By Daniel Gundlach
Vice President of Business Development, Teledyne FLIR

Trends, Topics and Technologies

Total Security Solutions: Creating Greater Value for Customers

Advancements in chip architecture, the growth of the Internet of Things (IoT), and increased adoption of artificial intelligence software have all contributed to the development of smarter, more robust security products. They have also created a demand for interconnected, intelligent systems, rather than standalone products. The vast array of feature-rich edge devices available to customers today has created greater competition across the channel. Offering total security solutions allow system integrators both to distinguish themselves from other companies and create greater value for their customers.

Streamlining Detection and Real-Time Response

The key value of total security solutions is that they enhance threat detection, streamline response and simplify user management. The benefits of turnkey solutions are clearly seen in critical infrastructure applications. For example, suppose a group of individuals approached an electrical substation vital to a city’s distribution of electricity. If these suspects were to gain access to and sabotage key transformers, the event could cause a power outage for thousands of residents. However, a total security solution would enable early threat detection and an effective means to deter the incident.

In this scenario, a total security solution using radar would give security staff an early warning of intruders long before they reached the fence line. Thermal cameras would also allow remote monitors to get a visual of an approaching suspect — even in complete darkness, rain, fog, smoke, or adverse weather conditions where standard visible cameras can’t perform.

Upon alarm verification, remote monitors could leverage fixed, panoramic and pan-tilt-zoom visible cameras — with improved resolution, wide dynamic range, image stabilization and low-light capabilities — to gather important information about these suspects. Hair color, eye color and other characteristics can be captured to deliver real-time situational awareness and post-event evidentiary support used to determine whether these are new suspects or repeat offenders who have arrest warrants.

Following the immediate detection and identification of suspects, security officers at the command center could use a robust video management system to coordinate a strategic response to deny entry into the substation’s critical areas. Through a bi-directional audio device, a security officer could issue a verbal warning to cease all suspicious activity. If the suspects are non-compliant, a security officer could activate a lockdown to contain the suspects in a specific area until first responders arrived.

In the end, all of these technologies, brought together by a total security solution, work to achieve a positive outcome as well as crime prevention.

Looking Ahead

By partnering with suppliers who are developing comprehensive security solutions that leverage radar, thermal sensors, 4K visible cameras and enterprise-class management software, integrators can offer turnkey systems to customers that more effectively identify, manage and respond to threats. The era of IoT, AI and interconnected networks is set to usher in a new set of security solutions. When evaluating which options are best suited for municipal or critical infrastructure end users, this is certainly a trend to keep top of mind.