transport for many years. BY James Somerville-Smith, Channel Marketing Leader, EMEA, Honeywell Security

Railway Vandalism:

Never Mind the Drones; Double Down on Video Surveillance

OCT 2015 ● www.asmag.com

hen it comes to tackling vandalism, there are a number of major challenges facing Europe’s railway operators. Chief among them is the sheer size and scale of Europe’s railways — over 120,000 miles of track across the region — mean it would be impossible to cost-effectively monitor all corners of the network using video surveillance. Inevitably this means that mission-critical sites are protected permanently, and others are left exposed to criminal activity. Another issue facing rail operators is downtime. The process of cleaning train carriages that have been defaced with graffiti is complicated and time consuming as the spray paint must be

James SomervilleSmith, Channel Marketing Leader, EMEA, Honeywell Security

The adoption of standard security technology systems is still much lower than it should be right across the rail industry.

removed by experts in specially designated areas owing to the noxious mix of chemicals used. Inevitably this leads to a reduction in the number of trains in service, and a drop in the number of passengers using the railway. Metal theft can also lead to delays and cancellations as sections of the track need to be replaced. Downtime is often a financial triple-whammy for train operators who lose revenue from lost tickets, have to cover the cost of removing the graffiti or repairing tracks in addition to penalties imposed by the national regulator for failing to meet the agreed service level agreement. Vandalism is not a problem that is disappearing either. Recently police in Paris arrested an Australian couple who allegedly caused around US$8,925-worth of damage by spraying graffiti while interrailing across Europe. The couple brought over 20 spray cans to Europe with them, and even took digital photos of their handiwork. In South Africa, metal thieves stole nearly 10 kilometers of railway track, causing an estimated $2.3 million worth of damage. In the U.K., cable thieves caused 36 hours of disruption to rail services in the Birmingham area. And this is in the last six months alone. Rail operators are fighting back though. Last year the German national rail network Deutsche Bahn unveiled a controversial

Graffiti on trains is not only a visual nuisance, but also affects the number of trains in operation as removing the paint takes time.

OCT 2015 ● www.asmag.com

plan to use spy drones to track down and arrest graffiti sprayers who cost the network an estimated $7.8 million per year in cleaning fees. Over the summer, French company RFF announced a $16.7 billion infrastructure upgrade across its rail network designed to — amongst other things — protect it from cable theft and vandalism. In Britain, Railtrack has invested in dummy “Q” trains with plain clothed officers on board, designed to crack down on railway vandalism that costs over $27.9 million per year. There is still work to be done. In order for real and genuine progress to be made toward eliminating vandalism on our railways, it is vital the key stakeholders involved make the investments needed to protect train carriages, tracks, and surrounding areas from graffiti, metal theft, cable theft, and other kinds of criminal damage. Bluntly, the adoption of standard security technology systems is still much lower than it should be right across the rail industry. There has been a significant amount of innovation in the transport security industry over the past few years. Major developments in the image quality achieved through video surveillance

mean that with the right solution vandals can be accurately identified and more easily prosecuted by the authorities. The latest surveillance systems are explosionproof, weatherproof, operate effectively 24/7, and can be monitored centrally to protect railways lines, vehicle parks, storage yards, and remote sites. Video recorder storage capacity and compression technology is also improving, allowing for many hours of video to be retained. State-of-the-art video analytics technologies that allow security teams to pre-empt vandalism before it actually takes place are also an effective security tool that railways should be embracing more readily. These solutions are capable of spotting suspicious behavior — for example, a would-be thief scaling a railway fence or a group of youths lurking beside an out-of-service train carriage — and alert the security team immediately to the threat. In addition, by deploying analytics via a video management system to achieve a single unified view of a space, it’s much easier to spot a person behaving in an unusual way. Imagine how much lower cleaning fees would be if train operators could pre-empt a potential vandal before he or she attempted to spray paint on the side of a carriage. Finally, a huge leap in the reliability of wireless technology means that temporary structures across the network can be “locked down” more easily. This is particularly useful when it comes to protecting sites that are undergoing maintenance or construction work, and thus represent an open invitation for vandals and thieves. If a site is undergoing repair work, it is cost prohibitive and often physically impossible to install a wired security system to protect it. In conclusion, major media outlets right across Europe rightly applauded the Deutsche Bahn for its imaginative and innovative experiment to reduce railway vandalism. However, the fact remains that there is cheaper, more scalable, equally as effective security technology on the market today that a large percentage of Europe’s railway companies haven’t yet fully embraced. It might not be a drone, but huge leaps in the sophistication of video surveillance, video analytics, and wireless technology over the past few years mean there’s never been a better time for railways to invest in security solutions, or, incidentally, a riskier time to be a railway vandal.

Tailoring Mobile Surveillance for Enhanced Onboard

BY Prasanth Aby Thomas

ecuring public transport has become a priority for nations across the globe. Governments and private companies are making significant investments towards this, and initiatives such as smart cities have increased its demand. Realizing the potential, several security companies are concentrating their efforts on providing mobile surveillance solutions that leave no stone unturned. A key ingredient of any mobile surveillance solution is the NVR or DVR. Although the recorders used in this vertical are fundamentally the same as their counterparts in others, the unique environment in which they operate demands certain specific modifications.

Adapted Solutions for Mobile Environments The nature of the vehicle largely defines the specifications for the recorder. An example is the number of video channels required, according to Wallace Ma, Executive Director of TeleEye Group. “We normally require one to two cameras installed in a taxi,” said Ma. “On the contrary, we would need much more cameras installed in a bus or a train compartment.”

Standards to Secure Railway Carriages

OCT 2015 ● www.asmag.com

Things do get more complex on larger public transport vehicles like buses and trains. Johan Slotte, Deputy CEO of Teleste said that issues such as vibration and electromagnetic fields demand specific requirements in the railways, necessitating the need for rail-certified mobile DVRs and NVRs. EN 50155, a common standard covering electronic equipment used on rolling stock for railway applications, is what manufacturers are often required to adhere to. “In addition, products and components need to fulfill certain fire and smoke certificates,” Slotte said. “The obsolescence management of the components is equally important and suppliers often need to guarantee component availability and functionality up to 30 years.” Derek Tai, Product Manager for the Rail Communications Division at Moxa said that while the EN 50155 is an EU standard, IEC 60571 is the global standard. The latter has very specific requirements, in terms of electromagnetic compatibility (EMC), vibration, temperature, and

Derek Tai, Product Manager, Rail Communications Division, Moxa Johan Slotte, Deputy CEO, Teleste Musk Li, Product Manager, Dahua Technology Ruslan Salimov, Regional Sales Manager, EMEA, EverFocus Electronics Wallace Ma, Executive Director, TeleEye Group

Solutions Security

reliability for railway equipment. For example, in most cases “EN 51055 requirement for temperature is from -25 to 70 degrees, Moxa can fulfill the highest standard requirement, from -40 to 70 degrees, which is very unique in IP camera for railway application,” said Tai. Yet another standard is expected to come out soon. “A new standard, IEC 62580-2, is to be issued by the end of this year or early next year which will list train location as part of the ‘metadata’ that should be taken by the video surveillance system,” said Kevin Shen, Product Manager for Industrial Video Networking Division at Moxa. “This standard will be very specific in the functionality, applications, specifications in areas that should be covered by video surveillance cameras, and also based on the network communication standard IEC 61375.” In other words, the IEC 62580-2 standard could be more detailed in application, to the extent it might even note how clearly a camera can see a certain area in varied lighting conditions. This in turn might help specify the types of cameras to be used in different places, and ensure overall improvement in security.

Lack of Universal Standard in Buses When it comes to buses, the equipment is largely the same as those used in railways (due to similar harsh environmental conditions like temperature, vibration and dust), to the extent that those who do projects in buses tend to follow the same certification standard as for rolling stock, according to Ruslan Salimov, Regional Sales Manager for EMEA at EverFocus Electronics. Speaking of the Russian market where the company has a strong presence, Salimov noted that there is more demand to secure public transportation such as buses and ambulance cars, as trains and mass rapid transit (MRT) systems come with a significant level of inherent security. “For buses, there is no international standard yet, due to the difficulties in reaching exact specifications of a vehicle,” Salimov said. “Systems integrators (SI) mostly look at their local regulatory requirements and compliance with the EN 50155 standard. If you comply with the railways, you definitely comply for majority of other mobile projects.”

Certification Requirements in Different Countries In Asia there is no single certification for mobile surveillance solutions, as different countries maintain their own approval systems. Slotte pointed out certain standards other than EN 50155 that are mandated in the continent. “Suppliers providing rail solutions should be IRIS certified, which ensures proper processes and a sufficient quality as well as obsolescence management and RAMS [Reliability, Availability, Maintainability, Safety analysis],” Slotte said. Giving an instance of the varied certification systems in different countries, Salimov said that in Taiwan there is the

As the Going Gets Tough,

Distributors Look to Manufacturers for Support The recent market changes have pressured distributors across the globe to make some critical changes in their business strategies, including moving on to new low-cost suppliers. In this context we evaluate the current status of relationship between distributors and manufacturers, and how this can be improved. BY Prasanth Aby Thomas

here are no two ways of looking at it — the security industry is going through a tough phase. From manufacturers to distributors and systems integrators, the pressure to adapt to market changes is becoming more and more evident. Some attribute it to the macroeconomic slowdown, others are more specific to pinpoint regional issues that have hurt demand. And although its impact has been felt across the board, the segment that’s been seeing major pressure on the bottom line is the distributors. This is especially true for those who give/sell products to installers on credit. On their part, distributors have attempted several strategies to hedge the risks, notable among them being selling low-cost Chinese products. This strategy has lowered the total cost of a typical security system, according Victor Yugai, CEO of Russia-based distributor VideoSCAN, and helped to widen the market volume. And although there have been some concerns on the quality, the general trend seems to be that more distributors might look to China for supply. It is in this context that a manufacturer-distributor relationship becomes significant. Along with appropriate strategies, distributors and manufacturers now need to rethink how their relationships can be made more fruitful in the new business climate. It would be fair to say not enough research has gone into this topic so far. Nevertheless it remains a critical factor that could have a lasting impact on the industry. OCT 2015 ● www.asmag.com

Do Distributors Get Enough Support from Manufacturers? It is imperative that manufacturers and their channel partners understand each other well. While several industry players acknowledge this, the dynamic nature of the current economic climate necessitates dealers and producers to continuously reach out to each other. “In our opinion, several obligatory conditions have to be fulfilled for the

Given the difficult market conditions, it is imperative that manufacturers and distributors understand each other well.

manufacturer and the distributor to work successfully on the local market,” said Yugai. “Prompt and transparent communication between the parts, adaptation of an existing solution to the client’s requests, consistent quality, and acceptable solution cost for the market.” Yugai added that since an effective solution cannot be the cheapest one due to objective reasons, only collaborative hard work of manufacturers and their representatives helps to secure a footing in the market. Jorge Bardales, President of the Central America-based Tecnología, Acceso y Seguridad (TAS) elaborated on this point further, indicating that manufacturers should be aware of the target market situations and be active in attracting the end users. “Frequent visits to the countries are very important, along with help in taking customers to visit factories, and understanding the market and their needs,” Bardales said. A distributor who has managed to receive such keen support from

their principal is the Israel-based Web2See. Alon Salpeter, CEO of Web2See said his company is the registered distribution partner for Milestone Systems’ VMS and has maintained a close relationship with the manufacturer for many years. Since Milestone does not directly sell to the resellers and prefers to go through the distributor, Salpeter’s company feels quite protected by this business model. “We have a contact person in Milestone under the title Country Manager through whom all the communications between distributor and manufacturer go through (or with his awareness),” said Salpeter. “He also spends time coming over for seminars, meeting with clients, and sets goals and targets for the distribution channel.” The country manager is also involved in project pricing and is very aware of competition and takes part in negotiations with clients. Such an approach from the manufacturer goes a long way in supporting the distributor to enhance their business.

Distributors’ Worries on Margins and Attempts to Counter Them Marcus Ang, VP, Sales and Business Development, ADP Securegroup Rustu Arseven, GM, Tesan Iletisim Jorge Bardales, President, Tecnología, Acceso y Seguridad Farzad Harandi, Sales Director, Pooya Fara Negar Technology

In tandem with the weak global economic conditions and the dwindling demand in the security market in particular, a major concern that has hurt sentiments has been the sliding margins. For distributors, the lower prices of products have indeed brought in more customers from different sectors, but this has come at weaker profit margins. To counter this situation, distributors are looking towards different strategies, with and without support from manufacturers. Yugai said that their business

Multifunctional Sensors Search for New Applications and Value By a&s SMAhome

A multi-functional sensor or detector is one that integrates multiple sensors. Applications of multi-functional sensors can be found in environmental safety and security, health care, indoor air quality monitoring, or outdoor weather forecast and gardening. The basic models integrate temperature and humidity sensors for indoor climate control. Thanks to hardware improvements, smart algorithms, and support for remote control from the smartphone, more and more sensor types can be integrated into one multifunctional sensor for both indoor and outdoor uses.

OCT 2015 â&#x2014;? www.asmag.com

mart home sensors are categorized into single-function and multi-functional sensors. The former belongs to the mainstream market with competitive unit prices and large sales volume; the latter, called â&#x20AC;&#x153;hybrid sensorâ&#x20AC;? by some makers, belongs to the niche market for the early adopters. In recent years, there has been an increasing demand for multifunctional sensors to address needs from emerging applications.

Ales Spetic, CEO, CubeSensors

Bengt Rittri, CEO and Founder, Blueair

We spend a lot of time figuring out how to make use of the data that’s collected, which is a challenge any device with sensors has to face.

With the evolution of Internet of Things, we are developing the products that allow customers to monitor air quality at home or in the office as a natural extension of our product line.

Arthur Chu, Senior Director of Sales & Marketing, Philio

Ewa Bujak, PR Manager, Fibar Group

The homecare applications like air quality monitoring and healthcare are expected to grow in 2016.

There is no other way than cooperation of different protocols, which is the future of home automation.

Fred Potter, Founder and CEO, Netatmo

In less than 10 years, people won’t think about IoT as a trend, simply because all products will be connected. We won’t say a product is ‘connected’ or ‘smart’, it will just be assumed.

Elgato PR Director Lars Felber said, “The sensor is a great entry-level solution for smart home beginners as they work similar to a fitness tracker. Users can gather information about their home and make smart decisions to improve their comfort.” Daniel Dykes, Director of Business Development at Aeon Labs said, “Aeotec’s customers and the broader market are demanding multi-functional devices. You can expect that trend to become mainstream. For instance, smart LED bulbs offer more than just lighting.”

Beyond Security Purposes Previously, smart home sensors were designed for home security and automation applications. In the coming years, there will be more of a convergence in the design of these two applications. The combination will deliver more valuable products, offering benefits like energy cost savings. Moreover, we can see application-driven products that incorporate multiple sensors to achieve more precise detection and full functions, and to offer added value for customers. Ewa Bujak, PR Manager at Fibar Group said, “There are a number of reasons why Internet of Things (IoT) should be brought into the houses. One important reason is for safety and comfort. For us, at the moment, the most important thing is

to allow the elderly and disabled people to live dignified lives on their own.” “The security benefits from a device that offers motion and vibration sensing are obvious. We have one company in Australia using MultiSensor 6 to drive a powerful energy saving system where electronic windows, curtains, dehumidifiers, and air conditioning units are all controlled by MultiSensor 6. This particular system aims to cut down on expensive air conditioning use by layering wind forecasts with MultiSensor 6’s temperature, UV, and humidity readings to create natural air flow and cooling systems in a home,” said Dykes of Aeon Labs. Aeotec MultiSensor 6 is a motion sensor capable of powering a connected home’s security or ambience needs by integrating temperature, light, humidity, UV, and vibration sensors. The tiny device measures only 4 centimeters in width. Dykes believes the ultimate trend is to develop smaller devices with multiple built-in sensors for the connected home. Wulain's new product Dream Flower, works as a network router and control center, and it integrates environmental sensors, including temperature, humidity, CO2, PM2.5, and noise sensors. Jennifer Ren, Overseas Marketing Sales Manager at Wulian (Nanjing IOT Sensor Technology) indicated that it’s a trend to combine multiple sensors into one device in the smart home space.

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