1 4 · d e t e k t o r i n t e r n a t i o n a l
1 4 · d e t e k t o r i n t e r n a t i o n a l
Special Feature: Perimeter Surveillance
Editor: Lennart Alexandrie
Effectively monitoring perimeters
requires security technologies to
locate intrusions quickly and accu-
rately. This can be particularly chal-
lenging for certain technologies as
perimeters are exposed to external
changing conditions.
"One of the main issues faced
by security systems relying on
AI and cameras with analytics is
the number of nuisance alarms.
Sensing technologies can efficiently
solve this problem and are suc-
cessfully deployed in many sites to
improve the efficiency of surveil-
lance and security system", states
Mark Cosgrave.
Challenging environment
Environmental factors such as rain,
snow or extreme temperatures can
indeed have a significant impact on
the performance and reliability of
some security technologies.
"Cameras can be affected by
light conditions and can struggle
to classify objects in spaces where
the field of view is narrow for
instance outdoor corridors and
areas with occlusions. Foliage and
wildlife can also be triggers of false
alerts."
Nuisance alarms
As a solution to minimise nui-
sance alarms in certain areas of
the perimeter, security teams may
consider excluding entire zones,
which then leads to the problem
of keeping wide areas unsecured
and vulnerable to intrusion,
which troubles Mark Cosgrave.
"Excessive false alarms
become costly as it requires more
resources to verify activations,
but also requires installers to keep
coming back for tweaking the
system, which is unfortunately
inefficient and frustrating. Sys-
tems with excessive false alarms
become unreliable which means
surveillance personnel are not
confident on the solution, and
this can lead to an even worst
outcome: failing to react to real
intrusions," he says.
A reliable system
Mark Cosgrave claims that the
performance of the security sys-
tem should not be compromised
by lighting, weather or other
outdoor conditions. He empha-
sises that sensing technologies
have been specifically designed
to `detect' and are not affected
by light, variable temperature or
external factors such as wind, rain
or snow."
In addition, sensors can learn
and adapt to the environment,
enabling them to filter out com-
mon causes of nuisance alarms.
"For instance, continuously
adjusting the detection area to
take into consideration changes
happening on ground such as
accumulation of snow or leaves.
Some of the most advanced sen-
sors can also be equipped with
environmental resistance func-
tions to reduce false alarms due
to harsh environments like fog or
snow," states Mark Cosgrave.
Brings intelligence
Sensing technologies can make
a big difference to quickly and
accurately detect an intrusion and
pinpoint its location, according to
Mark Cosgrave.
"With a wide array of active
and passive sensing technologies
available in the market, customers
have a choice of solutions to adapt
to their security needs and help
them achieve an intelligent security
system. Alerts can be set to be trig-
gered based on certain events hap-
pening, certain areas been accessed
or based on a specified target size
or height," he says and adds:
"With sensors, the detection
performance is not to be affected
by the distance and sensors should
be able to reliably detect at any
point within their field of detection
and without losing perspective.
Lastly sensing technologies will be
able to adapt to the required detec-
tion area, whether this is a very
narrow corridor or an open area."
Advantages of sensors
One of the goals of perimeter
security is to enable a system that
can anticipate potential threats
and take actions appropriately. An
advantage of sensing technologies
is they are actively looking out
for any suspicious activity and
have the intelligence to identify
situations that require immediate
attention.
"More importantly, sensors will
rapidly initiate a pre-determined
security response, whether it is
triggering lights, activating audio
alerts, guiding security cameras or
alerting security guards, contrib-
uting to an automated system,"
comments Mark Cosgrave.
Efficient security
When designing a perimeter se-
curity system the first stop should
be identifying what are the goals,
which are the key areas in the
perimeter and stablish what is the
level of security required.
"Different security technologies
serve different purposes and relying
on sensing technologies for detec-
tion can bring intelligence to the
security system, minimize nuisance
alarms and contribute to more
efficient and powerful security, he
says in conclusion.
Perimeter protection is the first line of defence and
is a key element of any security system. As with any
intrusion, early detection is critical as it gives secu-
rity teams the opportunity to anticipate any potential
threats.
Mark Cosgrave, Divisional Director Optex Security
EMEA, gives his views on the importance of using sens-
ing technologies for effective perimeter protection.
Camera view of area where Lidar detector Optex Redscan Pro monitors long and nar-
row corridor in perimeter protection. The picture below on the right shows an installa-
tion of the same detector, which is able to adapt to the environment and location where
it is installed.
"Sensing technologies for detection can
bring intelligence to the security system"
Mark Cosgrave, Optex: