Page 34 - Campus Security & Life Safety, July/August 2022

of the day when vehicular and pedestrian traffic in the area would be an anomaly. Some more advanced analytics on the market selec- tively detect and classify objects—differenti- ating between people, vehicles, animals and things like backpacks and briefcases. Other analytics are designed to recognize colors of clothing, license plates, and faces—even weapons like firearms and crowbars. With the help of artificial intelligence and deep learn- ing, they can even be trained to distinguish certain behaviors like loitering or brawling. But the more sophisticated the analysis, the more complex, costly and time-consuming it becomes to incorporate enough reference data for the algorithm to learn how to pro- duce consistently reliable results.
Analytics offer significant value on the forensic side, as well. They can be employed to save operators countless hours of sifting through video by quickly extracting footage based on certain search criteria such as date and time, when an object disappeared from a scene or when a person of interest traveled from one camera’s field of view to another.
Access Control:
Managing a Multitude of Permissions
As the threat from bad actors continues to plague campuses, the need for tighter control over access has never been greater. The chal- lenge has been to devise a safe, yet flexible way to manage the comings and goings of a diverse population.
When they were first introduced to the market, access control systems generally operated as standalone, proprietary solutions installed simply to restrict the flow of people through given entry points. Today’s access control systems, however, are built on open standards that support seamless integration with video surveillance cameras, intercoms, door controllers and audio systems, which gives security staff greater situational aware- ness and response control. For instance, inte- grating video cameras and intercoms allows operators to visually survey the scene for potential threats and converse with visitors awaiting entry before deciding whether to unlock a door remotely.
Plugging visitor management software into the security system is also helping campuses customize user access on a more granular level, such as by specific doors, specific days or even specific times of day. Some systems can even read QR codes displayed on smart- phones—eliminating the problem of lost fobs and keycards and providing a cost-efficient way to issue temporary access to cleaning staff, contractors, and delivery services.
Another advantage of integrated network security is instantaneous lockdown control.
Depending on authorization and the event triggering an alert, security can initiate lock- down of selective doors (or the entire campus) via the access control system. Security can program additional lockdown permissions and overrides into the system, giving campus employees and first responders more control over incidents as they unfold. When lock- down control is integrated with a mass com- munications system, security can broadcast instructions on what action to take, such as remain in place or vacate the building down a specific stairway or through a particular door. Because, like the doors, the public address sys- tem can connect through the network, mes- sages can be aired campus-wide, to a specific speaker or to a group of speakers as needed – which demonstrates the true power of an inte- grated solution.
Intelligent Audio Systems:
Merging Public Address, Intercoms,
Phones and Mass Communications
There’s been a decided move towards conver- gence in this space. Instead of single-use, closed systems like pagers, telephones and intercoms, the industry is integrating all these technologies into a single, intelligent architecture that easily integrates with other security technology and can be shared across the organization.
Operators can use VoIP phone systems to make and receive calls to and from door inter- coms, visually screen visitors, and remotely manage door locks. The same telephone sys- tem can be used to page individuals through room speakers, broadcast messages across the
Dmitry Kalinovsky/Shutterstock.com
campus, communicate with emergency responders, air certain tones (like changing- of-the-hour bells or evacuation sirens) or pipe in background music to specific areas of the campus. Like with the access control system, operators can initiate these activities on the fly or pre-program them to occur at specific times or when certain events are triggered.
A relatively new aspect of intelligent audio gaining traction in the market is audio analyt- ics. When added to the network, it provides campuses a way to detect threats that may ini- tially appear out of camera view—such as weapons fire, breaking glass, car alarms or sounds of aggression. Campuses can config- ure these analytics to initiate any number of responses depending on the detected event: everything from sending an alert to security while simultaneously directing the nearest cameras to the sound’s location, to locking doors, flashing lights, or broadcasting warn- ing messages to perpetrators.
Creating a Layered and
Integrated Security Solution
In the bygone era of standalone security sys- tems, efforts to respond to events quickly were often impeded by the lack of communi- cation between technologies. The synergy within today’s integrated security solutions provides security with the means for earlier threat detection, quicker assessment of events and greater coordination to ensure an effective response.
Ryan Gregory is the director of solutions and services for Axis Communications, Americas.
Advanced Technology
34 campuslifesecurity.com | JULY/AUGUST 2022