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Combine technologies for effective intruder detection

Physical security is never about a single layer of technology – the tighter the mesh, the stronger your security. The secret is to have an integrated solution where devices talk to each other; for example, when a beam, seismic sensor or vibration sensor is triggered the nearest camera should be automatically activated to zoom in on that zone. This is the holy grail of intelligent intruder detection and perimeter security.

Rudi Potgieter

In its simplest form, cameras can be associated to alarm zones, allowing a feed to automatically pop up when an alarm is triggered. There are products out there that condenses this feed into, say, 10 x 1 frame pictures, providing you with a short video clip of the event, without abusing bandwidth. One must be cognisant that while connectivity on premise might not be a problem, the user might be mobile without access to stable, high-speed connectivity.

Connectivity is the conduit to deliver next-generation services. Faster, stable connectivity enables the delivery of rich content. An alarm signal on a radio frequency network has now evolved to a video alarm over a fibre network. This starts a larger movement in the market, driving the industry towards self-monitoring.

By getting the client to eliminate false alarms before they even hit the armed response control room, we assist in driving down operational expenses, which in turn should result in a decrease in armed response subscription fees. This ultimately will drive the industry towards an Uber-like model for security, where armed response becomes about the person who gets to the incident first, as opposed to the dinosaur model of being locked into a single provider.

Video verification is still in its infancy, but slowly but surely making inroads. The current rate of adoption is higher in the corporate industry than with the consumer, with access to technology being the biggest inhibiting factor. With the evolution of artificial intelligence (AI) and computer vision and access to cloud-based products, the adoption rate is set to increase in the consumer space.

Ultimately, it is important to have a healthy mix of technology. There is no silver bullet here, but rather strength in numbers. One does not need to break the bank when securing your valuables, but rather have the right mix of various layers of technology.

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