Page 16 - Security Today, March/April 2023

“Signs or other visual cues are effective, but people could easily become confused about them, especially in an emergency. Only audio can add “ears” to your “eyes” in any situation.’”
ceive instructions on package receiving locations, and operation teams, via audio and video with an intercom, verify a delivered shipment.
In retail stores, instant voice communication is the key to deliv- ering a quality customer experience, and intercom solutions and speakers provide direction to customers, help security guards to perform their jobs better, and enable communication between of- fice staff and sales personnel.
In a parking garage, IP horns can direct customers on the ga- rage’s floors or rooftop, near the elevators, and in the stairwells.
In a school, ceiling speakers can communicate instructions to teachers and staff without them leaving the room or their students. Audio solutions in prisons and correctional facilities provide communication assistance for visitors, cell communications, and with prison management systems to enhance a guard’s insight
into situations and events.
In a sports stadium or large venue, messages played via net-
work audio speakers can communicate with large numbers of people simultaneously. It can transmit pre-recorded or live mes- sages to zones or to the entire facility. For instance, it could play reminders of social distancing rules during the recent pandemic or assisting with crowd management.
Crystal-clear Audio
Once you are ready to evaluate an IP communication solution such as an intercom or IP speaker, it is important that you select one that provides clear and intelligent communications, no mat- ter the environment.
It is meaningless to install a communications system if the audi- ble announcements and delivered messages cannot clearly heard or understood, in every situation. Therefore, it is important to select a solution that offers audio and voice technology that allows people to hear, to be heard and understood in every situation.
Imagine these scenarios:
A visitor approaches an office entrance that is just off a busy street. They press the intercom button but have difficulty hearing and being heard.
Workers in the warehouse need to speak to the front office but when they place the call, they have trouble hearing or being heard over the forklifts and fans.
A delivery truck pulls up to a gate with a sign that says, “Turn off engine before pressing intercom button.”
What is wrong in these scenarios? Intercoms and audio solu- tions are not delivering crystal-clear audio, every time. If an inter- com does not allow the user to hear clearly and understood, how
can a security team depend on it for essential business functions? Having clear communications requires intelligent software features that adapt to the nearby environment. They include acoustic echo cancellation, which enables both people to talk at the same time, even at high volumes (95dB). Automatic gain con- trol will take a voice that is too loud or too weak and level it out to an undistorted and clear signal. Automatic volume control will detect the noise level in the area and automatically adjust the vol- ume to ensure easily heard voices. Noise cancellation reduces the background noise and means that the user does not need to speak
directly into the microphone to be heard.
For the very best audio quality, the physical design matters,
too. A traditional intercom speaker design will include two over- lapping stainless-steel plates, which will trap some of the sound waves between them and create distortion. Instead, the speaker grille should incorporate an anechoic, circular design where there is no reflection of sound waves as they pass through the station’s faceplate. The result is crystal-clear audio at any volume.
The exterior should also feature a solid aluminum, die-cast frame and an acoustically transparent poke screen so that some- one cannot tamper with it.
When the solution features built-in video, the camera should incorporate a wide-angle lens and strong low-light performance to deliver excellent image quality, day or night. A wide Field of View will capture more of the area around the intercom station, and a 30-per-second frame rate provides a natural look for any movement caught on the camera.
Last, the solution should employ a fast data processor, which translates into stability, uptime and a long product lifetime. That efficiency in data processing also provides the opportunity for ad- ditional product integrations and future development.
Overall, by investing in a communications platform that pro- vides the best possible audio quality, you are equipping security teams with a powerful tool that can mitigate security threats and provide value for many years to come.
Successful Use Cases
There are many successful use cases of IP communications, in- cluding a highway tunnel, a manufacturing facility, and corporate workspaces.
The Túnel de la Línea in Colombia is a highway tunnel that is located between the cities of Calarcá, Quindío and Cajamarca and Tolima. It crosses beneath the locally famous “Alto de La Línea” in the Cordillera Central or central range of the Andes mountains, easing traffic on one of Colombia’s main east-west road connections (the National Route 40), which links Bogotá with Cali and the Pacific port of Buenaventura. At 28,386 feet (5.3 miles), it is the longest road tunnel in Latin America.
Clear communications are essential in highway tunnels for employee and passenger safety, especially in an emergency, such as an evacuation.
The project management team was looking for a solution that would provide clear communications in the tough conditions of a tunnel, which includes extreme noise and temperatures (low and
16
MARCH/APRIL 2023 | SECURITY TODAY
COVER STORY