Integration’s Day and Age

Today’s integrated solutions pave the way for future all-inclusive systems

• By Kim Rahfaldt
• Jul 02, 2007

THOSE in security know that each day brings its own surprises. Today, access control is on the LAN and moving to the network edge. Video is truly on the network and making great strides to become tomorrow’s proactive tool to deter crime. Customers are demanding increased integration, and the pressure is on to provide an all-inclusive solution with installation at a reasonable cost. But, providing a truly integrated solution requires deep links between access control and digital video.

Looking Deep
Simple systems normally do not feature integration. Video and access control are available as separate, standalone systems, and no communication between the systems exist. Operators manage each system separately.

Integration starts to occur when video and access control systems share alarms or events, but the operator still has to use two or more user interfaces.

Deep integration occurs when video and access control systems are combined into a single, fully functional management interface. Access control and video systems work together to provide real-time information so security guards and other system operators can proactively respond to events driving occurrence. The systems are combined so closely it appears to be a single system.

Deep integration usually exists through the use of software developer kits (SDK) provided by each security equipment manufacturer. An SDK is a piece of software that acts as glue to link two systems.

Plan Ahead
Planning ahead is crucial to having the best system possible. David Ella, AMAG Technology’s chief technical officer, recommends choosing an access control system first. Learn which video systems integrate with the access control choice prior to purchase. No access control vendor integrates to all DVR/NVR manufacturers. If you want a certain DVR or camera, do some homework. A few access control manufacturers integrate with a majority of video systems manufacturers. However, users don’t want to get deep into a project and learn they cannot get a certain third-party feature set because an access control system won’t integrate properly.

Some access control vendors will engineer a special integration for large projects, but it must warrant value to both the manufacturer and customer.

Deep Integration Objectives
A deeply integrated access control and digital video solution demands centralized command and control from a single user interface.

Installing one integrated management system saves money and headaches. By reducing the number of manufacturers involved, project risk is reduced. Company officials take responsibility for their own product complications, and buck-passing is diminished. The more products involved in an installation, the greater risk for integration complications.

Security solutions have continued to become more sophisticated. IT’s involvement in not only the planning phase, but in decision-making process creates higher expectations for a product’s performance.

Consulting engineers are looking to add value to recommendations by proposing security systems that provide deep integration with other security systems while integrating with human resource, accounting and building management systems. Choosing a security solution with capabilities offers users a flexible solution to fit company growth and increased demands.

Available features will vary depending on access control system, video technology used and manufacturer. A single-user interface gives the operator one system to view video and respond to alarms. Operators can view cameras on a map screen and have complete control over cameras during an alarm or incident. When an alarm sounds, operators can view live video and immediately respond to situations, replay recorded video to review past events, operate PTZ camera manually and schedule/manipulate camera tours and patterns based on the situation.

Playing Tag
Tagging video is a logical link. Video can be tagged both before and after an alarm is triggered. Users should be able to view tagged video from an alarm screen, maps, activity lists, history reports or virtual matrix. Tagging alarms from an intrusion, building management or visitor management system provides enhanced security. The operator can immediately see what caused an alarm and actively respond to it without despatching a security guard.

It’s unlikely operators will spot incidents if there are too many cameras to monitor. A deeply integrated system should be able to automatically display video to the operator when there are alarms of interest. Alarms can pop up in a virtual matrix, in a new window or on a mobile device like a PDA. Video then becomes a more proactive tool.

In a deeply integrated system, any system activity should be able to trigger an automated system response on any sub-system. This is a good way to test a truly integrated solution. The response might be to lock a set of doors or swing a camera to a different preset position. And the options should be unlimited for the user to program.

Motion and intelligent video alarms can initiate system triggers and responses. Intelligent video systems—known as video analytics—create alarms, and the integrated solution can trigger a response of any type. Intelligent video will rapidly improve over the next one to five years. As technology advances, users will find more needs for the technology, and intelligent video will create an extra layer of security. :

Looking to the Future
Many organizations want to move to IP-based video but currently don’t have available bandwidth or storage. Some access control/digital video combinations can be configured to save and transmit video only when an incident or event occurs. Some edge-based storage devices can buffer video to prevent transmission across the LAN, and allow the user to choose transmission time.

The access control system can sometimes provide the glue to link old and new video technologies together. Some systems allow analog switchers, DVRs, NVRs and IP cameras to be combined to preserve an investment while allowing a migration path from analog to digital video.

Technical standards for linking access control and video do not exist. SIA has been working on writing standards, and the industry should see positive changes in the future as a result.

Every DVR/NVR manufacturer’s SDK is completely different, though most offer very similar features. Some manufacturers have several SDKs, so care needs to be taken to check which specific items of equipment can and cannot be integrated.

Organizations will likely continue to demand truly integrated solutions. Security systems and guards will become a more integrated function, and intelligent video analytics will add a new layer of security. Video will become proactive and less of a forensic, after the event, analysis tool. Video as part of a deeply integrated solution will increasingly stop crime and not just report. Deeply integrated access control, video management and video analytics will help create the truly integrated systems of tomorrow.