Tall, thin, good looking and rather expensive – that is the Fastlane Door Detective, the Posh Spice of the security world. The system is essentially an active infrared beam pair with intelligent software (this is where the analogy with Posh Spice starts to fall apart) manufactured by IDL of Ashford, Middlesex.
Retailing at £1,750 + VAT, this is not equipment for the faint-hearted, but nonetheless fills something of a niche market in access control. The equipment carries the CE mark and has a manufacturer's guarantee of one year.
The units are designed to operate as either: a standalone device – allowing movement in one direction through a controlled area, with local annunciation and electric door locking output; or as part of an integrated access control system – for example, installed on one side of a single-leaf secured door, taking and giving information to card readers, door contacts and recording counters.
When vertically wall-mounted on either side of a controlled aperture, the range is quoted at up to 3m. Together with the wall brackets, the housing extends some 100mm from the wall surface and cannot be flush fitted into the wall, though it is possible to rotate the control apparatus internally through 90 degrees to accommodate a side fixing.
The enclosures each take the form of a 70mm diameter transparent perspex tube that is mounted to a black metal bracket for wall fixing. An internal aluminium mesh grid is fitted within the transparent sleeve, principally for aesthetic reasons, and to conceal the location of the optical devices and thus the active field of view of the infrared beam.
Although the tubes are around 650mm high, the active detection element only operates in the top third section. Therefore when mounted at the recommended height of 250mm, the effective detection band is a vertical 200mm section at about 720mm from ground level.
When compared to conventional intruder alarm detection equipment, this would be wholly inadequate, but as a sophisticated body counting device within an access control system, the team felt this was not a significant consideration.
The transmitter and receiver are identical in size and shape, and although large by the standards of latter-day active infrared beams, they are not unattractive to look at. The construction is very solid and has a quality feel to it.
The PCBs within each housing are mounted into the back bracket and connected to the optical transmitter/receiver equipment by an adequate length of flat loom wiring. This enables the perspex covers to be removed for servicing purposes without having to disconnect any part of the system.
Fixing screws and rawl plugs were supplied together with a suitable allen key to disassemble the housings. A PSU was also supplied, pre-wired with a moulded three pin mains plug top, giving a maximum rated output of 1200mA at 12v DC.
Wiring connections are by use of conventional screw terminal blocks within the mounting brackets, but be warned: these are difficult to access, certainly by anyone with big fingers, and the labelling of each connection terminal is poor (bring a torch and a magnifying glass).
The beam pair is very simple to set up. The width of a door is such a small distance that the units automatically self calibrate on power-up, and give an acceptance tone to audibly confirm alignment. There are three coloured LEDs on the top face of each unit – they show green for correct movement in the controlled direction, red for blocked beam or detected movement in the protected direction, and yellow for a misalignment fault.
A small amount of programming is available to the installer, via a six-way dip switch located inside the receiver end. Options include door contact monitoring, request to exit switches, 'door open too long' alarm and 'door forced open' alarm. The alarm outputs are particularly fast, giving a half-second changeover relay. These are obviously not designed to directly sound an annunciation device but instead to trigger an access control module of some kind. There is an on-board low level piezo sounder which activates during alarm periods – if users pass through the detection zone in the wrong direction for instance. It can of course be disconnected locally for covert detection.
In fact the cleverest features of the Door Detective are the ability to detect and authorise users in one direction but not in the opposite direction, and the speed and accuracy of the body counting. The sales literature lists dozens of applications where this can be of use, but basically the product will find favour on any security conscious site where there are strategic doors such as in airports, hospitals and ARCs.
The body catch was found to be fast and reliable – and the ability to authorise movement in a particular direction was impressive. All the inputs and outputs worked as required, using clean volt-free changeover pairs to interface with other control equipment.
The entry and exit request inputs are the normally open type, while all the others (door contact, alarm output relay, entry/exit door monitors) are normally closed. The on-board piezo sounder gave a sufficiently nasty noise for different fault conditions, but can be easily disconnected if necessary.
Both receiver and transmitter were found to consume 200 – 230mA during operation. Allowing for a small margin of error, this would leave around 800mA available from the supplied PSU for electric locking equipment and audible warning devices.
The installation manual takes the form of a booklet of four sides of A4 instructions with wiring diagrams plus hints and advice for user training, fire escape procedure and support information. There is no glossary of terminology and the instructions assume a reasonable level of industry knowledge on the part of the installer, but on the whole, there is nothing to complain about here.
One or two sections would benefit from a rewrite, especially the explanations for inter-facing with access control equipment and door hardware, which had to be read more than once for clarity.
The separate sales literature is very good with colour pictures and explanations of the concepts involved, and the principle of operation, along with possible applications for the anti-passback and anti-tailgating features.
We called the technical information telephone number at lunchtime, and inevitably had to make a second call later in the afternoon before reaching a suitably trained technician. He was helpful and dutifully answered each of our questions (including the deliberately stupid ones), giving no great cause for complaint. There is also a fax number and an e-mail address enclosed in the instruction manual for written, non-urgent enquiries.
What the manufacturer says …
Door Detective is a revolutionary new concept in access control. Integrated Design already has a wealth of experience in providing infrared access control solutions with Fastlane, our range of optical turnstiles.
IDL realised that companies using access systems to control doors and entrances could be subject to widespread unauthorised entry attempts, as most systems cannot control the number of people who pass through a door once it has been opened.
This common violation can occur when a person attempts to enter a doorway without a valid card, following closely behind an authorised cardholder. This 'tailgating' is particularly difficult to overcome. People feel compelled to use good manners by holding doors open for other people and intruders are therefore willingly let into a secure area.
Door Detective uses an infrared field across the door opening to monitor the passage of every individual entering and leaving through that door. It works in conjunction with any access control system to prevent tailgating by ensuring only one person gains access through a secured door for each valid card transaction, thereby providing effective security at any standard door where access control is employed.
In the event of an unauthorised entry attempt, the system will provide local and remote alarm indications to alert the individual concerned as well as security personnel. The system can also lock doors and trigger cameras to monitor illegal transactions and ensure events are recorded for later analysis. It can either be used in addition to a door or as a replacement for it in buildings which want an open door policy.
Suggested applications
Overall assessment
Although the Door Detective is stylish and well made equipment, it is clearly designed for top end access control applications in a blue chip environment. The high cost of a single pair would preclude most installers from even contemplating it as part of a proposal, and as such it is something of a luxury item. However, as part of a well-funded system of strategic access control, the Door Detective cannot really be faulted.Source
Security Installer
Postscript
Who are our experts? Security Installer's testers are not full-time members of staff. They are independent working installation engineers with many years of practical experience on the tools. Their identities are unknown to the manufacturers of the equipment they test, and the manufacturers are not allowed to see the report before publication. Our experts write for the installer, not the manufacturer. However manufacturers have, over the years, changed the design of a product to take account of our criticisms, which are made constructively and impartially.
