It's the brainy boxes

After being asked for the umpteenth time "Seen anything earth shattering?" I got pretty tired of the question. But I suppose it's a mark of respect for IFSEC that people expect all the best new security goodies to be launched at this show.

To be honest, there was so much good stuff this year that we'll be kept in editorial copy for the next three months!

For installers, of course, it's the one essential event of the year to keep up with new technology. If you go to nothing else, you've got to get your annual top-up of what's happening in Brum.

But "earth shattering" kit … I'm not so sure.

The truly new concepts in security equipment are pretty infrequent. In my book the last big IFSEC innovation was the Vista eclipse 360deg camera and that was launched at the show two years ago. (Incidentally, this year's show saw the launch of a mini revolution in itself with the unveiling of the DVR to go with it. See page 37).

Of course, the Mosquito device (using ultrasonic sound to send the hoodies packing) has received so much press and TV coverage there can't be many people who haven't now heard of it, which made Cooper Menvier's take-up of it significant news (see page 14). Thanks to all that free publicity, you've probably got customers who are interested already. People were also impressed by the eyecatching design of the King unit from Croma Shawley which has taken a fresh look at PTZ (see page 53).

However, sitting in on the IFSEC Innovation Awards means I get an early sighting of a lot of "mini-innovations" (let's call them "minnovations" … ok, let's not).

In last month's Security Installer we gave a complete run-down of all the 29 shortlisted contenders for these awards, everything from ultra high speed smoke protection systems to a turnstile that uses biometrics, and from 3D facial readers to fingerprint recognition in the home. (See page 7 for the winners).

Intelligence creates buzz

Overall "best of the best" winner this year was Cieffe SRL for its Nettuno Senses device. Described as "revolutionary", this is a simple plug-in device that not only transforms analogue cameras into IP cameras capable of MPEG4 images but functions "like a human brain" and delivers motion detection, people counting, vehicle speed, crowd behaviour analyses, still object recognition, object tracking etc.

Significantly, Cieffe, which also won the CCTV category, hit on one of the big buzz phrases at this year's show with their device.

Everywhere you went in the CCTV "Village" (I use that term loosely as it now seems to take up most of the space), the phrase "intelligent video" was on manufacturers' lips. With CCTV operators' optimum attention span reckoned to be about 20 minutes or so there is a real need for these systems - either in the camera (such as Sony's Ipela), in the recorder or as a plug-in.

With the added marketing value some of this software offers, (ie, why is that particular shop aisle so popular?), it sells itself.

Comeback - all is forgiven

The other word that kept cropping up was our old friend "wireless". On at least three appointments with big companies I was told in no uncertain terms that it was "coming back" (although those readers who've been putting in police response systems from the likes of FM and Scantronic all these years will be thinking that it never went away). But I am reliably informed that it will be the next big thing for installers.

Honeywell's Johnny Allia, the HSCE MD based in France where wireless alarms are popular, said: "Twenty years ago wireless was not a product for a professional in the UK. Now in the last ten years we have seen some very professional systems".

He said UK installers who years ago had their fingers burned (not literally, of course) because of unreliable kit carried around a lot of "baggage" about wireless that was no longer relevant. He thought wireless systems in the UK were slowly gaining ground as end users realised they could save more money and installers realised how much extra business they could do.

Jeremy Hockham , UK MD of Bosch Security Systems also confirmed the increasing take-up of wireless: "In Spain and France wireless is the way it's done and the UK is now recognising it."

Guests at the Bosch reception were told that the company recognised installers as their "face" and so tried to make their lives as easy as possible, saving a few minutes on each installation so that more can be installed.

Johnathan Tyler, MD of Elvey Technologies, which distributes equipment in the UK and sub-Saharan Africa, also said that those installers that had "gone through the mill" with wireless because of unreliable equipment in the past had now changed their minds due to the reliability of modern technology.

"Big companies are now open to testing wireless again, maybe putting in ten detectors to see how it goes."

CCTV just the ticket

Other trends worth noting this year were the increasing number of on-board CCTV security systems for all kinds of public transport, undoubtedly spurred on by 7/7 and the continuing terrorist threat. (See next month's edition of Security Installer where we will be looking at this subject in detail). Dedicated Micros have gone one step ahead by expanding on their TransVu mobile CCTV recording systems. TransVu Media opens up the potential for advertising on the bus by displaying ads when the bus nears the appropriate store or venue ... and that's the Holy Grail of security - getting it to pay for itself.

Gotta hand it to 'em

Biometrics is now at last becoming mainstream in access control with most of the manufacturers incorporating fingerprint verification in some of their lines. And if you think it'll be a long time before biometrics is applied to our homes check out MasterGuardian who have brought out a user friendly fingerprint unit for the family.

(However I was assured by Dion McAllister, MD of Mul-T-Lock, that although the simple key has changed with the addition of electronics we will never see the end of keys as a concept simply because people like them too much.)

Other interesting biometrics were also being displayed including iris recognition, vein recognition and even hand written signatures. The SignHere system from Sign Assured was particularly interesting as a concept because it is innovative technology based around an old idea. To enroll, users sign five times and a template is generated from the sound the tip makes as the signature is written, which is then compared to subsequent signings. Because it can be used by those wearing protective clothing, it's highly suited to gaining access to medical, hygienic, or clean IT environments. But MD Charlie Ding sees a day when it will become so small and convenient that we will be signing in to get access to our own homes. Clever eh?

You're never alone

Other trends I noticed were the many PDA-type products for guards and police, so they know what to expect before they get to a scene, plus quite a few lone worker alarm systems (some of these might appeal to installation company proprietors to give to their engineers on call outs in dodgy areas).

Proprietors were also undoubtedly interested in the tracking systems and sat nav devices on show to keep tabs on their own vans. Running late for appointments, I would have welcomed some sort of sat nav system as a guide around the IFSEC halls!

Another interesting system was the Connexion2 from Identicom. This looks like a normal ID badge holder but has a GSM module that discreetly raises an alarm, tells where the user is and also allows them to listen in to what's happening.

IP therefore I am

Of course IP was very much to the fore on many stands. I had an interview with Steve Gorski, the new MD of Axis Communications - a leader in the field - who had some good news for our readers, the traditional installation sector. He said installers were slowly making ground in IP technology. A year ago the split was 85 per cent in favour of the IT boys, now it is 70 per cent. That 30 per cent traditional installers in IP may not sound much but it's going the right way.

Traditional installers must be doing something right because Axis is also looking for more of them to become channel partners. At the moment they've got 200-plus partners on the books but would like as many as 800 so if you're interested in training and support in the potentially lucrative IP area contact them.

Back to the future

It's rare that the industry looks back on its own development so it was interesting to see Baxall celebrating 30 years in the industry with a display tracking the history of CCTV cameras on one of their stand hoardings. It would be interesting to see more companies do this kind of thing when they reach their major milestones.

Going the opposite direction, on Assa Abloy's stand there was an opportunity to see "Future Lab" which provided a platform for innovative ideas in locking and access control.According to the company, the future is intelligent locks and intelligent modules all communicating with each other on the network.

Blogging off

You may have seen the various Security Installer teams trekking around the show with a camera and mic. These mini interviews were transferred to our website (www.security-installer.co.uk) for a video blog of proceedings over the four days, just in case you couldn't make it.

As usual, Security Installer's editorial team (both of us) attended a large number of product launches and some of these products are in our product features in this issue while some will be appearing, and Bench Tested, in future issues.

Trekking around the show for four days is thirsty work so we are indebted to those manufacturers who invited us to their parties and after-show gatherings. There were also hundreds of thirsty installers at some of these events which were most welcome after a hard day's networking.

Special thanks to Pelco for their reception which included a cool jazz band; Norbain SD for their incredible circus-themed evening packed with installers and their partners; and Panasonic for an hilarious evening with top stand-ups at the Comedy Club in Birmingham. Sample joke: "I hate the build-up to sex … I don't like parting with all that money".