Touchless Access Technology

Touchless Access Technology 

THE business landscape changing so dramatically over the past few months — possibly irrevocably — the task for many in security, including for consultants, integrators, dealers and manufacturers. As businesses and organizations begin to reopen, many are rethinking the way they budget for security, including access control, video surveillance and intrusion Alarm.

It’s amazing that a microscopic virus from China could virtually bring the world to a standstill. The 2020 global pandemic has reshaped the way people work, learn and play on every conceivable level. In addition to the devastating impact on global health and safety, COVID-19 has infected the health of the global economy.

The growing call to return to work will surely accelerate many of the social distancing, sterilization and occupancy issues that we are currently facing. Hopefully, modern medicine will rise to the challenge sooner than later with a COVID-19 vaccine, but this may take some time even with accelerated testing and approvals.

Commonly touched items that can cause the spread of coronavirus (and other infectious disease) can include things like elevator buttons, ATM and checkout keypads, door knobs and handles, keyboards and mice, and door/entry access control panels — just to name a few. When you think about all of the “touchable” items that you interact with each day it becomes a daunting task to stay away from them and feel safe, clean and virus-free. Well, it's no surprise that right now, businesses are feeling the need to provide solutions and upgrade their safety and security as the workforce begins to come back to the office or plan for that to happen soon.

By employing touchless credentials such as face recognition, proximity devices, or mobile credentialing, existing and new access control systems can easily be enhanced to provide a fast and efficient means of allowing authorized individuals hands-free entry and egress to a facility helping prevent the spread of contagions that can impact the health of both individuals and businesses. Taking the role of access control further, platforms with open architecture can integrate new thermal detection solutions to instantly identify the surface temperature of individuals.

Types of touchless technology

Businesses going touchless isn’t new—despite how relevant it is lately. In fact, touchless technology, from gesture sensors to voice recognition, has been widely used since the late 1980’s when automatic faucets and soap dispensers became popular in public restrooms. Today, you likely experience touchless technology multiple times a day such as walking through an automatic door, or asking Siri to set your alarm while your phone is sitting across the room from you.

Sign-in process

Touchless technology isn’t only about hygiene and safety. It’s also a way to show that your business is forward-thinking and modern. After all, who likes being slowed down by an old-school pen and paper sign-in sheet or a clipboard with long legal documents to read through?

The answer: no one. That’s why we have thought through how to make the sign-in experience seamless and touch-free. With a touchless visitor sign-in, guests can pre-register on their phone or computer before their arrival; scan a QR code at check-in; and be off to see their host in no time.

For modern offices, creating a touchless experience shows that you’ve thought of every last detail of your visitor experience and have made steps to take the burden off of guests when they come onsite. By doing that, you save your visitors time once they arrive so they’re not bothered with sign-in and can more quickly get to who they’re there to see.

Plus, while having one visitor come on site might seem simple, there’s often a lot of info you’ll need to collect from them. Instead of asking for this information during sign-in, you can collect essential information about your guest and take care of any additional actions before the visit, rather than frantically trying to solve issues while your guests wait in your lobby.

Going touchless is another way to help your visitors, and your entire office, stay healthy. By going touchless, you’re able to minimize the spread of germs and make sure you’re taking care of everyone in your space. 

Gesture recognition

Gesture recognition is the most common form of no-touch technology. Users can do simple gestures to control or interact with devices without touching them. Waving your hand to trigger an automatic door, for example, removes the need to touch handles or a physical button. Users are positively identified with a simple wave of either their right or left hand, in any direction. The touchless technology copes with wet and dry fingers, eliminates ghost images left on the scanner and mitigates hygiene concerns. The high speed, contactless acquisition capability allows users to remain in motion while being identified. Faster access control and time & attendance transactions reduce overall costs and increase employee productivity.

The system uses the passenger's unique Aadhaar identification number to biometrically authenticate passengers in real time, from arrival at the airport through boarding. Each checkpoint features high-speed and touchless biometric technology to facilitate the passenger processing. In less than a second, this device captures four fingerprints and matches them against the Aadhaar database.  An automated process generates considerable time savings for an airport like Bengaluru, which experienced a 22% increase in passengers in 2016, rising to 22 million. Passengers will be able to pass these checkpoints much quicker, and no longer have to constantly show their ID documents & boarding pass/e-ticket.

Bengaluru is the first airport to use a biometric identification process based on Aadhaar ID numbers, offering a thoroughly modern passenger experience that will contribute to the digital transformation of India. Indian passengers with a driver license (which also contains their fingerprints), and passengers with a biometric passport from other countries can also take advantage of this e-boarding system. When checking in, they are assisted by a police officer, who scans their passport and boarding card, and saves their fingerprints to ensure traceability.

Examples of this include smart lights that turn on when you walk into a room or automatic doors that you see at grocery stores, hotels, and commercial buildings.

Voice recognition

Voice recognition systems let users interact with technology simply by speaking to it. This has become popular especially in our homes. We can make hands-free requests, set reminders, and perform other simple tasks by talking to Apple’s Siri, Amazon’s Alexa, or the Google Assistant. You’ll be able to use an app to switch on light, or if that sounds a little awkward, even your voice – most systems will integrate with a virtual assistant such as Google or Amazon. One thing to check is that your lighting is compatible with the virtual assistant you use, as not all bulbs work with all systems.

Dozens of companies now offer smart door locks that are controlled via an app. With many of them, you can even control access with your voice using virtual assistants such as the Amazon Alexa®.

It’s also possible, with many models, to send electronic keys to friends and guests when they visit. These keys can be timed to stop working once they leave, giving you peace of mind.

With most virtual assistants, you’ll even be able to remotely operate your lights and set timers so it appears you are home even if you’re away. You can also set routines, so that the house lights up whenever you return home, and switches everything off as you retire to bed for the night.

Most smart TVs integrate with a virtual assistant, so you can turn on your TV or change channels using your voice – a particularly useful feature when you inevitably lose the remote down the back of the sofa, so it’s useful long after COVID-19 is a distant memory.

Facial recognition

Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, the touchless nature of facial recognition as an access credential was gaining traction with physical and cyber security professionals. By using an individual’s face as an access control credential, facial recognition eliminates the need and expense of physical cards and proximity devices, or the need to physically enter PIN codes. In addition, facial recognition readers meet the new emerging need to limit physical exposure to germs and viruses by offering a highly accurate touchless access control credentialing solution. 

As a workforce management tool, facial recognition helps preserve the health of employees checking into work, while providing management with an infallible means of documenting employee time and attendance while providing a detailed history of overall workforce activity and individual personnel tracking. Both of which have been longstanding challenges due to easily compromised time tracking systems and practices. Now, nothing is left to question based on hard data. 

With the growing popularity of facial recognition technology, there are many choices already available with more undoubtedly on the way. Selecting the right solution for your specific access control and/or workforce management application is dependent on a very wide range of variables. But there are a few core characteristics that you should look for when evaluating facial recognition readers.

Most facial recognition terminals employ some form of IR (Infrared) technology to help ensure high visibility by the unit’s image sensor. This often limits where the unit can be installed such as outdoors or near windows due to strong ambient light. More advanced facial recognition readers employ as many as 80 wide-angle near infrared LEDs and 60 narrow-angle near infrared LEDs, allowing the unit to recognize faces even in full daylight and brightly lit environments (not direct sun). This enables installation at indoor locations near windows, lobbies and building entries.  

Another facial recognition reader advancement to look for involves three-dimensional pixel intensity analysis. Ambient lighting contains ultraviolet rays which can negate near infrared LED lighting, and can also cast shadows making it difficult for a facial recognition reader to pinpoint the facial recognition points required for identification and authentication. Three-dimensional pixel intensity distribution analysis minimizes the effects of ambient light when acquiring facial images by minimizing lighting contrasts. As a result, it is easier for the algorithm to recognize the shape of the face enabling it to extract more facial features and create higher quality face templates, which are critical for accurate facial recognition. 

The angle and position of a facial recognition reader directly impact the performance of the unit. Facial recognition readers with different viewing angles for built-in visual and infrared cameras allows users to stand at positions that are most suitable for facial recognition with little or no effort of contortions. This results in a faster, more comfortable, and convenient user experience. 

It is most important that the facial recognition readers you evaluate are capable of analyzing faces in real time to maintain fluid entry/egress even during high volumes of employee traffic. Hardware-dependent live face detection systems employing technologies such as facial thermogram recognition and facial vein recognition require expensive hardware components, provide less accurate matches and slower authentication performance, which is counterintuitive for mainstream access control and workforce management applications. 

Thermal Camera integration is expected to enhance security and safety at sites by combining face recognition and skin temperature measurement with facial recognition hardware unit. It increased the accuracy and consistency of the temperature measurement by using the face recognition algorithm to pinpoint the upper area of the face. It displays skin temperature and thermal image of a subject’s face on its intuitive GUI, giving audio and visual alerts when higher than threshold temperature is detected.

Personal devices

For technology to be completely touch-free it must operate without the need for physical contact, like in the examples above. However, the introduction of smartphones and other personal devices have made nearly touch-free technology possible as well. Anything that operates at the command of your own personal device allows you to avoid touching public surfaces. The emergence of smartphones using iOS and Android is rapidly changing the landscape of the IT industry around the world. Several industries, such as digital cameras, car navigation, MP3, and PNP, have been replaced by equivalent or even better performance using smartphones. Smartphones provide increasing portability by integrating the functions of various devices into a single unit which allows them to connect to platforms with network-based services and offer new services and conveniences that have never been experienced before.

The combination of smartphones and access cards is creating a new value that goes beyond the simple convenience of integration enhancing the ability to prevent unauthorized authentication and entrance. People sometimes lend their access cards to others, but it is far less likely they might lend their smartphone with all their financial information and personal information – to another person. This overcomes an important fundamental weakness of RF cards.

Another valuable aspect of mobile credential is that it makes it possible to issue or reclaim cards without face-to-face interaction. Under existing access security systems, cards must be issued in person. Since card issuance implies access rights, the recipient’s identification must be confirmed first before enabling the card and once the card has been issued, it cannot be retracted without another separate face-to-face interaction. In contrast, mobile access cards are designed to transfer authority safely to the user's smartphone based on TLS. In this way, credentials can be safely managed with authenticated users without face-to-face interaction.

Mobile cards can be used not only at the sites with a large number of visitors or when managing access for an unspecified number of visitors, but also at the places like shared offices, kitchens and gyms, currently used as smart access control systems in shared economy markets.

While NFC could be an important technology for mobile credential that is available today on virtually all smartphones, differences in implementation and data handling processes from various vendors prevents universal deployment of a single solution to all devices currently on the market.

Accordingly, Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) has been considered as an alternative to NFC. Bluetooth is a technology that has been applied to smartphones for a long time, and its usage and interface are unified, so there are no compatibility problems － however, speed becomes the main problem. The authentication speed of BLE mobile access card products provided by major companies is slower than that of existing cards.

AirFob Patch addresses the need for technological improvements in the access control market in a direct, cost effective, and reliable way – by offering the ability to add high-performance BLE to existing card readers – enabling them to read BLE smartphone data by applying a small adhesive patch approximately the size of a coin.

This innovative breakthrough applies energy harvesting technology, generating energy from the RF field emitted by the existing RF reader – then converting the data received via BLE back into RF – and delivering it to the reader.

“For Indian workers to return safely back into office buildings, there must be a comprehensive system in place that integrates technology and new safety protocols both for the building and for tenant spaces alike. It can't be every building owner, tenant and occupant for themselves. We are all in the business of public health now to protect each other’s lives and help India get back to work”. - Arindam Bhadra

Iris

Every human iris has its own unique traits. An iris scanner identifies pits, furrows and striations in the iris and converts these into an iris code. Comparing this code to a database subsequently determines whether to allow access. Iris recognition terminals provide 100% touchless user authentication for a variety of applications, spanning access control, time & attendance, visitor management, etc.

Touchless Switches

Touchless wall switch makes opening a door simple and germ free. Blue LED back-lighting highlights the switch at all times, other than during activation. This provides a visual reference of the switch’s location in low light conditions. Its low-profile design makes it blend into your wall.

Touchless Visitor Management 

The visitor management system is the first point of contact for every visitor. To help maintain the spread of COVID-19, several organizations are implementing health screening procedures for visitors and employees entering their building.

Touchless technology doesn’t only provide protection and safety to the workplaces. It also provides the seamless modern experience to the workplace. The paper-based manual system is not safe enough and also slowed down the productivity of the business. That’s why we have thought through how to make the visitor check-in experience seamless and touch-free.

A.   With a Touchless visitor management system, visitors can pre-register on their smartphone before their arrival; visitor screening; check-in with a QR code; can meet their host in no time; and record the last details of the visitor experience.

B.   Going Touchless is a way to help your visitors, and your workplace, stay healthy. By going Touchless, you’re able to reduce the spread of viruses.

C.   The Touchless visitor management system saves your visitors time once they arrive so they’re not bothered to check-in and can more quickly get to who they’re there to see.

D.   When Visitors arrive, you can collect essential information about your guest and take care of any additional actions before the visit.

E.   Touchless Visitor management System isn’t only about hygiene and safety. It’s also a way to show that your business is forward-thinking and modern.

Kiosk

Companies have to now restart the Touchless visitor management system after lockdown is over. To help maintain the spread of COVID-19, several organizations are implementing health screening procedures for visitors and employees entering their building. Touchless self-check kiosk automatically measures body temperature in seconds. It is an invaluable solution for quick detection of illnesses and reduce the spread of bacteria & viruses, it vets staff members and the public before entry to premises such as Schools, Malls, Restaurants, factories, Railway stations, Airports, and Corporate offices.

The kiosk features a touch-less UV-C Box to disinfect the bag, cell phone, and keys in less than 10 seconds. UV-C Box kills 99% Viruses and Bacteria within 10 seconds on exposed surface.

Preparing before anyone even arrives onsite

There’s a lot you can do before your employees and guests arrive to make the experience frictionless. Start by pre-registering anyone coming into your office. This way you can gather important information to make sure they’re safe to enter and give them what they need to feel comfortable in your workplace.

Start with pre-screening them and approving their entry to make sure only the right people come on-site each day. This gives your team important control levers, like inviting healthy employees into the office in shifts.

Create a touchless sign-in experience.

A.   Post clear signage at the front desk so people know what to do when they arrive

B.   Allow people to check-in using their personal device rather than an iPad Kiosk

C.   Put a bottle of hand sanitizer next to your kiosk if you do need to use it

D.   Update your settings so guests don’t have to tap to take their photo when they arrive

E.   Create a welcome guide and customize it by employee or visitor type to make sure everyone has the information they need

F.    Make your badge printer easily accessible to guests 

G.   Update your hospitality practices. Instead of having a receptionist hand a guest a drink, make personal beverages available to grab without hand-to-hand contact

H.   Set up your final screen to give instructions to guests about what to do next, like where to go or where to wait for their host

I.    Opt for a sign-in system that notifies your employees automatically when their visitors arrive

Upcoming Trends in security & surveillance for 2021

Upcoming Trends in Security & Surveillance for 2021 

It’s fair to say 2020 has not been the year any of us were expecting. It has been challenging, we have all made sacrifices, and there are still further obstacles in our path as we try to get back to “normal”. SARS-CoV-2, the coronavirus strain that causes COVID-19, is a highly contagious respiratory illness that is affecting lives worldwide. Epidemics and pandemics have been threatening the human race time and again. SARS, H1N1, Ebola, and more have shown their teeth in the past, but with each such outbreak, we are learning new ways of fighting and managing such unexpected diseases that can potentially kill millions of people. Technology cannot prevent the onset of the pandemics; however, it can help prevent the spread, educate, warn, and empower those on the ground to be aware of the situation, and noticeably lessen the impact. The pandemic of 2020 has certainly changed the landscape for us all, not just the security industry. It has made us a lot more aware of touch points, crowded gatherings and personal space. It is inevitable that technology will adapt as our lives do. We have already seen manufacturers race to bring us solutions such as body temperature management, face mask detection and crowd control etc. It’s time to change. It’s time to get better. It’s time to learn more and sharpen our skills.’

During pandemic Webinar is boom through Zoom. Google meet, Gotowebiner etc in security safety automation industry. System Integrator, End Users, professionals are learn many things through OEM direct Webinar. US already ban China made surveillance product. In india Atmanirbhar Bharat (self-reliant India) is the vision of the Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi of making India a self-reliant nation. The first mention of this came in the form of the 'Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan' or 'Self-Reliant India Mission' during the announcement of the coronavirus pandemic related economic package on 12 May 2020. Known china CCTV OEM are thrown out. Yes, it’s true, India don’t have much infrastructure to generate Camera manufacturing plant, it will take time at list 5 year. Within this time, we can follow BIS website to get information about selected camera / NVR model are china factory make or not. Low cost and high cost both option camera you can found. If you found that model belongs to china factory immediately change with Closest or Alternative Substitute. Now we check what will be next in 2021 for Security Safety & Automation.

OSHA new Policy:

The COVID-19 outbreak has caused almost all firms to deploy the work from home practice for employees. While some may be used to this, others may feel lost in the exercise. While not all Indian are able or fortunate enough to work from home, many have transitioned to telecommuting and virtual work over the last week or two.

While employers’ responsibilities for the safety and health of their at-home workers is less than those in the office or onsite, some do still exist. OSHA distinguishes between home offices and other home workplaces.

OSHA’s compliance directive on home offices is pretty clear:

·     “OSHA will not conduct inspections of employees’ home offices.

·     “OSHA will not hold employers liable for employees’ home offices, and does not expect employers to inspect the home offices of their employees.

·   “If OSHA receives a complaint about a home office, the complainant will be advised of OSHA’s policy. If an employee makes a specific request, OSHA may informally let employers know of complaints about home office conditions, but will not follow-up with the employer or employee.”

What about recording injuries while working at home? If an employee is working at home, when could the injury be considered work-related? OSHA answers the question:

How do I decide if a case is work-related when the employee is working at home? Injuries and illnesses that occur while an employee is working at home, including work in a home office, will be considered work-related if the injury or illness occurs while the employee is performing work for pay or compensation in the home, and the injury or illness is directly related to the performance of work rather than to the general home environment or setting.

Video Intercoms:

One of the newer phenomena we’ve faced in the world has been the concept of physical distancing, brought to light by the global coronavirus pandemic. This has created challenges not only socially, but for technologies that were not designed to accommodate what may be the new norm. Video intercoms are really going to be playing a bigger part in the way facilities are organized and processes are organized. We’re seeing some customers that are using this to limit having to actually go inside a room in a healthcare facility, for example, to limit the chances of transmitting something all while maintaining that frequency of checking. One of the main benefits of door intercoms is, simply put, the ability to limit — or even eliminate — human contact at the door. In this pandemic, an immediate need is providing [the customer with] a way to create physical distancing upon entry. This can also be applied to healthcare workers. Integrators have to understand this greater demand for security at the door and deliver solutions to their customers. Everybody is having food, groceries and other things delivered to their door. Demand for that is very high right now. Additional security at the door or the gate is something people want and need.

Home Over IP:

Amazon, Apple, Google and the Zigbee Alliance announced a new working group that plans to develop and promote the adoption of a new, royalty-free connectivity standard to increase compatibility among smart home products, with security as a fundamental design tenet. Zigbee Alliance board member companies such as IKEA, Legrand, NXP Semiconductors, Resideo, Samsung SmartThings, Schneider Electric, Signify (formerly Philips Lighting), Silicon Labs, Somfy and Wulian are also on board to join the working group and contribute to the project. The goal of the Connected Home over IP project is to simplify development for manufacturers and increase compatibility for consumers. The project is built around a shared belief that smart home devices should be secure, reliable and seamless to use. By building upon IP, the project aims to enable communication across smart home devices, mobile apps and cloud services, and to define a specific set of IP-based networking technologies for device certification.

Video Surveillance:

The global CCTV camera market is anticipated to generate substantial revenue of more than to USD 38 billion till 2021. Asia Pacific and America holds the largest share of the global market and act as one of the main driver for the market. According to “India CCTV Camera Market Outlook, 2021”, the India CCTV Camera market is expected to grow with a CAGR of more than 26 % in the period from 2016 to 2021. Technology wise non-IP dominates the Indian market but in the coming years IP is expected to take the lead soon. Non -IP technology constitutes of analog and HD CCTV cameras. Analog is technology which is in a depleting stage and it share is expected to be taken by the IP technology and the HD type CCTV camera. Dome typed cameras are the most widely used cameras in any sectors. Commercial segment is the driver of the CCTV market in India with the increasing count of SOHO’s and SME’s. With the increasing security concerns, residential sector would also be one of the factors for the increasing market. As criminal activities are more in the northern region of India, North dominates the market in terms of revenue.

Facial Recognition:

Facial recognition is the common theme of the week’s top digital identity news with retail applications, new edge servers, and biometric border control deployments around the world. A new software partnership on biometric cryptography has also been announced, a report shows the importance of selfie biometrics in fraud reduction published, and the industry, as well as society more broadly, continues to contend with the issue of algorithmic bias. Facial recognition solutions identify a person by forming a unique code built on algorithms from multiple points on a person’s face, including nose, chin, lips, eyes and jaw. However, when a person wears a mask, many of these key points are not visible. Faces were often completely missed, and unsuccessful or false identifications were high. Those are know this wearing masks can reduce the accuracy they avoid to take Facial recognition

Video Verification:

The city currently has over 1,000 video surveillance cameras deployed across the metropolitan area and is expected to reach over 1,700 security devices. Now it’s very difficult to watch every moment on comment control center. It’s very important to see what camera saw. Through Video Auditing software the task are easy. Day by day its increase.

Rise of Mobile Credentials:

There has been a tremendous uptick in the popularity of mobile credentials. Research firm IHS Markit has reported that mobile-based credentials are the fastest-growing access control product. Globally they have experienced nearly a 150 percent growth between 2017 and 2018. Estimates show that more than 120 million mobile credentials will be downloaded in 2023 by end users. A 2019 survey by HID estimated that 54% of businesses had upgraded or would upgrade to a mobile access control system in the next three years. Though access cards still play a powerful role in the access control market, we are seeing a strong shift towards mobile access control like various companies. The use of mobile-based credentials is the logical next step for the physical security and access control industry. The fact that people are always with their smartphone helps popularise this trend. Phones aren’t just phones anymore. They play a bigger role in day-to-day life and this also includes access control. Mobile credentials can revolutionise the industry, eliminating the need to carry and wipe a card. Instead, a phone’s technology can be used to authenticate identity and grant entry. This gives greater flexibility, improves privacy and can also lower the maintenance costs of credential management for end users. Additionally, a clear advantage is that employees are more likely to carry their smartphone with them and less likely to lose them compared to NFC transponders.

The advantages of using virtual access control cards, which are stored on smartphones, are obvious: less logistics when distributing, revoking or replacing cards and many more ways to integrate with technology on the phone or other hosts and devices in the network. Often also the user experience of mentioned as a benefit of mobile access: users do not have to fill up their wallets with a pile of RFID cards but can conveniently carry them around in their phone. The networking capacity of smartphones would even be a great way to overcome the limitations of offline access control installations where access rights would be stored on smartphones instead of cards.

Security in the cloud:

After the entrance of IP-networking in security around twenty years ago, it is one of the major current trends in our industry: cloud based security systems. In the context of physical security one could define cloud based systems as those systems with a topology that looks like this:

·       A server that is ‘in the cloud’ and can be accessed from virtually anywhere;

·       Devices that connect over an IP-network to that central server;

·       Web based administration of the system;

·       Commercially based on a service or transaction model with recurring fees.

Variations exist. But in general this pretty much sums up what to expect when reviewing a cloud based system.

We see this set-up currently already in several categories:

·               Video Intercom Systems, like the systems from Akuvox, which are based on video intercom stations that connect to a cloud based server, which also enables use of apps as virtual door phones.

·   Mobile access systems that enable the use of virtual credentials on smartphones. and that are managed from a cloud based server.

·               Video management software now also is offered by several vendors as a cloud service, for example: 3dEYE, Open Eye, and VIVOTEK.

IoT security topologies:

The Internet of Things idea has been around for ages. It was predicted over a decade ago that billions of device will connect to the Internet. Sensors all around us will deliver data to the cloud. Feeding data into ‘big data’ processing applications that will give us access to a wealth of information. Devices also connect the cloud. To be part of applications that can be used and managed from virtually any location. For security it would mean that it very much is related to cloud based security applications. The additional step here would be that camera’s, readers, intercoms, intrusion detection sensors and biometric stations would connect directly to the cloud based service. Installations would be easier and more scalable. Access control systems could be deployed at any door and still be real online access control systems. Video surveillance would be available at any location that would require security monitoring. Security sensors and devices can be rolled out everywhere.

Smartphones and wearables

Using smartphones or other wearable devices in security has been a popular idea for many years. Smartphones and tablets often can be used to access the administration Interface (GUI) of the access control, video management or PSIM systems. That hardly is considered an innovation. Smartphones can also be used as virtual access control and identity cards in mobile acess systems. In addition it appears that also biometrics like facial recognition and fingerprint identification are now available on smartphones. It appears logical that smartphones with their native connectivity features are an interesting extension of security systems.

Mobile credentials enable both multimodal and multi-factor authentication. Multimodal means proving identity and/or gaining access using at least two separate biometrics, or permitting access through any one of various credentials, such as a smartcard or PIN. Multi-factor authentication involves proving identity and/or obtaining access via at least two methods or credentials. Multi-factor authentication is widely used in digital access. For example, when an employee logs onto a company’s system, he or she must use a secondary method to verify identity via a one-time token via SMS or other app. It is also burgeoning in physical access applications. Although two-factor authentication has been mandated in regulated industries, it is emerging in unregulated verticals as well. The development of multimodal readers will continue to fuel this trend.

Believers say that people prefer carrying around their smartphone over additional cards. They refer to the technical possibilities that smartphones offer in areas like user convenience and integration of systems.

Identity analytics and AI

A relatively new field in security is identity analytics. Seeing through identity and security related data in an automated way. To monitor use of access priviliges and consequently alter those access rights. The idea comes from the IT industry and that is where you will see it deployed mostly now. Recent research indicates that this is an emerging market with high anticipated growth potential. It would make sense to include physical security into these applications.

Believers will say that, like with video analytics, many more security related events can be actively monitored, more incidents can be detected and a tighter security regime can be implemented without hindering users unnecessarily.

It remains to be seen what the future will bring exactly. But intelligent security related data analytics certainly will have a place in modern enterprise security management applications.

Centralized Control of Fire Detection:

The principle of networking involves connecting several panels together to form a system. Inputs on one panel may activate outputs on another, for example, or the network may allow monitoring of many systems. Networking is often used in situations where one panel is not large enough, or in multiple-building situations. Networking is also an effective way to decouple systems to reduce the risk of a large portion of a facility going offline at any time due to system failure or maintenance requirements. Sub-Networks can be created using either hardware or software architectures. Networked systems normally are more costly and involve additional training and system configuration for successful implementation.

From this year many customer implement centralised monitoring & controlling of Fire Panel through creating WLAN communication with Graphic software. Due to cost effective graphical monitoring control software only industrial & Enterprise business implement the same. Also it will possible if same brand panel is there in all location.

BMS Workforce:

The growth of IBMS market is observing hindrance due to lack of availability of skilled workforce. The Intelligent building management systems are usually complex and require skilled personals to operate. The cost of training operators to handle complex equipment such as HVAC control, outdoor controls, security and access control, energy management systems and smart meters is quite high. Owing to which, small scale companies cannot afford to invest large capital to train their operators. This factor is likely to affect the growth of the IBMS market in the country.

But due to COVID-19 many OEM & society presence webinar program to educate more. This will be effect in this 2021-22. The region segmentation for the IBMS market has been done by South India, West India, North India, East India. Which include general lighting controls, communication systems, security controls, HVAC controls, access controls, outdoor controls entertainment controls and others. The India IBMS market is segmented by application into: hospitality, residential and retail, life science, office space, manufacturing, and energy and infrastructure. All these segments have also been estimated on the basis of geography in terms of revenue (USD Million).

The goal of building management systems was—and still is—to help optimize building performance by

·       Providing data on core building operational systems, specifically HVAC. 

·       Enabling the automatic control of a building’s main operating functions. 

IoT for buildings has the same goal of performance optimization (and by extension, saving money) through data and automatic control, but advanced technology takes these aspects many steps further than a traditional BMS system can. 

We wish you all the very best for 2021 and we look forward to working with you for many years to come.

Hands-Free Upgrade of Access Control System

Hands-Free Upgrade of Access Control System 

Access control systems also let employers restrict the locations each employee can enter, setting levels of security to balance their workers' safety and convenience. When an employee leaves the company, their credentials can simply be deactivated to prevent them from gaining unauthorized access. With access control security, you know who enters your business, when they enter and what door they use. These systems also include analytics that allow you to track where your employees are. In addition, they allow you to section off rooms or areas to authorized employees and receive reports of suspicious activity, such as if someone tries to enter an area where they don't belong. 

Social Distancing is the new norm of life and need to be practiced across the daily paths. While the governing authorities work for developing solutions to take care of human life, it is essential for various establishments to work out their own precautionary measurements to create safe and risk-free environment. Wireless access control systems are fast and easy to install. They save time and money for sites that have hard-to-wire buildings, remote gates and elevator applications. Addressing COVID-19 Concerns by Upgrading Existing or Non-Existing Access Control System to Hands-Free Wireless access control with non-Chinese factory product. 

Several companies have entered the mobile access card market, but they have not set up a meaningful product solution stream until 2019. In 2020, forecasts show that the mobile access card market will grow far more rapidly. Reviewing new entries into the market allows identification of the latest products that provide improving solutions to compatibility and speed problems.

How long before your phone replaces your access credentials at work? Mobile devices are everywhere. Number of mobile phone users alone was forecast to reach over 4.7 billion this year, with more than 60% of the world’s population already owning a mobile phone.  Smartphones have already begun to replace traditional lock-and-key setups in the home, and with the business world continuing to move in a more smartphone focused direction, a world where you tap your phone to gain access to your office probably isn’t too far off. The technology already exists, but implementation is not without its hurdles. While generally outweighed by the benefits, there are several potential challenges when it comes to using your Smartphone as a credential. Smartphone have become ubiquitous, but cards and FOBs are still cheaper to produce. Even though users are likely to have their phone on them constantly, access badges usually include a picture and are always meant to be visible. Still, as the technology improves, it’s likely that Smartphone verification is going to become more prevalent. One application that we’re seeing growth in is for mobile-enabled workforces to use smartphones and mobile devices as keys to gain access to secured buildings, rooms and areas. As this trend becomes more commonplace, it’s worth weighing the pros and cons.

 

Mobile Benefits

Firstly, let’s look at the benefit of using your smart phone as access credentials for your building.

• ·  Smartphones are more secure than traditional access cards or FOBs. With the introduction of biometrics in modern smart phones (fingerprint sensors and face ID), even though someone might be able to get their hands on someone else’s phone, it’s no guarantee that they’ll be able to unlock it.
• ·     Smartphone-based credentials are very difficult to clone.
• ·  Smartphone-based implementations can reduce installation costs by leveraging an asset that everyone is already carrying around with them.
• ·    Smartphone credentials are capable of much more than traditional card-based systems. Smart phones are capable of Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA), location awareness, mass notifications, and revocation can be done remotely.
• ·      HR should be thrilled with a smartphone app-based access control system, as much less time will be needed to set up and issue credentials than issuing new keys and cards or replacing them. 

Finally, if you choose a provider who has created a secure app with credential storage in a secure cloud or location other than the phone, the security is even greater. Biometrics (the use of fingerprints) can even be used to access the key, since smartphones now include that capability. 

Essentially, even if someone did manage to steal the phone and crack the pin to open it, they would still need the proper information (or fingertips) to open up the app and access the key. 

A strong app will also have deep levels of encryption that will prevent the Bluetooth signal from simply being copied and replayed to open the lock.

Potential Challenges

Of course, as new technology emerges, there will be pushback. This isn’t a bad thing as it forces developers to overcome roadblocks to make systems as secure as possible. The difficulty comes from separating valid objections from merely an aversion to change. Going forward, the biggest issues with mobile credentials are:

·       Physical return of credentials. When someone parts ways with an employer, a physical access card or FOB would be collected. With a smart phone-based system (especially in a case where employees are bringing their own devices) this is obviously problematic. You can’t ask an employee to turn in their. The only solution to this problem is to ensure that your protocol for remotely disabling credentials is foolproof. If it is, this issue becomes a benefit, as you can revoke credentials at any time. Forgetting to have a card turned in or encountering any resistance from an employee is no longer a factor.
·   Lack of a picture ID. With many physical access cards, a photo of the employee will be added as a second form visual verification. These cards are often clipped to an employee’s shirt or belt making it visible at all times and allowing people to identify them immediately. Phones are generally kept in pockets and would only be brought out at an access point. This issue’s importance will vary based on your business’ level of sensitivity when it comes to your assets or people. Additionally, all modern access control systems allow for a head shot to appear when credentials are presented to a reader. If a picture has been taken of the employee, and someone is present to identify them, they can verify that the person who presented the card or phone is the proper individual. It’s even possible to speak with the person in video which will allow for facial recognition with CCTV integration with the access control software.

One reason for the high expected growth for usage of smartphones as digital access control keys is that mobile technology is already widely used for identification, authentication, authorization and accountability in computer information systems. Another reason is that using mobile devices as keys aligns perfectly with the mobile-first preferences of today’s workforces. Using mobile devices as keys not only delivers a convenient user-experience. It also helps boost operational efficiency and satisfaction of today’s mobile-enabled workforces. As important, it represents a more cost-effective, simpler way for companies to manage identification credentials as it eliminates numerous manual tasks related to handling, printing, distributing and disposing of physical identity badges.

When all is said and done, one of the biggest benefits that those who choose to implement mobile credentials will see is lower installation costs. The SIA points out that “A smartphone credential adds significant functionality over a traditional credential and is always upgradeable to add new capabilities – all for the same cost, or less…Also, users do not require a reader to enter a door, so enterprises can eliminate readers on most doors to keep the entrance looking clean and to reduce installation costs.” When you couple this with the other benefits of mobile credentials, it becomes clear that this will more than likely become the preferred method of access control for most workplaces in the near future.

ASSA ABLOY, Suprema being a pioneer in multiple doors opening and access controlling technology, provides such critical solutions suitable for wide segments of commercial spaces. With easy and safe access for authorized personal, without compromising on the security needs of the organizations, the contactless access readers and exit switches for sliding and swinging door operators. 

Aperio is first Wireless Online Access Control technology that enables mechanical locks to be wirelessly linked to an existing access control system. In terms of formats, three common methods of mobile credentials are used in access:

• BLE (Bluetooth Low Energy)
• NFC (Near Field Communication)
• App Based Credentials

‘Mobile access cards’ is one of the terminologies that everyone has been talking about. RF cards used for access security are being integrated into smartphones just as digital cameras and MP3s were in the past. While people might forget their access cards at home in the morning, they seldom forget their smartphones. Using smartphones for access control increases entry access reliability and convenience.

Structurally which method is used makes a big difference for overall mobile access performance. In general, access manufacturer data sheets will detail which/how many methods are available with their product, with each method having different limitations and benefits.

The breakdown below shows the major differences between types:

For example, notice the difference in Range between the three formats. While NFC range is short (typically less than 9 inches), the range for BLE is longer at ~150 feet, while App systems essentially have ranges only limited by Wi-Fi and cellular connectivity.
In other cases, which method is used impacts reliability too. For example, with HID Mobile, using BLE is less reliable for connecting to the reader than NFC, and because different phone types may limit which method is options used, overall user experience is often determined by which mobile access method they use.

Another valuable aspect of mobile credential is that it makes it possible to issue or reclaim cards without face-to-face interaction. Under existing access security systems, cards must be issued in person. Since card issuance implies access rights, the recipient’s identification must be confirmed first before enabling the card and once the card has been issued, it cannot be retracted without another separate face-to-face interaction. In contrast, mobile access cards are designed to transfer authority safely to the user's smartphone based on TLS. In this way, credentials can be safely managed with authenticated users without face-to-face interaction.

Mobile cards can be used not only at the sites with a large number of visitors or when managing access for an unspecified number of visitors, but also at the places like shared offices, kitchens and gyms, currently used as smart access control systems in shared economy markets.

The market share of mobile access cards today is low even though the capability can offer real benefits to users and markets. While the access control market itself is slow-moving, there are also practical problems that limit the adoption of new technologies like mobile access cards.

The first problem is usability: compatibility and speed.

While NFC could be an important technology for mobile credential that is available today on virtually all smartphones, differences in implementation and data handling processes from various vendors prevents universal deployment of a single solution to all devices currently on the market.

 

Accordingly, Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) has been considered as an alternative to NFC. Bluetooth is a technology that has been applied to smartphones for a long time, and its usage and interface are unified, so there are no compatibility problems － however, speed becomes the main problem. The authentication speed of BLE mobile access card products provided by major companies is slower than that of existing cards.

The second problem is that mobile access cards must be accompanied by a supply of compatible card readers. In order to use mobile access cards, readers need to be updated but this is not a simple task in the access control market. For 13.56 MHz smart cards (which were designed to replace 125 kHz cards), it has taken 20 years since the standard was established but only about half of all 25 kHz cards have been replaced so far. Legacy compatibility and the need for equivalent performance, even with additional benefits, will drive adoption timing for the Access Control market.

While BLE technology helps resolve the compatibility problem of mobile access cards, we can identify some breakthroughs that can solve the speed problem. Authentication speed is being continuously improved using BLE's GAP layer and GATT layers, and new products with these improvements are now released in the market.

Making use of key improvements allows Suprema's mobile access card to exhibit an authentication speed of less than 0.5 seconds providing equivalent performance to that of card-based authentication.

MOCA System's AirFob Patch addresses the need for technological improvements in the access control market in a direct, cost effective, and reliable way – by offering the ability to add high-performance BLE to existing card readers – enabling them to read BLE smartphone data by applying a small adhesive patch approximately the size of a coin.

 

This innovative breakthrough applies energy harvesting technology, generating energy from the RF field emitted by the existing RF reader – then converting the data received via BLE back into RF – and delivering it to the reader.

 

By adding the ability to use BLE on virtually any existing RF card reading device, MOCA allows greater ability for partners and end users to deploy a technologically-stable, high performance access control mobile credential solution to their employees, using devices they already own and are familiar with. Adding MOCA AirFob Patch eliminates the need to buy and install updated readers simply to take advantage of mobile credential, lowering costs and risks, and increasing employee confidence and convenience.