Sicurezza is a yearly security- and fire exhibition show in Milan, Italy. I decided to go and see what makes it different from other security exhibitions.

We drove from Frankfurt, through Switzerland and then into Italy. Crossing over from Germany into Switzerland was a pleasant experience, although entering Italy was quite different.

The venue had four halls and plenty of seminars later, I realised the only people I constantly saw were Italian and to give it to them, they are on top of their game when it comes to the security business. The attention remains mainly on the fact that home security systems are still growing and expanding, and physical security is still a very big business.

HIKVISION

As our biggest mover, it was great to experience the most prominent Hikvision display I have seen at a show thus far. It spanned over a vast area and showcased all of their products. The Hik Central Support was surprised to learn that we are using this technology in Africa. The most interesting part was the interactive meeting monitor, which is an excellent tool for large offices and education systems.

TECHNOWARE

Technoware is a company that focuses on video analytics. I had a pleasant conversation with the CEO, Simone. Technoware works as standalone software or interacts with 3rd party software. There are a variety of different types of analysis’.

The chief interest here was, with respect to, what is the latest developments in analysis, artificial intelligence (AI) and what is realistically possible. This interest was prompted by a query on gait and heartbeat analysis, to which Simone said that while so much might be theoretically possible, there is a fine line between practicality and reliability. Gait and heartbeat analytics are types of analytics that could be used as biometrics, but the challenges of cost and computational processing make it a problematic solution at this stage.

Technoware does have a host of other great analytics and also have the ability to customise and develop according to customer and industry requirements.

ARGUS FIRE and IBIT

Argus Security has grown into a big name in the design and manufacturing of specialist fire detection and alarm products. They offer world-leading innovative wired and wireless fire detection and alarm devices.

I met with both Argus and IFS, which is their distributor. IFS is a respected distributor and service integrator (SI). I was intrigued about the development and reliability of wireless fire detection systems, but they knew the product thoroughly and had no hesitation in unpacking the equipment and showing me its performance in the exhibition hall environment.

I enquired about the acceptance of wireless solutions in the market, and they confirmed that all certifications are complete, but the SI and end-users are still conservative and prefer wired solutions. After a live demonstration of the wireless system, people became a lot more open-minded and accepting of the wireless products.

POLITEC

Politec is an Italian company that, for over 20 years, has been designing, developing and producing anti-intrusion sensors and perimeter barriers, specially designed to detect the presence of intruders and safeguard your property by preventing any potential intrusion attempt.

My interest here was to discover what is happening in the industry of perimeter protection and how it integrates with wireless and other security products. Politec have wireless perimeter protection systems that use powerful microprocessors and data algorithms that can integrate with other products in the existing market where a high demand for perimeter monitoring prevails.

They have a wide range of different products that all merge into a single, user-friendly monitoring and control software app platform, called Adebus. From this point management and information of all the installed devices are available where every alarm event immediately gets localised.

Further useful developments are the use of solar powered batteries to power the equipment over extended periods, special filters to eliminate false alarms and infrared (IR) and radar are used for safe and secure detection.

Perimeter protection advances well and is growing in demand.

DRONES

Drones had their own section and ranged between moving and flying for military and commercial portfolios. The developments here are primarily sparked by the imagination, demands of the various industries and to perform monotonous and dangerous tasks.

The land moving devices are suitable for unbiased patrolling and observation. They make use of wireless communication and integration of IP cameras, which makes it versatile and useful for warehouse monitoring, as an example.

The flying devices have many uses when analytics are used with the captured video footage. The best drone is the fully autonomous drone that is legally approved for use in the European Union. This drone mainly operates out in remote locations and has a 30 second lift-off time from receiving a launch instruction to flying for maintenance, patrolling and operating in hazardous locations.

Launch instructions and operation of the autonomous drone happens with a basic computer mouse and relevant software, making it a very easy to use a security device.

CONCLUSION

I had a great time! We have a vast scope of products with some massive abilities at our disposal. To better position oneself, there are 3 important observations that can be made:

1.Knowing your product

The more we know about what we have, the more adept we are at providing solutions.

2.Knowing the full extent of what solution is required

The more we know about the specifics of a site and the solution required, the better the accuracy of the solution.

3. Confidence in demonstrating the product capabilities to a customer

Better demonstration of products leads to immediate confirmation of correct solutions, which increases the customer’s confidence in Sensor.