Sen jun18

JUNE 2018 ISSUE 399

SECTECH: PRODUCTS & TECHNOLOGIES

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lC ase Study: Hills Distribution Centre nixter to Acquire CSD, Inner Range lA eview: Hikvision 6MP Turret Camera lR elco Prefers BGW Technology lP eport: Creating Situational Awareness lR larm Monitoring: Smart Investment Grows lA IST Calls For Lightweight Cryptography lN eview: DigiFort Video Management System lR

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Bright sights, safe city To secure a city, you need a video surveillance system that can conquer the challenge of fast-paced and chaotic scenes. Eyes on entrances and exits with heaving foot traffic, vision in low light conditions and wider coverage encompassing towering buildings and wide-open squares.

Hikvision is ready for the challenge. Our Enterprise Series brings powerful new functionalities to the fore with a collection of three state-of-the-art products that give you eyes to see: PanoVu series – these cameras let you cover more, capture more and save more, with hi-res colour imaging, false alarm detection, improved auto-tracking and reduced labour and hardware costs. The 6D multi-sensor camera offers an all-in-one design with four flexible built-in lenses.

DarkFighter series PTZ – harnessing the power of Hikvision’s Deep Learning AI solution, these upgraded cameras offer more functions than ever before with excellent performance for high-resolution imagery under low light conditions.

ProIP series – these network cameras (5-Line IPCs) are a true technological revolution, bringing the two advanced technologies of low-light surveillance and high-definition recognition together for the first time. Advanced H.265 technology and readily available transmission streams also serve to loosen the bottleneck of surveillance data.

Hikvision Oceania Unit 14a, 2 Eden Park Dr., Macquarie Park, NSW 2113, Australia +61 (0) 2 8599 4233 sales.au@hikvision.com

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editorial S E CU RI TY E L ECTR O NI C S & NETWO R KS J U NE 201 8 ISSUE 399

By John Adams

NEW STUFF AT SECTECH ROADSHOW ECTECH Roadshow is always a good place to get an idea of how technology is developing in the Australian market. The nature of the roadshow demands exhibitors bring products and technologies that catch the eye – you’re not getting the full range, just the eye teeth. Being able to get a hold on the pointy end of electronic security technology is no bad thing and SecTech Roadshow 2018 gave visitors the perfect opportunity to do so. SecTech roadies brought along their newest and coolest solutions and it was interesting to see what was popular and what was not.

There’s always plenty of CCTV gear at SecTech – we saw that again this year.

Something else we saw having a big impact was access control and security solutions, and security and home automation solutions. One exhibitor remarked that it was as if installers had just woken up to the possibilities of the latest home automation solutions.

Another suggested technicians simply wanted to connect with devices again.

At the same time, a couple of installers pointed out they rarely had a chance to see new products in the flesh and were making sure they saw as much as possible while they could.

The attraction of traditional forms of security packaged as alarm, intercom, CCTV camera and addressable switch is enhanced by the maturity of this part of the market.

There’s no question these days whether wireless home automation solutions are reliable, nor is there any doubt about their capability to be driven using mobile apps, which are now familiar to most installers, as well as the user market.

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Being able to get a hold on the pointy end of electronic security technology is no bad thing and SecTech Roadshow 2018 gave visitors the perfect opportunity to do so.

Perhaps something else was driving the interest – new product cadence is up – there were home automation and security solutions at SecTech that many had never seen before, as well as new and enhanced devices from respected brands, many of which reach market in quite different ways.

The fact home automation systems now offer 2MP surveillance cameras might not sound like a big thing, but it greatly increases their appeal to users weaned on HDTV, not QCIF. We also saw some leaning in from companies like Dahua and Hikvision around intercoms and access control.

It’s not new but it’s a growing push and supported by quality distributors, there’s zero chance we’re not going to see pressure in this part of the market.

At the same time, I heard comments that showed access control and its collective sub systems are where there’s still worthwhile profit to be made. Access control is not overcooked by any means but it’s going to become more competitive moving forward.

There was a lot of heat around IVA, too. Most surveillance manufacturers have some element of analytics in their firmware and there are now high-end solutions from the likes of Imagus, Ipsotek and Davantis, as well as mature analytics from companies like Bosch, FLIR, Mobotix, Hikvision, Dahua, Dallmeier, Network Optix and Pelco. There was definite interest and not just from installers and integrators but from end users, too, who are increasingly looking to enhance their return on investment and increase operational fluidity.

SecTech Camera Shootout, sponsored by CSD and Milestone, also told us things about the latest cameras.

Organisers went for fixed camera types to iron out some of the variations we’ve seen in the past – huge lenses and beta-type camera bodies. What we saw during the shootout was a general improvement in performance across the board. We’re going to review the shootout in more depth elsewhere but there were plenty of good things to say about most the cameras on test.

Of note were improvements in WDR handling with external domes and bullets, as well as a reduction in motion blur across the board. We did see some elevated bit rates but it’s hard not to see engineers’ willingness to blow out bitrate as a tacit recognition of evolving infrastructure. The piddling bit rates installers were trying to deal with in the past are nothing in the face of anywhere-you-like 30-50Mb 4G LTE comms. At the same time, we saw some manufacturers – Vivotek springs most immediately to mind – that showed very low bitrates alongside good operational results.

Elsewhere there was evolution, too.

Better processors, enhanced firmware, more stable software platforms and better integration. The market is maturing in terms of alliances and mutually beneficial sharing of IP. Perhaps the thing that stood out most at SecTech Roadshow was the professionalism of all distributors who carry and support end-to-end networked and integrated security solutions. No capable electronic security integrator is a hands-off box mover and the most engaged of the distributors seemed to do best at the Roadshow, underscoring the fundamental importance of relationships and technical nous as the recipe for success in the fast-moving electronic security industry. n

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22: SITUATIONAL AWARENESS

JUNE 18 10: ANIXTER TO ACQUIRE CSD, INNER RANGE ACCESS control manufacturer Inner Range and electronic security distributor Central Security Distribution report that the group will be acquired by Anixter Inc. 14: PELCO MAKES BGWT ITS PREFERRED AUSTRALIAN DISTRIBUTOR PELCO has moved to strengthen its alliance with growing electronic security distributor, BGW Technologies, making the company its preferred Australian distributor.

20: HILLS TO DISTRIBUTE DAHUA RANGE ACROSS ANZ HILLS has signed a distribution agreement with Zhejiang Dahua Technology Co., Ltd. (Dahua Technology) to market its range of integrated security technology solutions across Australia and New Zealand (ANZ).

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End users and integrators are bombarded with the opaque phrase ‘situational awareness’ in relation to the operational capabilities of security management and video management systems.

But what does situational awareness mean and how can technology and procedures be woven to provide it?

32: HILLS DISTRIBUTION CENTRE As well as being impressive in its own right, Hills Distribution Centre incorporates an integrated electronic security solution made up of the company’s best products – Genetec, Axis Communications, Tecom Challenger V10 and the C4 security management solution.

38: LIGHTWEIGHT CRYPTOGRAPHY Cryptography experts at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) are kicking off an effort to protect the data created by innumerable tiny networked devices such as those in the internet of things (IoT), which will need a new class of cryptographic defences against cyberattacks.

40: HIKVISION 6MP TURRET Hikvision’s DS-2CD2355FWD-I is a compact, affordable, 6MP fixed lens day/night turret camera with 30 metres of integrated IR and a robust IP67-rated housing making the unit more than capable of handling external applications where vandalism is less of a concern.

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52: DIGITAL FORTRESS? If one thing makes the CCTV industry an interesting one, it’s the amazingly quick development of products and technologies.

To stay ahead you must constantly research, read, get some hands-on experience and see how things work – this observation applies doubly to video management software.

58: SECTECH ROADSHOW PRODUCTS & TECHNOLOGIES SecTech Roadshow gave the industry its first peep into the future for 2018, with plenty of interesting new solutions and evolutions on show. More than ever, it’s difficult to pinpoint market direction beyond the notion of everything, everywhere, all at once.

JUNE 2018 ISSUE 399

SECTECH: PRODUCTS & TECHNOLOGIES

PP 100001158

l Case Study: Hills Distribution Centre l Anixter to Acquire CSD, Inner Range l Review: Hikvision 6MP Turret Camera l Pelco Prefers BGW Technology l Report: Creating Situational Awareness l Alarm Monitoring: Smart Investment Grows l NIST Calls For Lightweight Cryptography l Review: DigiFort Video Management System

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

10: NEWS Latest business, product and technical news from Australia and around the world.

48: MONITORING Smart Home systems, incorporating automation and security functionalities are continuing to grow at furious speed, with interest from big network players, as well as the insurance industry, adding heat to a sector already on fire.

60: EDITOR’S CHOICE What’s new from our manufacturers.

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

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

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

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NEWS IN BRIEF

City of Stirling Seeks Vehicle-Mounted CCTV p.14 Pelco Makes BGWT its Preferred Australian Distributor p.16 Monash & Honeywell Using Big Data to Create Smart Buildings p.18 73 Australian Airports to Get $A172 Million Security Upgrade p.20

JUNE 2018

COMPILED BY JOHN ADAMS

INNER RANGE WILL BE ACQUIRED BY ANIXTER INC. ACCESS control manufacturer Inner Range and electronic security distributor Central Security Distribution report that the group will be acquired by Anixter Inc.

n

“We are excited to announce that we have entered into an agreement for CSD and Inner Range to be acquired by Anixter Inc,” said Mark Cunnington, CSD managing director.

“The agreement is expected to be finalised before the end of June 2018.

“For CSD and Inner Range customers, nothing has changed – it is business as usual. CSD’s branch

Mark Cunnington

CSD SIGNS WITH DELL EMC TO EXPAND ENTERPRISE CCTV SOLUTIONS n CSD reports the company is excited to announce a range of Dell servers and storage as a part of its comprehensive enterprise CCTV offering.

“An industry leading integrated solution, for enterprise projects, requires enterprise grade server and storage

Mark Edwards

solutions,” said CSD’s Mark Edwards, general manager products & marketing. “The addition of Dell EMC to our enterprise CCTV and Integrated Systems product offering puts CSD in a very strong position in this market place.”

Dell EMC serves a key role in providing the essential infrastructure for organizations to build a secure and reliable platform for protecting their most important assets utilising modern data centre infrastructures that incorporates industryleading servers, storage, and cybersecurity technologies. Dell currently works with

global organisation in every industry, both public and private sectors, from start-ups to the Fortune Global 500.

“With the recent addition on the Milestone VMS and associated products to our product range, Dell EMC now provides us with a complete, professional range of enterprise CCTV,” Edwards said. “It also offers a reliable and secure server option for fully integrated access, security and surveillance solutions when deployed in conjunction with the Inner Range Integriti building management solution.”

network and support systems will remain unchanged and Inner Range’s commitment to research and development will continue.

“You will not be required to open a new trading account as the company CSD will continue to operate, with the only change relating Vlado Damjanovski to the ownership of the company. The full management team, including myself, will continue working for CSD. “After the agreement is finalised we expect to announce

some exciting new opportunities for CSD, Inner Range and Anixter customers. We greatly appreciate your ongoing business and I can assure you that this development will have a very positive impact on our product offering and customer service levels.”

Anixter is a Fortune 500 global leader in distribution with revenues of more than $US7.9 billion and currently employs more than 9000 staff.

HARDI KURNADI RE-JOINS QSS AS QLD BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT MANAGER n HARDI Kurnadi has re-joined QSS in the role of Queensland business development manager.

According to Kurnadi, he will be focused on growing QLD branch business, particularly with consultants, end users, integration companies and some major government agencies.

Kurnadi brings more than 20 years’ experience in the CCTV industry in both analogue and IP systems to his new role, and he has excellent long-term relationships with many in the industry in QLD and beyond.

“I’m looking forward to the many challenges

Hardi Kurnadi

ahead and excited about the possibilities we now have through the product ranges of key suppliers, including Bosch, FLIR, Nuuo, Q Alumia Pro, Dell and Ubiquiti,” Kurnadi said.

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Š 2018 Genetec Inc. GENETEC and the GENETEC LOGO are trademarks of Genetec Inc., and may be registered or pending registration in several jurisdictions.

Start seeing the bigger picture.

Get a more complete understanding of your organization with Genetec Security Center. It unifies our three core systems of video surveillance, access control, and automatic number plate recognition in a single comprehensive platform. Simplify your operations and get a clearer view with Security Center.

Find out about Security Center from our trusted partner at hills.com.au

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NEWS JUNE 2018

FREMANTLE PORTS SEEKS CCTV CAMERA REPLACEMENT, INTEGRATED INTERCOM, ACCESS CONTROL n FREMANTLE Ports operates multiple analogue and digital IP surveillance systems within port boundaries which record approximately 150 cameras that view industrial operations, restricted maritime areas and monitor assets.

Fremantle Ports also operates a Jacques IP intercom system for communication purposes between gate/ turnstile points and a control room located in the administration office building. The organisation is seeking to implement an integrated security platform of electronic surveillance, access control and voice intercom throughout the inner and outer harbours.

The integrated security platform is to utilise IP connectivity across existing Fremantle Ports networks with application servers

and databases residing on virtual servers located in a remote data centre. Primary control of these systems is located at Fremantle Ports administration building control room.

Fremantle Ports currently operates 2 independent access control systems (Siemens SiPass) identified as: * The Administration Access Control System, managing access throughout the Administration Building (1 Cliff Street, Fremantle). * The Maritime Access Control System, managing access to Maritime Security boundaries in the Inner Harbour (Fremantle) and Outer Harbour (Kwinana).

The 2 access control systems are to be consolidated into a single access control system and interfaced into the security platform. The upgrade is also to consolidate the

various surveillance systems into a single vision management system interfaced into the security platform. The existing VOIP solution is to be upgraded and interfaced with the security platform.

Fremantle Harbour is Western Australia’s largest and busiest general cargo port. Fremantle consists of the Inner Harbour, which is situated on the mouth of the Swan River; the

Outer Harbour, which is 20 km south at Kwinana in Cockburn Sound and handles bulk cargo ports, grain, petroleum, liquefied petroleum gas, alumina, mineral sands, fertilisers, sulphur and other bulk commodities; and Gage Roads which is the anchorage between Rottnest Island and the mainland.

The Inner Harbour includes northern and southern

wharves named North Quay and Victoria Quay and the whole is managed by the Fremantle Port Authority, a government trading enterprise. The inner harbour handles a large volume of sea containers, vehicle imports and livestock exports, cruise shipping and naval visits, and operates 24 hours a day.

The tender closes June 13, 2018.

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NEWS JUNE 2018

HELIOS MONITORING & LAKES SECURITY GUARANTEE FOUNDATION HOUSING’S CCTV SOLUTION n LAKES Security has provided Western Australia’s affordable housing provider Foundation Housing a capable video surveillance solution with guaranteed performance using Helios Monitoring Software, which reports on uptime and days of footage stored on every camera installed on a site, as well as protecting every camera in an installation from tamper and cyberattack, with monitoring via the Helios live interactive web portal.

When the failing analogue CCTV system at the organisation’s Hampton Road Lodge was being updated, it was a strict requirement that the new system guarantee 21 days of high quality, verifiable footage at all times, with immediate notification of any technical failure.

Lakes Security designed and installed a CCTV and access control system on the premises using MOBOTIX cameras and MOBOTIX door stations,

which the team then integrated into the Helios Monitoring platform.

“Helios has made the world’s most reliable camera practically foolproof,” says Jason Brown, operations manager at Lakes Security. “The high definition and placement of cameras allow staff to put together a storyline if an incident has taken place - when we give footage to police or management, it helps them to make a judgment.

Without MOBOTIX and Helios, we would never have been able to deliver this project to the client’s needs. Every time there has been an incident, MOBOTIX cameras have been there, guaranteed.”

As well as reporting on uptime and days of footage stored, every camera installed on a site can be monitored via the Helios live interactive web portal.

It also protects against hacking or cameras being moved, and assists with

CITY OF STIRLING SEEKS VEHICLEMOUNTED CCTV

n CITY of Stirling in Western Australia is seeking supply and maintenance of a vehiclemounted CCTV solution for 18 vehicles.

The city’s vehicle fleet comprises 6 security vehicles and 12 ranger vehicles. The security vehicles operate with up to 6 vehicles on the road on a 24/7 basis, while the 12 ranger vehicles operate on a roster system for durations

of approximately 12 hours a day and the mobile surveillance solution would need to be designed to handle the relevant day and night demands of the application.

Council says that a single contract for the supply and installation of hardware and software, including user training, is to be awarded for this tender, which closes June 20, 2018.

maintenance, updates, settings and image quality. It comes with smart real-time alerts and in-depth scheduled reporting, making it easy to ensure cameras and networks are online 24/7.

Plus, advanced reporting options will highlight any ongoing issues, such as regular camera dropouts.

The platform was originally designed to work with MOBOTIX cameras, offering a more feature-rich experience thanks to their advanced edge management.

However, Helios has since been expanded

to be compatible with any ONVIF compliant camera and most major ONVIF compliant video management systems.

According to Helios, the solution represents a great opportunity for security resellers to create an ongoing revenue stream by providing their customers with an easy to use and highly effective maintenance solution. It allows security professionals to manage their entire CCTV network from a single dashboard, regardless of camera brand or NVR.

INNOTEC WINS GALLAGHER UPGRADE FOR PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE OF VICTORIA n INNOTEC Security has been awarded a contract to upgrade the Gallagher access control and security management solution at the Public Record Office of Victoria.

The Public Record Office Victoria (PROV) is based at the Victorian Archives Centre in North Melbourne and is the archives of the State Government of Victoria and holds records dating from 1830s up to the present day. The collection includes records of immigration and shipping, criminal trials and prisons, premiers and governors, royal commissions, boards of inquiry, wills and probates and much more. These records hold stories of the key events

and decisions that have shaped the history of the State of Victoria.

“We are delighted to have won the project to upgrade the access control solution at PROV,” said Innotec’s Rob Rosa.

“We consider the task of helping protect a collection of records that’s integral to the history of Victoria to be a privilege and a responsibility.”

ALLEGION TO ACQUIRE AUSTRALIAN ACCESS BUSINESS GAINSBOROUGH, API LOCKSMITHS FOR $A107 MILLION ALLEGION will acquire GWA Group Limited’s Door and Access Systems Business, which includes renowned Australian brands Gainsborough Hardware and API Locksmiths.

Gainsborough is the market-leading residential door hardware brand in Australia, with a portfolio that includes the country’s top entrance door lock.

API Locksmiths is the commercial market leader for keying, installation and access control services across the country.

“This strategic acquisition bolsters Allegion’s presence in Australia and significantly increases our scale in the Asia-Pacific region as a whole,” said David D. Petratis, Allegion president, chairman and CEO. “We’re enhancing our residential presence with market-leading positions and longstanding customer relationships, all while accelerating our development of electronic security solutions.

This is consistent with Allegion’s growth strategy in the region – and highly complementary to our core business.”

The GWA Door and Access Systems Business generated sales of approximately $A95 million for calendar year 2017.

The business will operate in Allegion’s Asia-Pacific region.

“The Door and Access Systems Business is strong, and we believe Allegion can maximize its potential,” said Tim Salt, GWA managing director.

David D. Petratis

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NEWS JUNE 2018

PELCO MAKES BGWT ITS PREFERRED AUSTRALIAN DISTRIBUTOR n PELCO has moved to strengthen its alliance with growing electronic security distributor, BGW Technologies.

“With our ongoing success in the region and our focus on high levels of customer service, we wanted to ensure our channels to market mirrored these themes,” said Pelco’s Craig Cobbin.

“As such we have decided to consolidate the number of distributors in Australia to allow for a more supportive approach to the entire Pelco product offering. Given BGW Technologies has been a long-term distribution partner of Pelco, and has already have proven its deep technical knowledge, experience, financial

strength and high-quality customer service levels on the full range of Pelco solutions, the choice to appoint them as our preferred distributor was an obvious one.

“BGW Technologies already has an enhanced focus on having the right inventory available across its national branch network, specialist resources to assist with Pelco enquiries and factory-trained technical support staff, all combining to elevate the Pelco experience for our valued customers.

The services BGW Technologies is well known for includes pre-sales support with tender submissions, value engineering expertise,

DTI PROVIDING VIDEO SURVEILLANCE FOR $A1.2 BILLION AUTONOMOUS RIO TINTO TRAINS PROJECT

n MINING giant Rio Tinto has been granted accreditation by Australia’s Office of the National Rail Safety Regulator (ONRSR) for autonomous trains at Pilbara iron-ore mines in Western Australia. Perthbased security integrator DTI will provide the remote video surveillance monitoring systems for the project.

Rio’s AutoHaul project is slated for completion by the end of 2018 after some delays in software development. According to Rio, the network will be the world’s first heavy-haul, long-distance autonomous rail operation, unlocking significant safety and productivity benefits for the business. The project involves automating the company’s railway which

links 16 iron-ore mines in the Pilbara hinterland with 4 ports on the coast. At the end of the first quarter of 2018, approximately 65 per cent of all track was operated autonomously with more than 3 million km of automated track completed.

Trains started running in autonomous mode, with a driver on-board to monitor the train, in the first quarter of 2017, but full implementation has been dependent on ONRSR approval. Perth-based DTI provides advanced mobile surveillance systems, solutions and services to a global client list that includes transit agencies, transit operators, freight operators, law enforcement authorities and taxi organisations.

pre-staging of equipment, demonstration capabilities and postsales support.

“Whether it be an individual camera or a complete recording solution, the depth of our product range allows us to partner with SI’s and other manufacturers to tailor a system that meets the needs of their clients. This is what Pelco are known for and our strengthened partnership with BGW Technologies will deliver this,” Cobbin said.

Pelco has a team of 9 staff in Australia and its business continues to grow.

“We are investing in our team which has seen the recent appointments of

Tim Shadgett as sales manager – SA/WA/NT and Owen Rogers as sales manager – VIC/ACT/TAS,” said Cobbin. “Our growth is attributed in part by our ability to offer a ‘better together’ solution.

This offers benefits to the customer by dealing with one manufacturer that has the capability to put forward a unified offer that is designed to provide a seamless user experience, ease of installation and lower total cost of ownership to the end user.

“In addition, our solution offer continues to expand as we launch new partnerships with tier one software providers such as ‘Pelco Analytics - Powered by IBM’. Our

Craig Cobbin

foundational products are also constantly evolving with the recent launch of Exsite Enhanced, Esprit Enhanced II, IBD Cell Camera, Pelco Camera Link and VideoXpert 2.3 this year. We have an exciting roadmap ahead, which aligns with Pelco’s global strategy to be the leader in predictive video solutions for people and vehicles.”

BARKLY REGIONAL COUNCIL INSTALLS CCTV AT NIGHTCLIFF, PALMERSTON AND TENNANT CREEK n BARKLY Regional Council reports that 24 CCTV cameras will be installed at locations in Nightcliff, Palmerston and Tennant Creek after the awarding of an $A1 million tender to tackle alcohol-related crime and anti-social behaviour.

The first CCTV cameras were installed in Tennant Creek last week and all cameras will be installed and operating in support of the Northern Territory Police Force within 2-3 weeks.

The installation is being undertaken by Berrimah-based security integrator Security and Technology Services.

In terms of scope, 9 cameras will cover the Nightcliff Shopping Village, Pavonia Way, and the front of John Stokes Square at Nightcliff, while 12 cameras will cover Paterson St, Tennant Creek, and 3 cameras will cover the Bakewell Shopping Centre.

The plans also include funding for 10 mobile CCTV cameras to be deployed at the front of bottle shops to catch

people involved in secondary supply.

“This is about delivering generational change, but also giving police tools they need to address these issues immediately,” Attorney General Natasha Fyles said.

“These cameras will

monitor hot spots and enable police to quickly detect and respond to emerging behaviour to intervene before an incident occurs. This is something businesses and residents have been asking for in these areas and something that will keep communities safer.”

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FEDERATION SQUARE SEEKS ACCESS CONTROL & CCTV SERVICES n FEDERATION Square Pty Ltd (FSPL) is calling for tenders from suitably qualified contractors to undertake access control and CCTV maintenance services.

Federation Square is a purpose-built venue for arts, culture and public events on the edge of the CBD of Melbourne. It covers an area of 3.2 ha (7.9 acres) at the intersection of Flinders Street and Swanston Street built above busy railway lines

and across the road from Flinders Street station and welcomes 8 million visitors each year.

It incorporates major cultural institutions such as the Ian Potter Centre and ACMI and Koorie Heritage Trust as well as numerous cafes and bars in a series of buildings centred around a large paved square, and a glass walled atrium that provides access to the underground Melbourne Visitor Centre.

NETDIGITAL SECURITY APPOINTED REGIONAL DISTRIBUTOR FOR HIKVISION

The electronic security contract is for a 3-year period with the option

to extend for a further 2 years. The tender closes June 15, 2018.

MONASH & HONEYWELL USING BIG DATA TO CREATE SMART BUILDINGS n MONASH University and Honeywell Building Solutions have signed a collaboration agreement that will deliver one of the world’s first ‘cognitive office buildings’ bringing together next-generation technology and research to significantly change the way buildings are managed.

The partners will use big data to enable Monash University buildings to intelligently and automatically alter the internal environment, transforming the way staff and students live, work and learn, as well as delivering cost efficiencies to Monash.

Darren Banks

Using smartphones, Honeywell will deploy its Honeywell Vector Occupant App across the Clayton Campus to collect data on how staff and students rate spaces, how they navigate buildings; report faults, and how often and when buildings are accessed.

The data will feed into Honeywell’s Command and Control Suite based in the Future Control Room at Monash to connect key personnel with data visualisations. It will provide simple, intuitive displays to building operations teams and allow them to enhance facilities and security

management, and to create comfortable spaces for students and staff while reducing energy consumption.

The research outcomes will contribute to the broader Monash University Net Zero initiative, in which Monash aims to achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2030, the most ambitious project of its kind undertaken by an Australian university.

Monash Faculty of IT Dean, Professor Jon Whittle said the size of the Clayton Campus and its energy requirements are equivalent to a small city, making it the perfect

place to establish a cognitive building.

“As Australia’s largest university, with more than 78,000 students, 16,000 staff and over 150 buildings spread across 4 domestic campuses, we’re a significant consumer of energy,” Whittle said.

“The team at Monash, working together with Honeywell, is changing the way building performance data can be used to help mitigate risk, enhance business continuity and reduce operational costs.”

Meanwhile, Karl Mahoney, vice president of Honeywell Building Solutions Asia Pacific, said that the data gathered from their buildings will allow Monash to achieve unprecedented levels of optimisation.

“Using Monash University buildings, we want to bring a new level of intelligence, allowing them to service their occupants in ways we might never have thought possible.

This first research project is a great vehicle for Honeywell working alongside Monash IT experts and students to solve real challenges,” Mahoney said.

NETDIGITAL Security has been appointed a regional distributor of Hikvision product for its complete range including the extensive video surveillance offering, with supply available from June 1.

According to NetDigital managing director, Paul Garnaut, the NetDigital team is delighted to be expanding its relationship with Hikvision.

“We are very excited to be further developing our relationship with Hikvision,” Garnaut said.

“The Hikvision range fits perfectly with our other Tier 1 suppliers and we can’t wait to offer more of Hikvision’s latest technologies to our customers.”

ANDREW BOWDEN JOINS Q SECURITY SYSTEMS AS STATE MANAGER NSW/ACT ANDREW Bowden has joined Q Security Systems as state manager NSW/ACT. Bowden said he was looking forward to helping grow the QSS business.

“QSS has an excellent range of security solutions in the alarm, access control and CCTV spaces, as well as a great team and I’m very much looking forward to the challenge and the opportunity of helping to grow the QSS business in NSW and ACT,” he said.

“We have some excellent products and solutions in our portfolio, including Bosch, FLIR, Nuuo, Q Alumia Pro, Dell and Ubiquiti, as well as a strong national footprint – it’s a great time to be joining the team at Q.”

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TRISTAN HAST JOINS ISCS AS BRANCH MANAGER, VICTORIA & TASMANIA n TRISTAN Hast has joined ARA Products security distribution business ISCS as the company continues to expand its team and market share.

Hast joins the ISCS team as branch manager for Victoria and Tasmania and, according to ARA Products general manager, Stuart Harmer, she brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to the role.

“Tristan brings a great deal to our team. She has a strong sales and marketing background and extensive experience in the Australian access control space,” Harmer said.

“Tristan has been running Nidac in Victoria for many years and is very well respected and renowned in the industry. Her expertise will expand our

horizons in the Victorian marketplace and beyond.”

Hast joined the ISCS Melbourne office in April and with her comes more than 2 decades of industry experience, including unique skills in brand development and management.

“My experience has been largely based on sales and marketing in the electronic security space,” Hast said. “Having worked within the retail and wholesale sectors over a 25-year period, my most recent responsibilities were overseeing manufacturing, sales and marketing,” “This included the export of Nidac Security’s Presco brand, in addition to successfully developing the TriView vision CCTV brand within its wholesale division.”

Tristan Hast

Motivated by the challenge to improve and expand the business, Hast attributes the ISCS culture of customer satisfaction and exceptional selection of brands to making the jump.

“When I was approached

by ISCS to join its Melbourne office, I saw this as a fantastic opportunity to further assist in developing a sales and marketing model to improve areas needing attention, with the objective of broaden our market share” she said.

“My decision to join ISCS was also cemented by the fact that I’m working with a great group of people. Its strong focus on customer service is backed by excellent brands, such as Protégé ICT, Nedap Identification systems, ISCS’s own Gold Class access control solution and AliusVision CCTV.” ISCS is an Australian owned access control and security solutions distribution company, forming part of the ARA Group division, ARA Products. ISCS has offices in Melbourne, Sydney, Adelaide and Brisbane, as well as their full suite of products available for viewing online at http:// www.iscs.com.au

BOSCH GROWTH TRAJECTORY, AUSTRALIA SALES UP 18 PER CENT BOSCH increased sales and earnings in 2017 by 8.3 per cent to $EUD78 Billion, with the Asia Pacific region recording the highest sales growth at 14 per cent, with a 27 per cent increase in CCTV sales.

Meanwhile, in Australia, Bosch Security & Safety Systems experienced overall growth of 18 per cent, with a 27 per cent increase in video systems sales.

“We exceeded our growth forecasts and further improved our profitability. In 2017, our sales were higher than ever,” said Dr Volkmar Denner, chairman of the board of management of Robert Bosch GmbH. According to Denner, as a result of its innovative strength and a strategy focused on connectivity, the company remains on

a growth trajectory.

“We recognised the potential of connectivity early on and are now converting it into business success,” explains Denner.

“Earnings from operations before interest and taxes (EBIT) rose to some 5.3 billion euros in 2017.

This equates to an EBIT margin from operations of 6.8 percent. Bosch’s success in its core business finances its efforts to become a leading supplier of IoT technology and mobility solutions.”

In Australia the successful focus on video continues with the recent release of the intelligent i Series cameras, including the much-anticipated MIC fusion, which made its debut at SecTech Roadshow in May.

73 AUSTRALIAN AIRPORTS TO GET $A172 MILLION SECURITY UPGRADE n FULL body x-ray scanners will be installed at domestic airport screening points under a major overhaul of Australia’s airport security protocols, which could also include restricting liquids and other items in carry-on baggage.

For passenger screening, the government will mandate the installation of full-body computed tomography (CT) scanners at the entry to domestic terminals,

which currently use only metal detector gates. The overhaul will replace standard luggage x-rays with CT scanners for carry-on and checked luggage for both domestic and international services.

The full-body scanners will be installed at Australia’s 9 major domestic and international airports and the plan will also see upgraded ‘security infrastructure’ at 64 regional airports.

There will also be more

police and Border Force officers assigned to those major airports.

“We are worried about the settings at our domestic airports,” said Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton. “Obviously there is a different security setting at our international airports where we do have full body scanners. We know that airports, forecourts within the airports, are targets for terrorist organisations around the world - we have seen that in Europe.”

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HILLS TO DISTRIBUTE DAHUA AS IT STRENGTHENS SECURITY PORTFOLIO HILLS has signed a distribution agreement with Zhejiang Dahua Technology Co., Ltd. (Dahua Technology) to market its range of integrated security technology solutions across Australian and New Zealand (ANZ).

Dahua Technology is one of the world’s leading providers of security and video surveillance equipment. Established in 2001, the company has grown rapidly to become the second largest global provider of video surveillance products and services, supplying over 180 countries and regions.

Its core video surveillance

product line, including network cameras, NVRs and HD over coax, are used across banking and finance, government, transport and retail sectors.

Hills CEO and managing director, David Lenz, said signing Dahua would round out the company’s security offering and give Hills the opportunity to compete across all markets, from low cost to enterprise level solutions.

“Hills continues to build and invest in our security business, attracting global technology leaders with products that reinvigorate our portfolio and create opportunities

David Lenz

for sales and growth,” Lenz said. “As one of the largest value-added building technologies distributor in the ANZ region, we have a deep understanding of the industry and what end users want. We see the Dahua product fitting seamlessly alongside our existing brands and integrating with other vendor solutions like Genetec.”

“Dahua offers one of the widest product ranges in the industry, with technologies that can interface and integrate into existing analogue and future IT-based infrastructures. It’s an exciting opportunity to bring that expertise and innovation to the ANZ market,” Lenz said. “We look forward to developing this partnership with Dahua to provide solutions for our customers,” Lenz added.

Dahua Oceania Managing Director, Lyn Cheng, said Hills was ideally suited to support Dahua’s brand growth across ANZ.

HILLS ADDS FUEL TO FIRE WITH NEW APPOINTMENT n HILLS has announced the appointment of Gautam Yadav as business development manager for its fire safety portfolio, responsible for Australia and New Zealand (ANZ).

Based in Sydney, Yadav will be charged with developing the company’s presence in the fire safety and protection industry, fostering sales opportunities in retail, warehousing, multistory dwellings, and mining and tunnels.

Yadav comes to Hills from SAI Global where he held a client management role, bringing with him a wealth of technical knowledge and project management experience along with an extensive understanding of the Australian Standards for fire and life safety. He’ll utilise his expertise in the design of fire detection

systems to provide high level technical support to integrators and advise end users on safety requirements.

Jourdan Garde, general manager growth markets, said Hills would leverage its reach in the security sector to develop sales opportunities for its fire range.

“The fire business will target current and new customer markets, providing product expertise and smart, one stop solutions by linking the technology between various Hills product divisions,” Garde said.

“The fire product range represents an exciting opportunity for integrators who install our security product to benefit from an added income stream.”

Bill Sakellariou, head of sales for security,

surveillance and IT, said Hills was keen to round out its portfolio with a fire detection range and strengthen its position as a one-stop shop for building technologies.

“The inclusion of fire detection products compliments Hills current product offering and gives Hills the advantage of being a complete solution seller in industry verticals like health, education, banking and government infrastructure,” Sakellariou said.

Gautam Yadav

HILLS WINS CENTRAL ACUTE SERVICES BUILDING NURSE CALL CONTRACT n HILLS Limited has been awarded the contract to supply the nurse call solution for the new Westmead Central Acute Service Building to be located adjacent to Westmead Hospital in New South Wales, the centrepiece of the $A1 billion Westmead Redevelopment project, which will transform the precinct and deliver expanded health services, education and medical research facilities.

The Westmead Central Acute Service building will link the existing Westmead Hospital and The Children’s Hospital at Westmead, hosting adult and paediatric services.

It’s scheduled to open in 2020. Hills CEO and managing director, David Lenz said that this is a strategically important win and Hills was excited to supply the nurse call solution for the project and strengthen its presence in the Western Sydney Local Health District (WSLHD).

“The company continues to see strong momentum in Nurse Call solutions sales. Hills Health has developed a strong reputation for its expertise in delivering nurse call systems and is playing a major role in the development and refurbishment of health buildings across the WSLHD, supplying patient engagement services across sites at

Blacktown, Auburn, Mt Druitt and Westmead,” Lenz said.

Lenz attributed recent contract wins to Hills engagement with all levels of the health segment, from nursing staff and maintenance teams to information and communications technology (ICT) departments who oversee the integration with existing systems and technology.

“Nurse call has evolved from a simple ‘buzzer’ system to become the core component of a hospitals’ communications platform. Hills Health Solutions Nurse Call integrates with other third-party software to provide centralised information sharing and administration of other building technologies including emergency response systems, digital signage, real-time location systems, fire and security,” Lenz said.

“Ownership and continued development of the Hills Nurse Call intellectual property, here in Australia, sets Hills apart from the competition,” Lenz said.

“Each project is unique and because Hills owns and develops the IP we can provide a customised solution that is scalable, future proof and able to plug into any standard network.”

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Security management Scott Myles drives a well-designed workstation.

SITUATIONAL AWARENESS End users and integrators are bombarded with the opaque phrase ‘situational awareness’ in relation to the operational capabilities of security management and video management systems. But what does situational awareness mean and how can technology and procedures be woven to provide it?

HEN I think of situational awareness it’s hard not to imagine a war room with a huge table map inhabited by brightly coloured blocks representing threats or assets, rows of telephonists, runner at the door with flimsy in hand, the entire process focused utterly on facilitating lateral cognition in the prefrontal cortex of the officer of the watch. If this version seems too analogue, consider the bridge of the Starship Enterprise, a complex vessel whose operations workstation seems informed by no more than a row of flashing lights, the bland assertions of Dr. Spock and sudden unexpected impacts that hurl the 300m starship bodily sideways yet never terminally breach the hull.

When it comes to modern electronic security solutions, creating situational awareness is no less opaque and no less demanding. At what layer does situational awareness emerge? What inputs inform awareness? What inputs can be ignored

W

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BY J O H N A D A M S

so awareness is not overwhelmed by noise?

What procedures does event awareness ignite?

For every application there is a perfect balance of information and procedure that allows events to flow from cause to effect. Unlocking the delivery mechanisms of this balance is the key.

According to Sean Guiney of Independent Security Consultants, situational awareness is an emergent property of a blunderbuss of inputs that provide security managers with the most accurate picture of the current situation on a given site.

“There is so much information available to us in our daily lives from so many different inputs and we have become accustomed to, information immediacy - I don’t see this increase in information slowing down, and I don’t see an operations centre being any different,” Guiney explains.

“Situational awareness is essentially how this excess of information from various sources is analysed, translated and presented in a way that our minds can make sense of,” he says. “For the operations centre or control room, situational awareness is critical, as it determines how the operators will interpret the information they are presented with as it relates to them, their site and their role.

“Ultimately, situational awareness is about ensuring that the information presented is comprehensive and yet condensed - able to be easily and rapidly understood so that it provides an operator with the spatial and temporal context they need to decide their response. Without this situational awareness, their response may be delayed or inappropriate.”

Asked to select the primary handful of data feeds that drive situational awareness in a control room environment, Guiney’s comprehensive answer underlines the complexity of bringing concepts of situational awareness to life. He says some of the feeds that are essential for building situational awareness should include but not be limited to:

ULTIMATELY, SITUATIONAL AWARENESS IS ABOUT ENSURING THAT THE INFORMATION PRESENTED IS COMPREHENSIVE AND YET CONDENSED - ABLE TO BE EASILY AND RAPIDLY UNDERSTOOD...

increased coverage of events/emergencies where the public cannot provide the information l Data feeds (CCTV, alarms, emergency response initiations) from partnerships with neighbouring sites to increase intelligence sharing and security across wider precincts and areas.

“Although there has been a continual push towards the reduction of overheads, which generally means a reduction in staffing levels, threats and risks haven’t been equally reduced,” Guiney says. “Rather, as we have seen on a global scale, threats and risks to all types of people, premises and organisations are only growing. As a result, we need to fill this growing void with technology that is geared to analyse and condense vast amounts of information into an amount that can be comprehended by an operator.

“By doing so, we can essentially shift the load from the person to the machine and, with the use of the right, site-specific solutions, ensure that the gap between manpower and rising threats doesn’t result in a security event that is missed or overlooked simply due to an operator being overwhelmed.”

Something else that’s important is considering the ways in which a control room could be designed to deliver situational awareness.

According to Guiney, control room design is an area that needs to start to be modernised and thought about in a different style than the typical video wall array, desk and monitor arrangement.

“While this traditional configuration might be a good base, it’s neglecting the value that new technologies can provide if integrated and utilised appropriately (and not just merely because they’re new),” he explains. “Consider the Monash University Future Control Room programme where multidisciplinary collaboration project has created a cutting-edge control room that fuses the standard video wall array and personal monitors with large

Mobile command centre

l Fully integrated alarm and CCTV solutions to reduce the time to link the events together l Condensed and curated CCTV feeds that utilise video analytics and artificial intelligence in the back-end to work through the mountain of visual information that humans are incapable of interpreting in real time l Alarm information to direct operators where to look and integrated workflows to prompt and direct operators to undertake the correct response l Social media feeds to increase the information footprint you are receiving data from. This is one of the most powerful tools that lets you know what is happening outside of your perimeter or viewing area, and is typically underutilised in a specific security setting l Mainstream media and news services can be utilised like social media but typically lag behind.

However, they are good for verification and

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scale touch-tables to enable collaboration, and virtual and altered reality headsets to immerse operators in the environments to enhance situational awareness in 3 dimensions. These sorts of IT and AV-led developments need to be taken up by the security industry as they have the capability of enhancing situational awareness and security responses far more than any new CCTV layout or desk arrangement can.

“In addition to utilising new immersive technologies, the bones of the control room should still be integrated CCTV and alarm systems, or if multiple different security systems are used, an ISMS or PSIM overlay to present the information and interfaces to the operator in a single, easy to interpret manner. Control rooms should also leverage automation as far as practicable as if it’s automated – then there is no requirement for human intervention and no opportunity for human error.

However, in saying that, any automation should be set up and tested rigorously in the development and acceptance testing phases of a project, as it can easily become the weak link, rather than the facilitator.”

One of the things about situational awareness that’s seldom considered is the awarenessprocedure interface – the axle that converts awareness to layered response. How important are procedures, according to Guiney? How important is it that they are known far and wide at all levels of an organisation?

“Procedures are integral to the success of any security response and need to be worked into the design and operation of security systems for operators,” Guiney explains. “The most efficient and effective way to do this is through integrated workflows in the security system (or ISMS/PSIM), to enable a degree of automation in the emergency response and expedite the awareness-procedure interface.

“It also restricts the degree to which different

PROCEDURES ARE INTEGRAL TO THE SUCCESS OF ANY SECURITY RESPONSE AND NEED TO BE WORKED INTO THE DESIGN AND OPERATION OF SECURITY SYSTEMS FOR OPERATORS...

Genetec display

operators have the liberty to respond in their own manner, ensuring that each event will have the right response actioned, and the right steps followed to ensure both risk, security and WHS are managed correctly. Essentially, the use of automated workflows that restrict operator actions until they complete the required steps, bypass any issues around people not reading, properly comprehending, or forgetting manuals or procedures.”

For Guiney, the best way to ensure the entire security team, as well as management and staff, is across unfolding events, is with the use of automation.

“Much like the function of automated workflows, communication and notifications throughout a specific group can be managed primarily through an automated process that utilises the analytics that determine the event and threat to prompt the system to notify the correct people with the correct communication, without time delays,” Guiney explains.

“This allows those responsible in the event or emergency to communicate as required to manage the response, rather than fielding multiple calls from different people telling them the same information, or contradictory information. The same system can be used to push the appropriate information (including alarm events, contact details, CCTV footage, communications), to relevant individuals as events/ emergencies unfold and progress, whether this is on a time basis, an event basis, or an operator action basis.

This allows those not on site, on large sites, to be able to manage situations in real time by leveraging the site-specific technologies that have been designed to facilitate this.”

Guiney argues that good automation and AI have a critical role in the ability of SMS and VMS to deliver and manage situational awareness – in many cases far beyond the capacity of any human being – and he says this functionality will see such technologies proliferate in the future.

“Although AI and automated systems can still be fooled, hacked or cloned in some cases, a human’s ability to manage a security system and ensure an air-tight site or system is equally, if not more, fallible,” Guiney says. “However, I think any reticence in the market towards AI will quickly fade as people come to be aware of the multiplicity of advantages, both within and outside of security, that AI-enabled security systems can bring.

“Ultimately, we must ensure that mission critical or life safety decisions still rely on human intervention, and overrides (with the correct authority levels), must be built into automated systems to enable humans to supersede the decisions of machine if it becomes apparent that it is not appropriate to the event/emergency.

“The next generations of VMS and SMS need to look to the future - do they want to be a standalone proprietary solution (and potentially risk extinction) or will they be open to the internet of things, where

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THE BETTER A SYSTEM CAN CAPTURE AND PRESENT REALWORLD INFORMATION IN REALTIME, THE BETTER AN OPERATOR’S SITUATIONAL AWARENESS. everything can connect seamlessly and provide the level of interaction that we are seeing in the home automation market.

“The costs for a true PSIM today is about 10-15 per cent of a high-level system. This is way too high, and it’s both costly to implement and maintain. If the PSIM market wants to expand, solutions need to be cost effective, intuitive, easy to implement, maintain and operate.”

What should end users and integrators attempting to attain situational awareness most value and what bells and whistles can they do without, according to Guiney?

“Predominantly, end users need to consider what their 3 to 5-year business plan is and analyse how this intersects with their security philosophy and strategy,” he explains. “The solutions for attaining situational awareness need to align with both their requirements for today and their goals for the future, to ensure that any infrastructure investment is modular, adaptable and won’t become obsolete in the foreseeable future.

“To a degree, it’s also impossible to know where an organisation will be in 3-5 years, so it’s important for end users and integrators to ensure that any solutions are truly modular in the sense that they can be continuously added to and adapted as the needs and operations of the user change.

“Finally, while the security industry and the solutions it offers need to take on the new IT and AV developments such as VR and AR, end users and integrators need to make sure that they are not simply adopting a technology because it is shiny and new. Every technology utilised needs to have a defined purpose and provide the user with a quantifiable benefit. If it doesn’t, it’s simply not needed.”

Over at Network Optix, James Cox explains that Nx thinks of situational awareness as the ability to capture, process, and assimilate real-world events.

“We need to understand the world surrounding us in order to accurately predict, prevent, and react to threats,” Cox says. “The better a system can capture and present real-world information in real-time, the better an operator’s situational awareness. Getting information to the point where it’s easily consumable is crucial to a control room environment.

“Every situation is unique in terms of the value of information and its impact on control room response. Given what we know of human cognition - including things like human channel capacity it makes sense to organize and present relevant

Conducting Gallagher and Milestone

data in forms that are innately familiar to operators primarily video and audio, augmented with text and iconography with a focus on changes in state.”

According to Cox, humans are great at noticing instant changes, but don’t do so well when it comes to noticing slow changes over time.

“For example, if you have a house with no grass and one day grass appears, of course you’ll notice,” he says.

“But if you plant grass, it slowly grows over time and you’ll be unlikely to pay attention to the actual length of the grass until it’s time to mow it. Fundamentally, Nx provides alert thresholds for continuous monitoring and includes a way to quantify change - the grass is now 3.75 inches long - time to mow it!”

When it comes to laying out a control room to best deliver situational awareness, Cox argues that a deeply composite view - many views, from many angles - is one key.

“Physically, we would recommend creating dedicated spaces for operators that give them the ability to focus on their own area of responsibility and from a tool standpoint, it’s important to drive attention to non-conformal situations, and allow for feedback so operators can confirm they are aware of and acknowledge any anomalies,” he explains. “I also find it’s really important to be able to zoom into a critical event and view it in-sync from all devices on which it was captured, often over and over (e.g. bookmarks). You need to clarify the situation to drive the appropriate response.”

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Cox argues that having standard procedures is a cornerstone of any good security operation.

“Procedures offer standard guidelines on how to react to given situations,” he says. “Building the machine in terms of procedures allows companies and teams to create and solidify a long-term shared culture, as well as to create measurable, data-driven approaches to problem solving that can be iterated and improved upon over time. More specifically, you have to design a set of detection responses - notifications, acknowledgements, alerts, and action - for every situation.

“The structure of procedures must be defined such that some actions the operator must perform, some events are automatically escalated above operator level, and some actions trigger a follow-up. Every environment has unique needs and ideally, a systems integrator works with the customer to determine the most appropriate procedures to match their requirements.”

Cox says that the best way to ensure the entire security team, as well as management and staff is across unfolding events is to have a single, unified system that allows team members to parse and deliver events to the correct person, at the correct time, with a clear plan of escalation for all event types.

“In Nx Witness software we have an Events & Rules engine that allows administrators to filter and deliver events to the right people, at the right time,” he explains. “We also have mechanics that allow sharing with others using a combination of real-time distribution mechanisms like instantly updated layouts, preconfigured video walls, and 2-way HTTP calls that allow integrations with third party devices and systems. With our builtin-browser capabilities, Nx Witness also allows operators to stay in one app while interacting with additional browser-based applications.”

Does automation and AI play into the ability of SMS and VMS to deliver and manage situational awareness? After all some things need to be monitored and actioned but don’t need a human response – where would Cox argue the balance lies?

“Automation and AI are already changing how we work and live,” Cox says. “I don’t use a key to get into my office - a motion-detection camera triggers facial analysis and unlocks the door for

IN GENERAL, AND WITH SPECIFIC REGARDS TO SITUATIONAL AWARENESS, DEEP LEARNING DRIVEN SOLUTIONS ARE BETTER AT PARSING LARGE AMOUNTS OF DATA IN REAL-TIME WHEN COMPARED TO THEIR HUMAN COUNTERPARTS.

S2 does situational awareness very well indeed.

individuals who are recognized. If it’s our usual FedEx guy, the doorbell will ring so he doesn’t have to drop our packages. Everyone else has to knock. The core of AI behaviour is the creation of structured data, from complex events rules (IF this AND this BUT NOT that, DO this) to the analysis of massive amounts of data for pattern detection that a human simply does not have the compute time or capacity to perform.

“In general, and with specific regards to situational awareness, deep learning-driven solutions are better at parsing large amounts of data in real-time when compared to their human counterparts. For right now, at least, they aren’t multi-faceted and don’t do a great job of synthesizing disparate data sets to form a cohesive picture of the whole - which humans are great at. So AI can extend the ability of humans to sense changes by adding new types of events and doing the heavy lifting on specific data streams, including video, but ultimately it will be the human brain that decides what’s best to do with the results of the AI’s work.”

When it comes to reaching a singularity of SMS and VMS, Cox believes there’s still work needed.

“We’re all in the development phase,” he says. “The study of emergence indicates we’re likely to produce something that is more than the sum of its parts.

But we have a way to go before that occurs in any meaningful, useful way. Of course, during the process of development, we need to be careful we don’t fall into the trap of wanting too much information.

Information overload is a real concern and too much information can be as detrimental as having too little.

“All consumers should make sure their basic end-user needs - who sees what, on what platform, who can react and how - are met, and that system

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requirements are simple to implement and more importantly, to change as your needs shift. Again, the basics - ability to integrate all device types, full control of streaming and image quality, internet and mobile access, flexibility and control over storage, backups, and system expansion or merging - these are much more important than any bell or whistle. Nothing takes precedence over reliability, stability, and flexibility. The foundation of situational awareness is recognizing and absorbing valuable information that arrives in an instantly recognizable and usable form.

That’s what we design our product to provide.”

Scott Myles sees situational awareness as a general understanding of the specific operational and security environment at any site.

“As such, it is extremely site specific, and situational awareness has a different meaning and interpretation to different organisations, depending on their individual and unique risks,” he says. “In general, it is the awareness of pre-defined situations as they occur in real-time, and it should provide a magnitude of information to the end-user that allows them to anticipate what may occur in the future.

Situational awareness can also be useful for postanalysis in simplifying the process of searching for events.”

Primary data feeds that drive situational awareness in a control room environment are also site specific for Myles.

“But in a general sense, situational awareness should consist of a combination of drivers centred around video, analytics, integration with security and access control, as well as dynamic Graphic User Interfaces that include comprehensive floor plans and maps,” he explains.

“Firstly, being able to understand specifically where cameras are positioned and what they are capturing in relation to the operator, is an integral factor in situational awareness. Floor plans and mapping data provides control room operators the ability to easily decipher which camera is monitoring which situation, thus allowing them to understand and appreciate the location of situations as they occur.

“Video analytics and integration with access control and security systems, are an essential data feed required for situational awareness, as they increase the usefulness of information presented to control room operators. Moreover, automation through use of analytics and integration helps ensure that critical information captured by the systems, is not missed by the operators.”

Building a control room to give situational awareness is application-specific and the application will drive the data feeds and the overall layout and functionality.

“The layout of a control room is site dependent, as the purpose of the room will vary depending on the organisations appetite for security,” Myles says. “However, as is common with most sites, when designing the layout of a control room, the notion of monitoring by exception is an important factor when considering that most control rooms monitor multiple data feeds.

“The control room should be designed to ensure any alarm events or other triggers are dynamically brought to the operator’s attention. As such, while a portion of the control room should be delegated for monitoring areas of interest, a significant quota of the room should be solely dedicated to alarm

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● Special report

Security management

events and corresponding video and data popups. Integration between access control systems, analytics and video management systems will ensure that alarm events triggered, provide information critical to decision making processes and responses.

“An additional consideration is the number of camera views within a control room environment, and the effects of over-stimulation from excessive numbers of feeds, which may result in important events being overlooked. It is essential that time is taken when predetermining views that populate the control room view screens, and that the views can be quickly reconfigured to compensate for situational changes throughout a 24-hour cycle.

Monitoring configurations, and the decision on which cameras are most suitable, should flow from extensive collaboration between security and management stakeholders.

“At the same time, procedures are also very important and should be complemented by analytics and third-party software triggering,” Myles says. “Modern video management systems can facilitate policies and procedures to become part of the solution’s automatic reaction to an alarm event.

“For example, a fire alarm or bomb threat, can trigger the corresponding procedure to be presented to the end user within the solution. This can significantly reduce reaction time, by eliminating the need for responders to find the correct procedure in a book, file cabinet, or digital database.”

According to Myles, the best way to ensure the entire security team, as well as management and staff, is across unfolding events is with careful strategy.

“The organisation needs to establish and implement clear strategies that define the roles and responsibilities of all stakeholders, regarding the response to events as well as the undertaking of appropriate actions in real time,” Myles says.

GETTING NEEDED FUNCTIONALITY IS SITE AND BUDGET DEPENDENT – STRATEGY AND THE ORGANISATIONS APPETITE FOR SECURITY PLAYS A BIG ROLE IN DEFINING WHAT IS REQUIRED AND WHAT IS MERELY NICE TO HAVE.

Dallmeier Symsy

“Without a defined strategy, the organisation will not have clear unified procedures and policies, and the response will be more dependent upon the skill of the individual control room operators.

“Additionally, technology plays a role informing stakeholders through mobility, which also assists with the awareness factor by informing in-the-field or external stakeholders of events on the ground as they occur. Getting needed functionality is site and budget-dependent – strategy and the organisation’s appetite for security plays a big role in defining what is required and what is merely nice to have.

We must always look towards a strategy which has been developed from the unique challenges and risks faced by an organisation to establish what is ultimately required.

“Budgets play a role in this, as well as the dependence upon the nature of an organisation’s security operations,” Myles says. “Some clients with active control rooms may benefit from the deployment of tools that provide enhanced situational awareness, resulting in efficiencies with the allocation of resources such as manpower, reducing the number of operators and allowing these resources to be deployed in-the-field as a more proactive crime prevention approach.”

When it comes to finding a balance between AI and automation and human engagement, Myles has a granular approach.

“It is certainly possible for a lot of noise to be generated around unwanted alarms; and this needs to be properly managed without the need for intervention,” he says. “An overarching strategy should clearly define and identify the types of alarms that need to be prioritised. A specific policy to manage alarm events and delegate these events to the appropriate stakeholders, will ensure resources are appropriately allocated to situations as they occur.

Utilising a tiered approach for alarm management can allow for lower priority alarms to be utilised for non-security purposes such as operations and maintenance.”

Myles argues that when it comes to attaining an affordable singularity in SMS and VMS the industry is already undertaking the process of developing systems that offer greater unification.

“We have seen a lot of development in recent times with the unification of access control and VMS into one overarching solution,” he says. “Integration between separate systems is increasing and my feelings are that as systems develop that we are going to see a lot more unified solutions going forward.

“Regarding affordability, some of the less expensive solutions are already providing unified systems that are user friendly and adaptable. The benefit of an integrated system is that only one upgrade is required - experience suggests there are significant issues associated with updating separate systems individually.” n

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MORE THAN A COLLECTION OF BRANDS MORE THAN A COLLECTION OF BRANDS MORE THAN A COLLECTION OF BRANDS

AN ARA PRODUCTS COMPANY AN ARA PRODUCTS COMPANY AN ARA PRODUCTS COMPANY

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1300 111 010 1300 111 1300 111 010 010 www.iscs.com.au www.iscs.com.au www.iscs.com.au

31/5/18 9:00 am

● Case study

Hills

HILLS DISTRIBUTION CENTRE

As well as being impressive in its own right, Hills Distribution Centre incorporates an integrated electronic security solution made up of the company’s best products – Genetec, Axis Communications, Tecom Challenger V10 and the C4 security management solution.

HEN Hills decided to bring its distribution centre back in house after several years of outsourcing, the company needed a seriously large facility to handle the backend load. It’s easy to forget just what a big unit Hills is – the company turns over millions of dollars of stock every week from its new 11,000sqm distribution centre – and stock held in the facility is worth many millions more.

The security solution covers more than a warehouse. The distribution centre at Seven Hills includes demonstration space, office space, network infrastructure and the company’s technical help desk. As the team thought around the possibilities, the concept grew from a single location into an enterprise application. There are now 7 sites connected to the overall system. On the access control side there are around 100 doors and a database of more than 600 users.

A combination of size and the value of infrastructure and assets at the distribution centre

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BY J O H N A D A M S

meant Hills needed to think about its own security solution - during this process the team decided it wouldn’t just install a basic system but would create an integrated solution that meshed its leading systems not only for security but for another very specific purpose. According to John Hamill, head of services at Hills, demonstrating the capability of its best products was a key part of the equation.

“What we’ve done is put all our own products together to make an integrated electronic security solution that serves this facility but is also available to all our other offices across the country as a demonstration site,” Hamill explains. “As well as coming and looking at the application in the demonstration centre, the national sales team can also access cameras on mobile devices to demonstrate the system’s remote management capability.

“The integration here is evolving – it’s only going to become more capable in the future – it’s very exciting.

We are counting parking spaces with Genetec John Richardson

AutoVu automated license plate recognition using Genetec Security Center and we have installed C4, which integrates our Challenger V10 alarm and access control systems. There are various cameras from our brands, including Axis Communications internal and external camera ranges – we want to show all the key functionalities of product offering so installers and end users can see them working together on a live site.

“Genetec is managing the entire video surveillance solution, while Tecom C4 is handling this site, as well as managing alarms, access control and automation for all our branches nationwide as an enterprise application – exciting, too, we have a great new integration coming out that allows Genetec to integrate with Challenger and as soon as it is completed, we will be running that here as well.”

WHAT WE’VE DONE IS PUT ALL OUR OWN PRODUCTS TOGETHER TO MAKE AN INTEGRATED ELECTRONIC SECURITY SOLUTION THAT SERVES THIS FACILITY BUT IS ALSO AVAILABLE TO ALL OUR OTHER OFFICES ACROSS THE COUNTRY AS A DEMONSTRATION SITE. se&n 33

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WHAT PRODU INTEGR SOLUT BUT IS OTHER AS A D

● Case study

Hills

THE SIZE WAS A CHALLENGE – WE NEEDED TO DEPLOY FIBRE THROUGHOUT. IT’S WORTH POINTING OUT THAT WHEN WE STARTED THIS WAS A SHELL - EVERYTHING YOU SEE HERE WE DID OURSELVES.

WALKING THE SITE Having seen almost all the big warehouses in the Australian electronic security industry, it’s possible to say that the Hills distribution centre is by far the largest. Having additional administrative and sales functions based at the site makes it more complicated still.

“The site is physically very large internally and externally,” says Hamill. “The size was a challenge – we needed to deploy fibre throughout. It’s worth pointing out that when we started this was a shell - everything you see here we did ourselves. We handled the design inhouse. Integrator JD Security handled the installation of cabling, as well as taking care of part of the fit-off of devices – other parts of the installation were handled by Hills’ own technical team, which gave them valuable insight into the

challenges of integrating systems in sites like this.

“We have around 50 cameras, mainly Axis, covering every entry and exit point – we have automated license plate recognition cameras covering the carpark entry, so we can see who has been here. CCTV is fully integrated into our access control solution – there are 8 roller doors in the warehouse alone and there are many more entry and fire doors across the site.”

Taking the site in, there are plenty of cameras – some installed high up inside the warehouse and others outside the warehouse where pallets of stock are loaded onto heavy transport – the complexity of the site meant the Hills techs could really let their hair down when it came to camera choice – I see internal and external domes and bullets, as well as a large number of internal cameras in the office areas.

Impressive, too, are the Genetec AutoVu cameras that handle automated license plate recognition at the entry/exit gates.

Something noteworthy in the Hills Distribution

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● Case study

Hills

Centre is that there are elevated cable trays that allowed techs to move cables in an organised way and the industrial internal landscape – a lot of steel girders – means it’s possible to surface mount here more easily than would be the case in some other applications. Hamill points out that some internal structures are portable – they can be lifted and moved around the site if required.

“The fibre network across the site links switches to which all our PoE cameras are connected via Cat 6 cable,” explains Hamill.

There were some challenges when it came to the installation – the height of internal walls and external covered areas among them.

“Another challenge of working at the site for JD Security in the lead up to our opening was the heat – adding to this from the JD Security perspective, the site was a work in progress - parts were operational while the electronic security solution was being installed. A distribution centre is a busy place –

HANDLING VIDEO IS GENETEC SECURITY CENTER 5.7, THE LATEST VERSION OF ITS OPENARCHITECTURE PLATFORM THAT UNIFIES VIDEO SURVEILLANCE, ACCESS CONTROL, AUTOMATIC LICENSE PLATE RECOGNITION, COMMUNICATIONS, AND ANALYTICS.

there’s stock moving almost all the time – this can pose system design issues as well. For instance, we have dual technology curtain sensors installed but after installation we had to move some as they were being blocked by stock movements.”

When it comes to the access control system, the design called for zoning, so office staff are only able to access to office areas and warehouse staff can only access to the warehouse. There’s also selected access to areas like the server room.

According to John Richardson, product sales specialist CCTV, the system offers excellent demonstration capabilities, as well as being a solid security platform.

“We basically used the best of everything we had – the best management solutions and the best cameras,” he explains. “The idea is that visitors will be able to see all our solutions working together in a way they may not be able to see them elsewhere – the sales team can also access the system from any connected location. It’s not only video surveillance – the automatic gates allowing access to heavy vehicles are access controlled as well – it’s a complete solution and it will be enhanced in the future.”

PRODUCTS USED Products that have been integrated at Hills Distribution Centre include Challenger V10 and the C4 management solution, Genetec Security Centre, Genetec AutoVu automated license plate recognition cameras and a wide range of Axis Communications internal and external cameras.

Tecom Challenger10 access control and security control panel is a modular system which can be scaled for almost any application, from small to large commercial installations. With thousands of programmable options, integrated networking and 99 areas, Challenger10 can be partitioned with no loss of performance, whether you are using one or all 99 areas, thanks to a 32-bit microprocessor.

The Challenger10 panel stores 10,000 events, is programmable via LCD keypad arming stations or via Interlogix security management software, arming and disarming can be automated to occur at particular times, days and/or when particular events occur in a system, while defined holidays can span multiple days, and can be repeated annually.

Multiple internal areas can be linked to a perimeter area to control your site’s entry/exit procedures.

Meanwhile, the C4 management solution provides

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a single interface that allows management of all security systems - access control, intrusion and CCTV, whether locally or remote. Operators can drive and manage all their systems from a single interface, no matter the manufacturer, and there are multiple reporting options, too. Behind the scenes is an MS SQL database with Open DataBase connectivity. C4 has a huge list of integration drivers already written, with new drivers able to be written using integrated tools.

Handling video is Genetec Security Center 5.7, the latest version of its open-architecture platform that unifies video surveillance, access control, automatic license plate recognition, communications, and analytics. Security Center 5.7 allows users to make insight-driven decisions based on security and analytics data. This latest version also adds privacy protection for individuals (KiwiVision Privacy Protector module), efficiently distributes HID mobile access control credentials, and ensures business continuity with native access control failover. Security Center 5.7 is available now through the global network of Genetec certified channel partners.

According to Genetec, cyber resilience is about securing communications, authenticating users, and protecting businesses from employees unwittingly allowing vulnerable network-connected devices to threaten the business. To improve overall cybersecurity, Security Center now automatically identifies whether connected edge devices are running the most recent and secure device firmware.

Once notified of known vulnerabilities and given firmware recommendations, administrators can take immediate action and eliminate known security gaps.

The Security Center reporting feature intuitively displays data in dynamic charts and graphs, helping organizations gain a deeper understanding of their data, identify trends, and spot undetected patterns. Visualization of physical security data can be employed to quickly isolate security gaps and suspicious activity, identify maintenance issues, find valuable opportunities to improve operations, and ultimately make smarter decisions. The Security Center Web Client allows customers to manage real-time alarms and threat levels, both of which are critical time-sensitive activities.

A neat feature of the Hills Distribution Centre application is the use of Genetec’s AutoVu automated license plate recognition system. In other applications, AutoVu can entirely manage parking in corporate or government applications but at Hills the system is being used to keep an eye on vehicle numbers so that if the 100 available parking spaces are full, staff can assist customers. n

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● News report

Technology

LIGHTWEIGHT CRYPTOGRAPHY CRYPTOGRAPHY experts at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) are kicking off an effort to protect the data created by innumerable tiny networked devices such as those in the internet of things (IoT), which will need a new class of cryptographic defences against cyberattacks.

REATING these defences is the goal of NIST’s lightweight cryptography initiative, which aims to develop cryptographic algorithm standards that can work within the confines of a simple electronic devices – including security sensors, access control readers, CCTV cameras and control panels.

Many of the sensors, actuators and other micromachines that will function as eyes, ears and hands in IoT networks draw little power and use circuitry far more limited than the chips found in even the simplest cell phone. Similar small electronics exist in the keyless entry fobs to newermodel cars and the RFID tags used to locate boxes in vast warehouses. All of these devices are relatively inexpensive to make and will fit nearly anywhere, but common encryption methods may demand more electronic resources than they possess.

As an initial step, NIST seeks assistance in developing requirements and guidelines for these solutions. The Draft Submission Requirements and Evaluation Criteria for the Lightweight Cryptography Standardization Process is the first draft of this request, written with the software development community in mind and aimed at ensuring that the formal request—slated for release later this spring—will produce the sort of encryption algorithms that developers agree will help.

The draft document is available now on the NIST website. A Federal Register Notice will soon announce a public comment period so that the community can weigh in on the draft submission guidelines. The ultimate goal is to develop lightweight encryption standards that benefit the entire marketplace.

According to NIST computer scientist Kerry McKay, effective standards must bring a welldefined solution that applies to a wide class of situations — and that made the wording of the request tricky.

C

“The IoT is exploding, but there are tons of devices that have nothing for security,” McKay said. “There’s such a diversity of devices and use cases that it’s hard to nail them all down. There are certain classes of attacks to consider, lots of variations. Our thinking had to be broad for that reason.”

Many of the manufacturers who create these small devices say that the time is right for establishing effective standards.

“As industries adopt authentication apps for things like flu-shot syringes and baby formula, it’s important that there is agreement on security practices,” said Matt Robshaw, a technical fellow at Impinj, a company that develops RAIN RFID technology used to keep track of these kinds of objects. “It’s a good time to begin to establish guidance about which of these techniques will be most appropriate.”

To ensure they were getting off to the right start, McKay and the team members spent 4 years consulting with industry groups ranging from smart power grid experts to auto manufacturers. Their advice led the team to stipulate that submitted algorithms must have been published previously and been analyzed (though not necessarily adopted) by a third party.

“We feel it’s a fair request because people have been working on crypto for constrained environments for several years now,” McKay said. “We want to see things that the world has looked at already.”

These solutions typically use symmetric cryptography — the less resource-intensive form, in which both the sender and recipient have an advance copy of a digital key that can encrypt and decrypt messages. The NIST team specifies that these algorithms should provide one useful tool in symmetric crypto applications: authenticated encryption with associated data, or AEAD, which allows a recipient to check the integrity of both the encrypted and unencrypted information in a message. They also stipulate that if a hash function is used to create a digital fingerprint of the data, the function should share resources with the AEAD to reduce the cost of implementation.

McKay said that while the AEAD and hash tools should cover nearly everything that a developer would want to do with symmetric cryptography, she and the team are looking forward to comments from the public on whether the draft’s requirements are sufficient.

“We will be relying on community feedback to determine what other use cases we should include in subsequent editions” she said. n

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hanwha-security.com

More powerful in low light environments

extraLUX is Wisenet's new product range equipped with the world's first 1/2" sensor with a built-in F0.94 lens that delivers clear, sharper colour images even in low light environments.

www.eos.com.au

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● Product review

Hikvision

HIKVISION 6MP TURRET HIKVISION’s DS2CD2355FWD-I is a compact, affordable, 6MP fixed lens day/ night turret camera with 30 metres of integrated IR and a robust IP67-rated housing, making the unit more than capable of handling external applications where vandalism is less of a concern.

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BY J O H N A D A M S

E’VE tested Hikvision’s 1080p turret camera in the past and found that within the limitations of the form factor, performance was better than expected, so I was mighty keen to get a sense of just how good this updated and recently unlocked 6MP version has become – as well as how effective the high resolution sensor is as light levels fall.

Specifications are more comprehensive than you’d expect. The 6MP (3032 x 2008-pixel) 1/2.9inch progressive scan CMOS sensor gives 20ips colour performance down to 0.01 lux at F1.2 with the support of auto gain and gives monochrome performance in 0 lux with the integrated IR activated. The camera gimbal gives 0-365 degrees of pan and 0-75 degrees of tilt and shutter speed ranges from 1/3 of a second to 1/100,000th of a second.

These cameras come with a fixed lens, but you can choose your focal length – there’s 2.8mm (97-degree angle of view), 4 mm, (78-degree angle of view), 6mm giving a 60-degree angle of view), 8mm, giving a 39.5-degree angle of view and 12 mm, giving a 19-degree angle of view. My preference for the street scenes around the office would be 6mm but for most applications, 4mm or the 2.8mm that I’m testing would be ideal.

Wide dynamic range is 120dB and there’s backlight compensation and 3D digital noise reduction, triple streams as well as a bunch of compression options, including H.265+, H.265, H.264+, H.264 and MJPEG. The camera delivers 20ips at 5MP resolution in the main stream – the sub and third streams offer 30ips at up to full HD resolution. Image settings include rotate mode, saturation, brightness, contrast, sharpness adjustable by client software or web browser and region of interest.

The camera also features comprehensive IVA, including behaviour analysis such as line crossing detection, intrusion detection, unattended baggage detection, object removal detection – there’s also exception detection, including scene change and the appearance of a human face in the scene. These IVA events can be used to send alerts or activate recording.

Protocols supported include TCP/IP, UDP, ICMP, HTTP, HTTPS, FTP, DHCP, DNS, DDNS, RTP, RTSP, RTCP, PPPoE, NTP, UPnP, SMTP, SNMP, IGMP, 802.1X, QoS, IPv6; there’s 1-key reset, anti-flicker, heartbeat, mirror, password protection, privacy mask, watermark, IP address filtering and support

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MY PREFERENCE FOR THE STREET SCENES AROUND THE OFFICE WOULD BE 6MM BUT FOR MOST APPLICATIONS, 4MM OR THE 2.8MM THAT I’M TESTING WOULD BE IDEAL.

Bright afternoon in the lane

Plates at 15kmph

DoF is strong

Face with 1x zoom 12m from lens

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● Product review

Hikvision AS THE LIGHT FADES, THE CAMERA HOLDS ON IN GOOD COLOUR, WITH EXCELLENT CONTROL OF BLOOMING AROUND THE SOLITARY STREETLIGHT IN THE SCENE.

TEST DRIVING THE HIKVISION 6MP TURRET Out front with WDR off

Faces but not plates

Detail high but some over exposure in the sun

for ONVIF Profile S and Profile G), along with ISAPI, which allows the creation of operational filters and extensions.

On-board storage is provided by integrated SD/ SDHC/SDXC slot 128 GB, operating temp is -30 to 60C, current draw is a maximum of 5.5W and the camera dimensions are 127mm x 95.9mm with a weight of 620 grams. That weight is instructive – the camera has a plastic trim ring, but the body is made of cast alloy and it’s got good feel and fine finish. I found adjusting the eyeball to require more than the usual amount of force, which is something to take into account when mounting the camera on less solid surfaces.

My first impressions of the Hikvision 6MP turret when I set up in the office with settings generally at default but with WDR on auto and night mode set to auto IR, are positive. Given I’ve tested a Hikvision turret before, I have expectations about this camera that over the next couple of days I discover are behind the times. The image is wide with some expected barrel distortion – about 10 per cent. I notice some chromatic aberrations along high contrast borders. Handling of bright points is exceptionally good. WDR performance is also good internally – I’m able to see through to the office kitchen with no issues.

I notice in the internal scene that with a very bright doorway in the frame, colours are slightly muted, and the strong light is throwing a little blooming haze or veiling flare into the scene. When I take the camera outside over the shaded lane with 75,000 lux side light, I notice the same effect but it’s more pronounced given there’s full sun on the camera. Hopping into settings, I find that with the manual exposure settings at default minimum (1/3) bright areas are overexposed and there’s regional blooming. I spend quite a while playing with exposure trying to find an optimum – locking the bottom end at 1/750th is probably best in terms of control of blooming but go to 1000th of a second and the scene darkens.

At this point I also play around with WDR but I end up leaving it off. BLC and WDR settings can be intrusive and with this camera in this very sunny scene, WDR is putting too much lightening across the image – what that comes down to is hard to say – there’s zero sign of noise or digital artefacts in this scene – it’s rock solid. I can see a typical processing pulse that seems to occur every 3 seconds.

Something this camera does offer is useful digital 1x zoom – you need to wrangle it to deliver your field of view after zooming, but the 6MP resolution of the sensor gives you detail you’d never get from a 1080p camera. Even at 16 x 9, I can see deep into the scene. It’s also worth noting the lack of ghosts in the scene despite the intense backlight/sidelight.

Over on the bottom right of the scene is a tiny sliver of internal reflection but otherwise things are very well controlled. When a pedestrian comes down the lane I try hard to discern some stepping from the 20ips frame rate but cannot. Something else I notice is the quality of the colour rendition, even

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4/19/18 31/5/18 3:38 9:00 PM am

● Product review

Hikvision

WDR activated

1x digital zoom

WDR gives more composite image

with the stress of backlight causing some over exposure in the scene.

As the afternoon deepens, the image improves.

The human eye works best at dawn and dusk, providing the highest levels of contrast to the brain at those times lions are hungriest and there’s something similar afoot with surveillance cameras – colour rendition improves, detail increases and sharpness increases as light levels fall. The high resolution of this image stream is a contributing factor to depth of field – there’s no chance I’d be getting the sort of detail I’m getting at 70 metres with a 1080p camera.

Something I’ve been wondering about the

Hikvision 6MP turret is how it will perform in low light – a near 1/3rd inch image sensor and 6MP resolution means photo sites will be smaller. But despite this imperative of physics, the Hikvision continues to look better in failing light. When I push brightness to 70 per cent I think I can just see the beginnings of some noise but it’s nothing to worry about. That stubby 2.8mm focal length means I have high levels of detail from a hyperfocal distance of less than half a metre out to infinity – the beauty of a fixed lens is that everything is more or less in focus all the time, though for my higgledypiggledy scenes I’d still prefer to be at 6mm.

Light continues falling and the camera continues to stay bright, though I notice that when I zoom in on pedestrians at 70m I’m starting to get some motion blur. I snare a face close to the camera and quality is court admissible. As the light fades, the camera holds on in good colour, with excellent control of blooming around the solitary streetlight in the scene. The key thing is that I lose what detail I had of plates as shutter speed drops. There’s no sign of the camera going over into night mode, in fact there’s barely any amplification noise at all.

Modern CCTV cameras really have improved a lot over the past couple of years.

Amplification noise starts to make its presence felt when there’s almost no light left in the sky but oddly, this also is the first time the sky is entirely blue, and clouds are visible. During the day overexposure out here meant I didn’t get those details (more on this later). When I take the camera off the back fence in full dark and move it to the front, it goes over into night mode. I leave it in night mode – performance in the presence of IR is good – the IR is weighted to one side, but the spread and range are ideal for this type of camera.

Hikvision rates the IR in the 6MP turret at 30 metres but it’s stronger than that. IR performance is interesting. There are moments I have admissible face recognition inside 10 metres – I think the shutter speed, while reduced, is not at the lowest setting (it’s set to 1/25th). I am getting clothing, bags, shoes, gender, glasses – even if I don’t get what I think is a recognisable face, plenty of detail is apparent. The camera is mounted high, too. Most applications using this camera are not going to be so demanding.

After a while I lock the camera into day mode out front. Again, performance is surprisingly good for the price and the high resolution – remember that a 6MP sensor means smaller photo-sites, means more amplification, means more blur. And yet, this camera keeps doing better than I thought it would. There’s a yellow colour cast thanks to the low-pressure sodium streetlights but overall static colour rendition is very good and performance with movement is worthwhile, too. Control of blooming and ghosting with direct light hitting the lens is also pleasing. I play around with shutter speed for a while but although I get good face detail

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at times, I can’t get plates.

Next morning the camera is subjected to ferocious backlight on one side of the scene and in the distance – 78,000 lux – with deep shade underneath the camera and along the other side of the street. To make things even tougher for the little Hikvision, it’s a windless day and there’s been widespread back-burning in the Blue Mountains after an extended late Summer and Autumn dry.

Even here in town, the air is hazy with white wood smoke, which is reducing the colour temperature of the light, as well as creating the illusion of blooming in the distance.

Regardless, the camera acquits itself well.

The 97-degree angle of view is too wide for this street scene – for other applications it might be perfect - and this pixel spread is costing me detail.

Regardless, that 6MP of resolution is again giving me exceptional depth of field – all the way to Albion St nearly 100m from the lens. Closer in, I’m getting situational awareness that I would never have with 1080p – from about 70m I have clothing and details go on improving until the subject is right under the lens. Wide angle 1080p simply cannot compete.

IR activated gives faces at 10m

Internal WDR is solid

One thing I don’t have out front in this variegated scene with WDR off is consistent number plates. I hop into settings and plug 1/1000 in as minimum shutter speed – this makes the image darker, but it doesn’t give me the plates I was after unless cars are at sub 15kmph and closer to the lens. I put a lot of this down to pixel spread with the wide lens.

There’s no doubt I’d be getting plates at 4mm or longer – I usually test cameras at 5.5-6mm out front, so the Hikvision turret has its work cut out.

At this point, I remember WDR, which I wasn’t happy with in the back lane in full sun. How will it handle the street with one very bright side and one very dark? Well, beautifully, as it turns out. The camera’s WDR seems to have been made for this sort of scene. I have great colour rendition – reds, blues, greens, skin tones are also excellent, and all this comes hand in hand with that big resolution. At the same time, the application of WDR puts a very subtle sense of work into the image – it’s not quite as sharp. Regardless, I’d be leaving WDR set to auto away from direct sunlight. Next, I up the manual exposure setting to a minimum of 1/500th of a second. In tandem with the WDR setting this gives

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● Product review

Hikvision

Evening in the lane

Motion blur appearing

me plates out here, too. They aren’t crystal clear, but they are court admissible, which is fine work for a 2.8mm fixed camera.

Something else worth mentioning here is the Hikvision camera browser – it’s quick and easy to use, as well as giving me access to tons of functionality – security, maintenance, image settings, storage settings, event recording, including motion detection, arming, video tampering and exceptions. The whole back end of the camera is so workable as to constitute a considerable operational advantage.

inside 10m and this capability would be enhanced with longer focal lengths of 4mm or 6mm. I was impressed with night time performance using the integrated IR, which exceeded the specification of 30m.

But the over-arching capability of the Hikvision 6MP is high resolution. Given its compact form factor and affordable price, this little IP67-rated turret really dishes up detail across and throughout a scene. Mounted high in my applications, I was able to extract excellent levels of detail during the day – especially inside 16 metres. And while WDR didn’t please me in full sun, it gave excellent performance in variably-lit street scenes.

I finished up with the feeling this camera is a species of hybrid – that dual nature comes down to form factor on one side and raw performance on the other. Price and form factor are economical, yet many aspects of operational capability could serve serious surveillance applications. By the end of the test I’m surprised to find I feel nothing is lacking in my coverage of the street scene. The capability of the Hikvision 6MP turret far exceed the sorts of SME and residential demands it will likely face, especially when it comes to foot traffic in good light and at surprisingly large angles of view. Carefully installed with a 6mm focal length, this Hikvision 6MP turret is perfectly capable of looking right through a typical retail application and giving court admissible faces in the store on the opposite side of the street. In public surveillance applications at either 2.8 or 4mm focal lengths, it will surprise installers prepared to engage with camera settings. n

CONCLUSION As a dollar for dollar proposition, the Hikvision 6MP turret is well worth considering. You’ll find some barrel distortion at this 2.8mm focal length, as well as wide spread chromatic aberrations, and the camera also benefits from heavy handed tweaking of the brightness slider – about 70 per cent is best in my scenes – even with WDR on. I’d also be installing it to minimise direct sunlight to maximise colour and minimise the appearance of blooming by unloading WDR processes.

The strong IR performance makes it more capable than expected in node mode. The camera engine works best with slower shutter speeds in sub-10 lux and while this gives excellent static images, it means motion blur, so no plates in low light. Even so, the 6MP Hikvision turret contrives to regularly delivering admissible faces in low light

FEATURES OF THE HIKVISION DS-2CD2355FWD-I 6MP CAMERA l

Up to 6MP resolution

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120dB Wide Dynamic Range

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DC12V & PoE (802.3af)

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IR range: up to 30 m

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The Smart Money Smart Home systems, incorporating automation and security functionalities are continuing to grow at furious speed, with interest from big IT and technology players, as well as the insurance industry, adding heat to a sector already on fire.

HERE was a lot of talk at SecTech Roadshow about the future of alarm monitoring. Would the traditional alarm panel die out? Yes, was the reply. It’s going to be taken over by home automation, by smart homes, by cloud-based solutions, by direct-connect devices managed by smart phones. It’s over for alarm panels and hard-wired security devices, the beating heart of the modern security system is the router.

But exactly how traditional security will die and exactly what will replace it remains in a state of flux. It’s partly because whatever comes after the traditional alarm panel is not going to be anything like the traditional alarm panel – not only in terms of potential functionality, but in terms of the business model that drives it. Installers and end users are going to shift from closed notions of monitoring to open ecosystems that are devoid of lateral constraint.

Does this mean the end of alarm monitoring as we know it? Well, no, actually. It implies that for those installers and central stations willing to embrace change, it’s the beginning of the monitoring of everything.

Of course, there’s a caveat. Serious players keep circling the security and home automation market looking for a way in. All the usual suspects are out there – Apple and Amazon and Google.

Then there are insurance companies who say smart homes will allow them to tailor policy recommendations, while neglecting to say that such systems will help them eliminate risk. On all sides,

T

investment in the sector is growing apace. According to Juniper Research, what the company describes as ‘open ecosystems’ will continue to accelerate in growth, reaching 1 billion automation and monitoring devices within 5 years up from just 176 million today. What’s the driving force behind this growth – funnily enough it’s more capable security solutions as well as organisations like Google with Nest, Hive, Alexa, Netgear and Amazon continuing to seek solutions that will breach the mass market.

Amazon, whose owner Jeff Bezos recently announced he wanted to colonise the moon, has purchased Ring, a company which makes networked and remotely accessible video doorbells, cameras and other domestic automation gear. Without saying much, Amazon has also completed and launched a home security services portal which is selling all the equipment users need to build their own security solution – as well as visits from Amazon consultants to advise and install gear.

The packages are being sold in 5 price tiers, at a flat fee — no monthly service contracts. Least expensive is $US240 for Outdoor Base, which includes an Echo Dot (hands-free voice controller) plus indoor and outdoor lighting, while the most expensive tier is Smartest, which for $US840 includes an alarm siren, motion sensors, sensors, a camera, an Echo Dot, lighting and a video doorbell.

Stoking things up further still, Juniper Research argues that during

2018, roughly 65 million new home insurance policies will leverage smart home technologies. In fact, many insurance companies seem to view home automation as a serious opportunity for business expansion/risk reduction and are offering discounts to customers who have Nest smoke and CO2 alarms, with additional discounts for flood sensors and monitored solutions.

Something else that’s interesting is a push to use smart home technology to confirm events that lead to a claim in order to process claims faster. And some insurance companies are even considering tapping into smart devices so they can inform customers when a device records an issue that might lead to a claim – the activation of a flood sensor, or the change of temperature in a commercial freezer, for instance. Further, insurers are interested in using data from smart home systems to tailor policy recommendations for an individual customer.

Are Australian installers interested in security and home automation technology? If what we saw at SecTech was anything to go by, they certainly are. There was plenty of interest in the Risco gear on the VSP stand. CSM, which probably carries the widest range of security and automation brands, also got lots of attention at SecTech. Although not released at SecTech, we got a run-through of SCSI’s new Almond 3s security and automation solution – it’s a thoughtful release – a telecommunications solution with a security soul.

There seems to be a confluence of functionality and cost that’s flowing through the security and home automation sector. Routes to market are maturing a little, technology is seen as reliable and most importantly, end users are open to smarter home solutions. The Australian security and home automation sector was recently valued at $US887 million annually – that’s a considerable sum, despite the fact penetration across both sectors remains slight. n

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â—? Review

Digifort

IS YOUR VMS A DIGITAL FORTRESS?

If one thing makes the CCTV industry an interesting one, its the amazingly quick development of products and technologies. To stay ahead you must constantly research, read, get some handson experience and see how things work – this observation applies doubly to video management software.

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BY V L A D O D A M J A N O V S K I

N the past year or so, I spent considerable time researching and analysing the current video management systems (VMS) trends and products.

I had a casino consulting project coming up and I needed to refresh my knowledge. From being deeply connected with some of the pioneering names, such as Maxpro and Dallmeier, in my past consultancy, I needed to move on, get out of my comfort zone and see for myself what else is happening out there.

In this article I am not going to talk about cameras (which is my real speciality, but I will leave this for another time), but rather about the current VMS technology, the replacement of the video matrix switcher - what was once the heart of a CCTV system. I remember some of the very first VMS solutions, about 15 years ago, were very cumbersome, slow and expensive. I also remember that the acronym VMS, initially meant Virtual Matrix Switcher - virtual being the switching that instead of being inside a physical analogue matrix, became network switching with the appearance of the IP cameras on the market. Gradually, the video management system acronym became more common and a more suitable description of what the VMS functions are - managing video, alarms, motion detected events and interfacing to third party systems.

While the analogue matrix switchers had video input cards with certain capacity, and any camera could be plugged into it (the only choice was PAL or NTSC), the VMSs introduced the concept of camera licences per channel. The licensing per channel was introduced because the IP cameras in the beginning of their evolution came out without any standard format, as there was none.

Every camera manufacturer had its own protocols, compression and imaging formats.

This was the case simply because the technology evolution was faster than the standards is development. It just caught the industry off guard. There were simply - no standards - in fact in Australia we still don’t have any, as we are waiting for the Standards Australia to process the adoption of IEC 62676. As a result, creative VMS manufacturers invested a lot in writing interfaces to each camera model they could get hold of and sell such a development based on camera licences. This enabled VMS companies to pop up like mushrooms, from Russia to Brazil, eager to try their luck and build a computer-based VMS. Before we start, consider that VMS manufacturers today offer integration of thousands of different IP camera models (always updating), although the newly created interface protocol called ONVIF got accepted by the IEC 62676 series of standards so that all manufacturers offer it as an additional communication protocol for their cameras. This means you should be able to connect your cameras via ONVIF if you

I

EVERY CAMERA MANUFACTURER HAD ITS OWN PROTOCOLS, COMPRESSION AND IMAGING FORMATS. THIS WAS THE CASE SIMPLY BECAUSE THE TECHNOLOGY EVOLUTION WAS FASTER THAN THE STANDARDS DEVELOPMENT.

don’t have the camera model in the VMS database.

VMS manufacturers still charge licences per camera channel, but almost all of them offer ONVIF connectivity as well. Some VMS charge only once, others ask for recurring licences. Some charge additionally per clients connecting to the VMS, for additional video contents analytics, others charge annually for maintenance and support. You need to be aware of hidden costs.

So, how good are the VMSs today? I will try and answer this question through a practical analysis of one particular company which is half-Australian, half-Brazilian, and which, after learning its qualities, I respect highly – I’m taking about Digifort. The founders and developers of Digifort are based in Sao Paolo in Brazil. An unusual venture, to say the least, but certainly a productive one. As you could guess, Digifort is quite well known in South America, but (I didn’t expect) also in the Middle East, UAE and the GCC countries.

Last year I was approached to do a consultancy for a casino in Europe and I had to start researching the current VMS market. Not long after that an opportunity came up to meet with Tooma Chong, director of Digifort, based in Sydney. After I told him about my interest in VMS he invited me to visit the Digifort stand at the Intersec show in Dubai. Digifort is a household name in the UAE and they were going to show case their latest system in full glory to the many customers they have there.

Since I was already travelling to Europe, and I usually stop-over in Dubai, I got intrigued. I have been to many shows around the world, but not in Dubai, so I promised I will visit Intersec. I have been in Dubai a few times long time ago (over 20 years to

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● Review

Digifort

THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE FROM DIFFERENT PARTS OF THE WORLD RUSHING IN TO GET INSIDE THE HUGE HALLS OF THE INTERNATIONAL CENTRE. WOW, THIS WAS REALLY IMPRESSIVE! be more accurate), so I was eager to see how much has changed. I was interested to see how this market is developing in general, but I was also now keen to learn more about Digifort.

Visiting Dubai is always an eye-opener. No matter how much you have seen it on TV, you need to see it live. An amazing empty desert transformed into a mega-city with the best and mostest in architecture and design. A city of lights and sparkling buildings reaching the sky. Yes, a lot has changed since my last visit. The Intersec show was bigger than I expected, and right there, in front of the main entrance, I was welcomed by a huge Digifort gate. Digifort really seems to be a household name in the UAE and the Middle East countries. Thousands of people from different parts of the world rushing in to get inside the huge halls of the international centre. Wow, this was really impressive!

I stood at the stand, watched and learned what the Digifort VMS was capable of. I was sceptical

at first, having seen many systems and I expected this would be a mediocre product. Very soon I was proven wrong and was blown away by the ease of use and quick response. PTZ control was instant, without noticeable latency. Images were quite sharp and clear, which obviously would depend on the cameras first, but the decoding and scaling of the images was quick and responsive.

Digifort says it has the largest number of camera models integrated (although, to be honest, I have heard the same statement from almost every VMS manufacturer) and they certainly have the ONVIF integration also (in case you can’t find your camera model). Digifort also claims backward compatibility of older camera models and never drop drivers.

Cameras integrated from day one will still be working with their latest software version. Digifort comes in 4 ‘flavours’ including Explorer, Standard, Professional, and Enterprise. They are all compatible to offer a truly scalable solution. An important cost saving compared to other VMSs is that Digifort licenses are perpetual with no ongoing annual fees. Upgrades are free within the same ‘flavour’.

More importantly, and more impressive for me, was the Digifort integrated analytics. Not just automatic Licence Plates Recognition (LPR) and Face Identification (FI), but also an actual multifunctional traffic analysis, both for pedestrians and vehicles. This was shown through their integrated Video Synopsis module. I was really impressed with the various features of it. Video playback showing a big round-about with 5 entrances and a lot of traffic going in and out. Tooma showed me a simple filter by 2 clicks of a mouse selecting red cars going clock-wise direction and bang - all red cars going clock-wise time compressed and shown on the filtered video clip.

If you spotted the vehicle you were looking for. Just click on it and playback only that event. Easy, intuitive and fast.

Next, Tooma showed me a heat map of the traffic showing which round-about entries and exits have the most traffic. Heat map is indicated with different colour lines tracing the vehicles paths, from green for light, yellow for medium and red for heavy traffic.

Something that could be extremely useful to people like RMS. They can easily detect or analyse traffic congestion areas and get an alarm if they wish to.

Another analytic was shown on a pedestrian bridge, where hundreds of people were walking randomly in different directions, some of them on bicycles, others running, with back-packs, and alike.

It was so easy to select people filtered by direction of movement, colour of clothes, speed of movement or even gender. A real-time and fast VCA that works as expected and can be applied as well in searching a recorded footage made this a neat analytic indeed that can save hundreds of hours of tedious work to the operators, or warn them if a suspicious person or vehicle appears in the camera view.

Digifort is, without any doubt, smarter and faster

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@Security_Expo Security Exhibition & Conference

31/5/18 9:00 am

● Review

Digifort

than I thought. To be fair in my assessment, I visited other VMS stands and watched and listened to what they were showing and saying so that I could make an objective assessment. Other VMSs have progressed nicely from the time I saw them first as well. So, the actual distinction between various VMSs would be in the small but important differences.

When you compare 2 or 3 similar cars and you want to buy one, you start going in depth and in detailed analysis like which one is faster, but also which one has better fuel economy, easier to drive, safer, etc. It is very similar with the VMSs today. So, in addition to the fluency and speed of working with the VMS and the intelligent VCA, another important consideration is the integration with third party systems. Especially access control, building management and others.

Today’s growing demand for smarter solutions requires leadership and critical infrastructure to provide just that. The critical infrastructure in Digifort’s case is a smart, fast and responsive SDK and API. This is the core source of integration with other technology partners to create a comprehensive solution. Not all SDKs are the same. Smart SDK/API makes integration easy and fast.

While walking around and visiting many hardware manufacturers, I got into discussions, presenting myself as a potential customer, and heard various comments, such as that Digifort has one of the best SDK/API. Others even said that they have some of the fastest HTTP/HTTPS alarm responses. This is very important when your VMS is responding to alarms. Delays of a couple of seconds

THE CRITICAL INFRASTRUCTURE IN DIGIFORT’S CASE IS A SMART, FAST AND RESPONSIVE SDK AND API. THIS IS THE CORE SOURCE OF INTEGRATION WITH OTHER TECHNOLOGY PARTNERS TO CREATE A COMPREHENSIVE SOLUTION. may mean that it could be too late for an effective alarm response. When using third party (unknown) video stream, often RTSP streams are used, but in the case of Digifort they can do RTSP of a playback as well. This could be very useful in integration.

I was impressed with the stability of the system itself. In the many hours of me watching and listening to demos, I never saw a lockup or system freeze, which is so common for most Windows-based systems. When I asked how this is achieved, the team said that Digifort is proven to be extremely stable because of its solid coding and performance driven philosophy. The system is also more responsive and less CPU intensive than many of the competitors. An additional important reason for this I would add, is the knowledge of the product by the Digifort staff – that’s important for customers.

One of the key underlying structures of any VMS is the database. Too often people have been burnt by Microsoft SQL due to licensing issues or limitation this database offers. Many manufacturers I know are using My SQL instead, which used to be an open source free database, but sadly became chargeable after Oracle bought it out. I was pleased to learn that Digifort uses another open source database which

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is still free - the Firebird database engine. This one runs on Windows, Linux and Unix OS, requires no updates and it does not rely on Microsoft framework.

Since Firebird is leaner and faster database - it results in ability to handle more cameras per server. With the latest Firebird, this is even further optimised, which is why Digifort LPR detection engine worked very fast despite having thousands of vehicles in its database.

Another thing that I heard quite few times from Tooma and the boys is that they are very proud of the very low traffic bandwidth Digifort uses for the operation. Once you start working with the software this could really be sensed in the speed of switching cameras, PTZ control or alarm response, but also in fast playback and finding events using VCA. They were also proud to point out that their advanced multi-processor motion detection capability uses the lowest amount of CPU power than any other VMS, and it is capable of processing motion detection from I-frames only, saving further on the number crunching processes.

To prove how competitive their system is, Tooma gave me a list of recent prestigious projects, which have been won not only because of its functionality, but also because it required less hardware and was cheaper. At Abu Dhabi National Exhibiton Centre with 1200 cameras, a reputable VMS supplier quoted 28 servers – Digifort offered 7 main servers and 2 failover servers. Another key win was a project in India with 3600 HD cameras. Management was quoted by another manufacturer for 83 servers but Digifort won the job with 18 main servers and 5 failover servers. In Iran at Rosha Mall, a 500-camera job was installed on 2 main servers using each

other as failover instead of the 5 suggested by a competitor. In Abu Dhabi again, a client with 1050 HD cameras did not need the 20 servers quoted by another company – it went with 12 Digifort servers and 2 failover servers and has the capacity to grow its system to 1500 CCTV cameras.

Digifort comes with an interesting free utility called Digifort Insight, which allows any network PC, within the same network, to be able to stream to Digifort server, just like a camera stream and be recorded and viewed live. Users from a client can take over control of that PC as a remote desktop.

Many large systems cannot be imagined without a redundancy. For this reason, in addition to working with redundant disk arrays servers (RAID), many VMSs also offer the fail-over ability, just in case the whole server fails. Digifort is no different, and offers fail-over ability, but not just a standard fail-over of the cameras on a failed server, but also fail-over of the LPR, VCA and I/O controllers.

Certainly, as you would expect from a modern VMS, there are unlimited multi-screen styles you can create, use maps, multi-functional PTZ keyboards and the ability to do anything with Digifort with just 3 clicks away. Remote connectivity with smart devices is easy and quick, supporting full frame rate.

So, what are my final impressions? Well, I am very happy to see such a well-developed product, which is partially Australian owned. Digifort can easily compete with the biggest and most popular names out there. If you are thinking of upgrading to a new and better VMS for your site, you should certainly give Digifort a go – you will not just save money, you will find things that you thought belonged to the future are possible right now. n

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● SecTech Roadshow

Products & Technology

NEW AT SECTECH ROADSHOW SecTech Roadshow gave the Australian security industry its first peep into the future of 2018, with plenty of interesting new solutions and evolutions on show.

More than ever, it’s difficult to pin-point market direction beyond the notion of everything, everywhere, all the time.

OMETHING that was clear at SecTech Roadshow was that most everyone is competing in the economy end of the CCTV market and most manufacturers occupy specialist niches – thermal, very long range IR, motorised PTZ bullets, hemispheric cameras, multihead cameras. The executions might look a little different, but the fundamentals are the same. For the first time, access control is looking to be well-serviced by a spread of quality solutions and peripherals.

In the past, installers could choose from high end brands and not much of anything else at all but there are now well supported options for installers looking to focus on SMEs whose needs tend to more simplistic applications.

Video management solutions are evolving. They now integrate more analytics capability and though there’s still development needed in some cases, we are seeing far more polished solutions than ever before.

Support is the key with VMS – find a manufacturer and supplier who will commit to your application and don’t scrimp on hardware. When it comes to smart home technology it’s hard not to get the feeling that in the

S

medium term, a domestic alarm panel is going to be a smart home panel – yes, you’ll still be able to buy access and alarm panels with expander boards, but for domestic applications, the smart home form factor is beginning to predominate.

Software continues to evolve for workstation and mobile/remote applications. However, there’s no sign a single manufacturer will become a default standard in this market. Everyone is doing software and most everyone has some species of cloud. n

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THERE WAS TALK OF AUTOMATED, DRONE-BASED SURVEILLANCE HOME SECURITY APPLICATIONS AT SECTECH.

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● SecTech Roadshow

Products & Technology

COST MIGHT BE FALLING WHEN IT COMES TO QUALITY SURVEILLANCE SOLUTIONS BUT FOR PROFESSIONAL APPLICATIONS, QUALITY IS OUTSTANDING.

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AREAS OF GROWTH AT SECTECH INCLUDED IP-BASED INTERCOMS, AFFORDABLE BIOMETRICS, VERY AFFORDABLE ACCESS CONTROL AND ENHANCEMENTS TO SOFTWARE OF ALL KINDS.

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● Regulars

Products

Editor’s choice X2 SIREN FROM CSD l X2-SIREN-100 is a self-contained high-security, satellite

siren and strobe unit with a rechargeable back up battery.

It has 6 high intensity strobe LEDs and 4 selectable siren timers and can be configured to suit most industry panels, supporting 5 selectable EOL resistor values for the tamper circuit and is enclosed in a UV resistant PC housing. A satellite siren offers continual cable monitoring between itself and the control panel, if the cable is cut the siren is still powered from the internal battery and will sound for up to 15 minutes. By including 6 high intensity strobe LEDs and 4 selectable siren timers, this siren is suitable for many applications.

Distributor: CSD Contact: 1300 319 499

What’s new in the industry.

DAHUA ADVANCED ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE TECHNOLOGIES AT ISC WEST l Dahua Technology has introduced 2 cameras incorporating AI, including front-end devices, back-end storage and platform management, through Dahua’s New DSS Pro. The IPC-HF8242F-FR AI Network 2MP Box camera is a standalone front-end intelligent solution that performs complex facial recognition without additional licenses or servers. The camera includes human facial feature extraction, real-time facial snapshots, and a comparison database of up to 10,000 face images and 5 libraries that are stored on-board. The facial recognition feature enables a pro-active way to identify persons of interest before an incident occurs. For example, by simply adding profiles of known criminals, prior offenders, suspended students, sexual predators or disgruntled persons to the database, an alert will be sent if the person is detected on camera.

Distributor: Dahua Contact: overseas@ dahuatech.com

GENETEC AUTOVU FLEXREADER

INNER RANGE MOBILE CARD READER

l GENETEC AutoVu Flexreader enables organizations to move

l THE latest Integriti V18.1 firmware release brings with it a host of outstanding developments aimed at further securing Inner Range’s standing as the premium integrated access and security system on the market. The mobile reader is an Android smartphone application that allows security personnel to view and verify cardholder details with a simple scan of a user’s access card. The app requires no additional hardware since it uses the smartphone’s NFC technology to read the unique card serial numbers of MIFARE DESFire EV1 & EV2 cards. The mobile reader supports Inner Range SIFER cards and HID DESFire cards.

beyond simple plate capture and use existing IP cameras to identify and track license plates of vehicles entering or leaving their premises. End users can additionally benefit by extending their security operations—especially for businesses and retailers—to access the full ALPR feature set of Security Center AutoVu and take advantage of valuable data-mining tools and graphical reports.

For security professionals, AutoVu Flexreader can help identify potential threats as soon as they appear by automatically identifying vehicles entering a facility and match them to existing hotlists. With the flexible list management features of Security Center AutoVu, unknown or suspect vehicles can trigger specific alarms and activate video surveillance recording to help decrease response time and support investigations.

Distributor: CSD Contact: 1300 319 499

Distributor: Hills Contact: 1800 685 487

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SONY SNC-HMX70 360-DEGREE HEMISPHERIC l FIRST seen at SecTech 2018, Sony’s new SNC-HMX70 camera is a discrete, easy to fit IP network camera that delivers an all-round 360-degree hemispheric view, ensuring full situational awareness. The camera’s fixed lens, high-resolution 12-megapixel image quality and wide 92dB dynamic range assures that crucial image details are captured, even in extremely challenging light conditions. The hemispheric image can be dewarped using VMS software or the camera’s own edge dewarping function that provides 3 simultaneous views.

As part of Sony Video Security’s partnership with Bosch, the SNC-HMX70 features on-board video analytics, which provides reliable object detection, loitering, object counting, route detection and other features. The camera is suitable for a wide range of indoor surveillance applications including large retail, airports, warehouses and casinos.

Distributor: Bosch Security Systems Contact: 1300 026 724

FLIR INTRODUCES F-SERIES ID THERMAL CAMERA WITH ANALYTICS l FLIR Systems Inc. has introduced the F-Series ID, a highresolution thermal security camera with onboard analytics.

The latest addition to FLIR’s F-Series family of premium thermal security cameras, the F-Series ID features a best-inclass 640 x 480 FLIR thermal sensor with up to 300 per cent greater thermal sensitivity than previous F-Series models to provide detail-rich imagery in low-contrast conditions.

According to FLIR, the F-Series ID yields better image and range performance in the trusted F-Series form factor, setting the standard for critical infrastructure customers needing threat detection and alarm assessment.

The F-Series ID detects potential intruders in both low or zero light conditions, and its built-in analytics classify human and vehicular targets that pose a risk. At the same time, the F-Series ID ignores innocuous targets, such as wandering animals or swaying tree limbs, that might otherwise trigger nuisance alarms.

Distributor: FLIR Systems Contact: +61 3 9550 2800

INNER RANGE MANAGING GUARDS WITH INTEGRITI l GUARD Tour Manager is a configurable framework where

guard tours can be created, scheduled and monitored in real time. The application offers a high amount of flexibility in the creation of steps, tasks, actions and warnings for each tour.

Progress of guard tours can be monitored in real time via Integriti’s graphical map interface and via live video feeds from an integrated CCTV system. Warnings and alarms can also be raised where the timing or the expected sequence of events within a tour has not been met. Reports can also be generated providing full detail of active and completed tours.

Distributor: CSD Contact: 1300 319 499

VALEN OFF-GRID SOLAR CAMERA l VALEN Energy is now offering an off-grid solar powered solution for MOBOTIX camera installations. Its solar-powered poles, which have already been widely used for street lighting across Australia, are now available in a specially prefabricated configuration for MOBOTIX cameras.

The lightweight aluminium columns feature high-efficiency shatterproof glassless solar panels, making them vandal-proof and they are very easy to install. A pole can be erected in as little as half an hour and does not require any underground cabling.

In fact, with a minimum foundation size of just 300 by 500mm, there is no need to dig up the pavement at all, making these poles great for public spaces, where underground services are often a worry.

Solar is an ideal power source for the cameras, particularly in Australia with its long hours of sunshine and MOBOTIX cameras are a particularly good fit, given their very low power consumption and IP66 certification for extreme outdoor conditions.

Distributor: Mobotix Contact: +61 2 8507 2000

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● Regulars

Help desk ■ Below are the approximate recommendations for rest times (complete rest, that is) between sets according to your goal, per the National Streng th and Conditioning Association (NSCA). *Note that since fat loss depends primarily on diet, there is no official rest-period prescription for it, although we feel that both short and long rests work, depending on the program.

Q: A question I have relates to the increasing domination of wireless in the alarm and home automation space – it does seem as though any installer wishing to play in the field of Z-Wave with all its devices and development is stuck with wireless, despite the fact battery life is still not where I would like it to be. Manufacturers seem quite blasé about battery life of 12-18 months, despite the fact changing all the batteries in a customer’s system at such regular intervals quickly becomes more expensive than a hard-wired solution might have been. Do you think wireless is the only way forward, when it comes to home automation?

A: We commiserate with you – the convenience of RF combined with modest battery life is a real dilemma for any installer integrating a comprehensive home automation solution. A carefully installed wired security and home automation solution is an extremely stable and long-lived proposition.

Comparatively, even the most robust lithium-ion batteries are going to falter between 3-5 years. We’d be looking for controllers and devices that offer the longest possible life, the least possible draw. You could try to minimise the number of devices through careful positioning, by using only one keypad. A huge group of sensors, all of which last less than 2 years, or which start failing one at a time from 18 months, is going to test the patience and the faith of the user.

Our panel of experts answers your questions.

The answer is to manage battery life – you’ll need to factor this maintenance into the service you provide – perhaps make costs slightly higher and make sure the user understands why. When the first device’s battery goes, replace them all. There are advances in battery tech happening all the time – a recent development saw a gel-cell nanowire battery that had a lifespan of 200,000 recharges and counting – but note that word – recharges.

There’s a limit to what you can do with batteries if very long life is your ultimate goal. If you decide to go in the direction of cabling, think about X10 and Insteon protocols, which drive home automation using existing power cabling. But it’s going to be difficult to entirely escape RF – even if it’s hardwired panel to hardwired device, you’re still likely to wind up using transmitters to drive lighting macros.

If you go X-10 or Insteon, you want to isolate non-automation loads. That’s possible but is harder than it sounds.

You want to keep big draw units off the automation network and preferably on a single phase. You could build a new house this way, but many builders split this heavy stuff up to avoid overloading standard issue circuits. Furthermore, there’s no telling what electricians have added to existing homes over many decades unless you assess the home in detail.

We’d probably install wireless, use the best quality batteries and keep a weather eye

on the latest battery tech – gold nanowire, solid state li-ion, grabat graphene, microsupercapacitors, 3D foam batteries. We’d install high drain devices like external sirens and strobes, cameras, keypads – including remote keypads – and anything else that chomps electrons, on wired loops and we’d use the lowest draw devices we could without compromising core system operations.

Q: It was pointed out at SecTech Camera Shootout that a small amount of directional light (40 lux measured at the face) is sufficient to deliver perfect face recognition, while the removal of the directional light renders the scenes delivered by almost all the cameras impossible to distinguish.

There were internal reflections, but we also saw flare and blooming, as well as fascinating colour casts.

Obviously, the cameras were installed pointed down slightly, the lights were lower still and pointed up slightly but what I could not understand was why so little directional light made such a difference to the performance of every camera. What does SEN think was going on?

A: It’s an interesting point. Shooting from the hip, my sense is that the small amount of directional light is generating sufficient reflectance from the targets to ensure that the cameras are exposing for

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A lower quality unit might last 5-7 years.

Better screens will last longer. Current draw is greater, but that price is worth paying, and typical operating temperatures are up to 70C, which is plenty for indoor applications. Whether or not you choose touchscreens or keypads – with or without LCD displays – is up to you. Keypads will last longer but they are much less capable.

Modern touch screens are so affordable, the shorter lifespan is a moot point.

THE BASIC TECHNOLOGY IS ROBUST. A QUALITY SCREEN CAN HANDLE WATER, DIRT, GREASE AND MORE FOR HUNDREDS OF MILLIONS OF MECHANICAL TOUCHES. those parts of the scene, not just for the lights. If the sensors are only exposing for the brightest parts of the scene – by damping down brightness – the darker parts of the scene will be darker still.

With objects in the centre of the frame visible to the cameras, the sensors are clearly exposing for those objects and this impacts on the entire scene outside of the bright points. Something unknown is the weighting of CCTV camera exposure.

Is it evenly weighted across the frame, or do CCTV cameras utilize centre weighting of exposure? What makes me think they sometimes might is that when you zoom into a scene with a motorised bullet or a PTZ, the exposure performance across the scene very often seems to improve immediately and significantly – the entire field of view at the longer end brightens.

At the same time, some cameras do better in variably lit scenes than others. It was interesting in Adelaide. That space was the largest and darkest space we’ve tested in, with the least reflectance. It was surprising how little directional light was required to give good faces in the presence of intense backlight with our 8m depth of field.

Q: Is it true that touch screen keypads fail in warm weather and have a shorter life than the older style mechanical keypads – what’s the best option in your opinion?

A: The most robust keypads are going to be stainless steel, IP67 rated against weather and IK10 rated against vandalism.

Of course, keypads aren’t a particularly engaging user interface – you might get a green LED flash of acceptance or a beep. A touch screen can do much more – you can drive an entire automation solution, get situational awareness, view video from the front door – there’s simply no comparison when it comes to functionality.

Capacitive touch screens are glass with a metallic conductive coating – basically the screen is covered by a low voltage layer.

When you touch the screen, current is drawn to the contact point and there’s a voltage drop at an axis point in the screen’s electrode pattern that can be interpreted by controller firmware. The basic technology is robust. A quality screen can handle water, dirt, grease and more for hundreds of millions of mechanical touches.

Q: Must panic buttons always be 24-hour or could they be wired to a standard zone loop?

A: Personal attack switches or panic buttons must be wired directly to a circuit of the alarm panel that’s designated 24hour. In other words, this zone must be continuously operational and continuously monitored, even if the system is disarmed.

It’s important to make sure that panic buttons are not wired to zones that can be accidentally isolated. When a panic device is wired to a 24-hour circuit the control panel can include processing designed specifically for panic button requirements.

A normal zone has variations in it to account for the different purposes the zone might be employed for. Such variations include delays while the control panel counts signals in a bid to confirm that an alarm is occurring. But features designed to keep false alarm signals to a minimum also delay the reporting of panic report.

When installing panic buttons check all connections and work with the monitoring station during commissioning. You want to use devices that are guaranteed to have a life of 10 years or more and the circuitry and switching connections need to operate first time, even if it has not been activated for 12-18 months. The best zone configurations will be latching plus reset with operator indicator of non-latching, automatically resetting with an operator indicator. n

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JUNE 2018 ISSUE 399

SECTECH: PRODUCTS & TECHNOLOGIES l Case Study: Hills Distribution Centre l Anixter to Acquire CSD, Inner Range l Review: Hikvision 6MP Turret Camera l Pelco Prefers BGW Technology l Report: Creating Situational Awareness l Alarm Monitoring: Smart Investment Grows l NIST Calls For Lightweight Cryptography l Review: DigiFort Video Management System

events

PP 100001158

Internet of Things World

+

Date: May 14-17, 2018 Venue: Santa Clara Convention Center, Santa Clara, CA, USA Contact: +1 646 616 7610 IOT in action. From strategy to implementation.

Every vertical covered. Every technology demonstrated. Where the world gathers to put the Internet of Things into action.

Security 2018 Date: July 25-27 Venue: 2018 Mebourne Convention and Exhibition Centre Contact: +61 3 9261 4662 Security Exhibition brings the largest selection of electronic and physical security suppliers in Australia to one destination for 3 days.

+ SECURITY & GOVERNMENT EXPO

Security and Government Expo 2018

Date: November 2018 Venue: The Realm Hotel, Canberra Contact: Monique +61 2 9280 4425 Security and Government Expo is a one-day expo with over 30 companies promoting their technologies and products in the nation’s capital. SAGE brings together government and commercial end users, consultants, integrators and installers in Canberra and the ACT to see the latest security solutions in a relaxed and informal atmosphere.

ISC West

=

Dates: April 9-11, 2019 Venue: Sands Expo, Las Vegas, NV, USA Contact: Outside the US call +1 203 840 5602 or email inquiry@isc.reedexpo.com ISC West is the largest security industry trade show in the U.S. allowing you to network with more than 30,000 security professionals, with technology encompassing everything from access control to unmanned vehicles from more than 1000 manufacturers and distributors.

DAILY, WEEKLY, MONTHLY.

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When it comes to home and building control, Honeywell’s exciting new Tuxedo Touch is anything but basic.

Honeywell’s Tuxedo Touch™ is a magnificent, 7’’ graphic touchscreen that functions as a home and building automation controller, integrated Bring more homes to life with Honeywell’s Tuxedo Touch security system, camera Automation Controller viewer and digital picture frame. It’s intuitive, easy to learn and easy to use, all from the Keypad or your Smartphone! ™

Bold. Brilliant. Beautiful. When it comes to home control for everyone, Honeywell’s exciting new Tuxedo Touch is anything • Graphic icons withIdeal menu-driven but basic. for both new prompts homes and retrofits, it’s simply the easiest, most affordable way to tie all of the technology • Help Manage energy costs in your customers’ homes together—all linked and controlled • Lock and from unlock automatically one doors stunning, high-resolution 7” touchscreen that’s also a digital picture frame and video viewer.

• Open and close shades

• Video surveillance onofthe or through web-enabled devices For a fraction the keypad price of other solutions,local Honeywell’s Tuxedo Touch lets you make their homes more enjoyable • Kit includes Vista Alarm System and your business more profitable than ever before.

What could be more brilliant than that?

At a fraction of the price of other solutions, Honeywell’s Tuxedo Touch, making your business more profitable than ever before.

For more information, visit www.honeywell.com/security/hsc The Tuxedo is available in white (TUXW) or silver (TUXS) and is compatible with Honeywell’s VISTA systems. Available at ADI. Call 1300 ADI ADI. © 2011 Honeywell International Inc. All rights reserved.

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On display at the CSD & Inner Range Stand

Compatible with

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