Suprema Access control systems & kits

Motion detection is a key feature of security systems in residential and commercial environments. Until recently, systems have relied heavily on closed circuit television (CCTV) and passive infrared (PIR) sensors, which both require significant investment and infrastructure to install and monitor. Developments in wireless technology are increasing home security possibilities. Few years ago, these developments led Cognitive Systems to discover that the wireless signals surrounding oneself can be used to detect motion. Known in the wireless industry as WiFi sensing, this technology brings many benefits that other motion detection solutions have not been able to provide. The working of WiFi sensing At Cognitive Systems, the company has used WiFi sensing technology to develop a motion detection solution called WiFi Motion™, which measures and interprets disruptions in RF signals transmitted between WiFi devices. When movement occurs in a space, ripples in the wireless signals are created. WiFi Motion interprets these ripples and determines if an action, such as sending a notification, is needed. Enabling this functionality in a space is incredibly simple. With a software upgrade to only one’s WiFi access point (or mesh router), motion sensing capabilities are layered into one’s WiFi network. Existing connected WiFi devices then become motion detectors without detracting from their original functions or slowing down the network. Using artificial intelligence (AI), WiFi Motion establishes a benchmark of the motionless environment and learns movement patterns over time, which could be used to predict trends. This allows unusual movement patterns to be detected with greater accuracy while decreasing the potential for costly false alerts. WiFi Motion requires no line-of-sight or installation WiFi sensing and other home monitoring solutions All of these capabilities are made possible by WiFi sensing and together create a motion detection system that provides unparalleled accuracy, coverage, privacy and affordability compared to other solutions on the market. PIR integration is far more complex and imposes electronic and physical design restrictions compared to WiFi sensing. In terms of placement, PIR systems are difficult to install, requiring line-of-sight and a device in every room for localization. WiFi Motion requires no line-of-sight or installation and is also a scalable solution compared to PIR. Much like cameras, PIRs can only cover so much space, but WiFi Motion can cover the entire home and even detect motion in the dark and through walls, without adding additional devices to the home. WiFi Motion detects less distinguishing context than cameras and microphones, but more context than regular PIR sensors for the perfect balance of privacy and highly accurate motion detection. Privacy solution While cameras have been the security solution for years, WiFi Motion offers a more affordable solution that can rival the privacy and coverage capabilities of even the most high-end cameras. With such a wide coverage area, one might think that WiFi sensing infringes on privacy, but actually, the opposite is true. With WiFi Motion, the contextual information collected cannot be used to identify a specific individual, unlike cameras which can clearly identify a person’s face or microphones, which can identify a person’s voice. It is different from other smart home security options that use cameras and microphones because it only senses motion using WiFi signals - it doesn’t “see” or “listen” like a camera or microphone would. This provides opportunities for added security in spaces where privacy might be a concern and installing a camera may not be a comfortable solution, such as bathrooms and bedrooms. The data collected is also anonymized and highly encrypted according to stringent industry privacy standards. Existing connected WiFi devices then become motion detectors Additional WiFi sensing applications Since WiFi sensing technology requires no additional hardware or subscription fees, it is much more affordable than other motion detection solutions. It can be used as a standalone solution, or it can be easily layered into more complex systems. This ease of integration, scalability and relatively low cost brings a lot of potential for various applications. Motion detection can trigger other smart devices in the network to turn lights on or off In eldercare, for example, WiFi sensing can be used to help seniors live comfortably in their homes for as long as possible. With the increasing aging population and high costs associated with care homes, the market for this application is considerable. Caregivers can use an app to monitor movement in their loved one’s home and be alerted about unusual movement patterns that could indicate a concern. For smart homes and other environments that have a network of smart devices, the artificial intelligence (AI) component of the technology allows for improvements to automated features. Motion detection can trigger other smart devices in the network to turn lights on or off or make adjustments to the temperature in a room. Security for the commercial sector For office buildings and other commercial properties, it is easy to see how all of these features could be scaled up to offer a highly accurate and cost-effective motion sensing and smart device automation solution. Cognitive Systems is closely involved with the development of WiFi sensing technology, working with various industry groups to establish standards and help it reach its full potential. WiFi Motion is merely the tip of the iceberg in terms of motion sensing possibilities, but its applications in the world of security are undeniably compelling. It is an exciting time for the wireless industry, as one works with stakeholders in the security space to explore everything this technology can do.

The experience of the COVID-19 pandemic has made us all more conscious of who is coming and going from our property. Whether it is a family home, business premises or public building, property owners want full control over access for protection and peace of mind. As a provider of access control technologies, we are seeing a growing demand for automated gates with a variety of access control systems. There are a number of considerations that buyers need to make when investing. And as an installer, there is advice that you can offer to help your clients make the right choice for their property. Here are some of the key considerations you’ll need to make and discuss with your client. Whomever you buy from, you should be offered more than a simple instruction manual. Electronic locks, magnetic locks and code security In the first instance, you’ll need to advise on the type of lock and access control available. Electronic locks release on the operation of the automation system to allow the gates to open. Locks are required for all non-locking (also known as reversible) operators and are recommended for any gate on a multi-user site or any gate over 2.5m. Apply the same logic to an automated gate as you would to a domestic door – for example, you wouldn’t fit your front door with a lock on the same side as the hinges or a drop bolt at the hinge end of a manual gate so why dispense with this logic when the gate is automated? Electronic locks release on the operation of the automation system to allow the gates to open There are a number of locks on the market including magnetic locks, drop locks that “shoot” a bolt into the ground and side latching locks. These are all designed for external use. While the gate itself will provide physical security, the customer will want to feel in control of who enters their property, when and for what purpose. Consider access for mail and deliveries, waste disposal and visitors arriving on foot etc. There is a range of options available. Intercom systems will allow the user to vet visitors, keypad entry can allow remote access for visitors with a specific code, remote controls allow an oncoming driver to open the gates without getting out of the vehicle, and a timer control can be used to open or close the gates at certain times of the day. Vehicle detection loops can be installed discreetly under the tarmac allowing the presence of vehicles to exit the gates and prevent closing while obstructed. Sliding gates versus swinging gates There are a number of locks on the market including magnetic locks, drop locks that “shoot” a bolt into the ground and side latching locks Gates can be automated to either swing or to slide open and in the case of swinging gates, the opener may be concealed underground or gate mounted. The most suitable opener for your installation will depend on the space available and the type of gate selected. Concealed underground automation is ideal for highly ornate gates. However, where gates are fully infilled (typical of many timber designs), gate mounted openers are concealed from the front of the gate by the gate leaf and present a cost-effective option. The choice between slide and swing is largely down to space - swing gates require a clear space for their opening arc while sliding gates require space to one or both sides of the gate. Sliding gates are perhaps the best choice where the drive slopes or when drive space is limited, as they use the least space when opening. Voltage Most swing gate and sliding systems are available in 24v or 230v. The 24v systems still need 230v mains power – there is a transformer built into the 24v control panels. Deciding which voltage to use can include a combination of factors such as the material of the gates, the location of the system and the safety features you want. Concealed underground automation is ideal for highly ornate gates With wrought iron gates, the wind can pass through them whereas with fully boarded wooden gates (popular because they give full privacy) the wind has nowhere to go, so they act like sails. For commercial or industrial applications with larger entrances and a heavy gate, you may need 3 Phase 400v power (sliding gates only). Installing gate motors in confined spaces The environment in which you are fitting may well influence which gate and motor you recommend. Will it be in an exposed area which is subject to the elements? Will it be positioned on a slope? Sliding gates are perhaps the best choice where the drive slopes or when drive space is limited Installers have always faced the challenge of installing gate motors in confined spaces. When fitting a pedestrian gate, there is often limited space in which to work – potentially making an installation time consuming and technically demanding. If this is the case for you, consider a gate operator which is designed specifically for installations with limited space for maneuver. An example of this is the E5 compact gate operator. The operator is not only small but has an optional slide lever attachment designed for installations where there is extremely limited space, meaning that just 8cm of the pillar is needed for installation. What’s more, improved fixing points and a simple ‘hook and fasten’ process means assembly is safe, quick and straight forward. Ultimately, you’ll be looking for a good quality, reliable product with good service. Work with a supplier that offers more than just a manual. If they are happy to offer training, their time and advice when you buy, the chances are you’ll get their support long term.

The unprecedented global impact of COVID-19 has taken its toll on all of us, but as cases of the virus thankfully recede, employers are now forced to confront how they can enable a safe return to work for employees. For many employers, this means they will have to carry out a COVID-19 risk assessment, redesign workspaces to maintain social distances, carry out more frequent cleaning, manage the transmission risk and find alternatives to touch-based security devices. Protecting workplace occupants in any emergency requires preparation and clear communication. This is especially critical in a health crisis involving an infectious disease. These are some of the essential best practices that could help organizations reduce the impact on their employees and operations during this pandemic. 1. Use a visitor management system With a visitor management system, organizations have a single source of real-time and historical insights into who is, or was recently, in the workplace. This is especially important because of the need to perform contact tracing should anyone in the organization show symptoms of COVID-19, meaning everyone they have been in contact with needs to be contacted and asked to isolate. Yet still, first impressions are made at the front desk or lobby, where the visitor experience needs to be a positive one. At the same time, though, any emergency event requires that there be strict control over who is entering the workplace. This policy also needs to be clearly communicated to visitors. Doing this minimizes risk to visitors as well as the workforce. In addition to delivering a high-quality visitor experience, the ideal visitor management system must: Enable organizations to meet regulatory compliance mandates and facilitate check-in at a self-service kiosk to minimize wait times. Customize the visitor experience to support specific security needs, such as accelerating and simplifying check-in or requiring additional security pre-checks. Automate compliance as it relates to visitor access rules with historical visit reports. 2. Pre-check questions at visitor registration kiosks Organizations can strengthen security at the registration kiosk using a flexible, enterprise-grade visitor management system to add visitor sign-in steps. This has proven successful in the past when used to control the spread of infectious disease during an outbreak. An example of this is a U.S. children's hospital which managed to reduce facility infection rates by 25 percent over a two-year period using a commercial, off-the-shelf physical identity and access management (PIAM) solution from HID Global. The solution provides two particularly important capabilities that can be used by organizations to protect their workplace from the uncontrolled spread of an infectious disease: Enhance visitor registration policy with additional mandatory questions to help identify any visitors who may need other screenings. Extend the visitor registration kiosk with a mandatory pop-up asking further questions during visitor check-in. 3. Understand who has visited your workplace Successful controlling the spread of infection throughout a facility requires the ability to automatically maintain an auditable trail of activity. This can be done using an enterprise-grade visitor management system that makes it easy to retrieve historical visit reports. This provides a timeline of who was in the workplace, and when they were there. Key features include: A single dashboard providing useful visitor insights at your fingertips. Historical reports that provide visitor details including location and contact information, all in compliance with General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and other privacy regulations. 4. Clearly communicate how infection risks can be reduced Global organizations must actively communicate with visitors and employees on the outbreak of infectious diseases and follow best practices outlined by the World Health Organization (WHO). Here are several things organizations can do in this area to help maintain a safe and healthy workplace: Re-enforce and communicate WHO best practices with guideline posters in the front lobby and throughout the workplace. Add posters that also encourage regular and thorough washing of hands. Encourage everyone to cough or sneese into their shirt sleeve in their flexed elbow or cover their mouth and nose with a tissue. Encourage everyone to keep a relatively safe distance from each other and use alternatives to handshakes when saying hello. Organizations must contend with a variety of workplace challenges during the outbreak of an infectious disease. These challenges can be solved with best practices that include a comprehensive visitor management system that automates critical check-in policies and maintains an auditable trail of visitor activity.  

Suprema, a global provider of access control, time & attendance, and biometric solutions, has announced that the company’s Airfob Patch won the Judges’ Choice Award from SIA (Security Industry Association) New Product Showcase Awards. SIA New Product Showcase Awards Since its inception in 1979, SIA New Product Showcase Awards has been the security industry’s premier product awards program recognizing innovative security products, services and solutions. The awards program, in partnership with ISC West, presented this year’s winners in virtual format. The Judges’ Choice Award, which recognizes the most innovative product within the physical security category, was given to Suprema for its Airfob Patch. Airfob Patch Airfob Patch harvests power from the RF field signals transmitted from the reader and stores it until needed Airfob Patch is a retrofit adhesive-backed device that attaches to existing RF card readers to make them compatible with mobile credentials. When attached to existing card readers, Airfob Patch acquires credential compatibility, power, and OSDP or Wiegand communication with the reader and adds Suprema's Mobile Access credential capability. Airfob Patch harvests power from the RF field signals transmitted from the reader and stores it until needed. The wireless method of power and data transfer eliminates the need to splice a reader’s pigtail for installation. Bluetooth-based wireless communication “Airfob Patch is the world’s first mobile-to-RF-card signal translator, enabling mobile phones to communicate with the existing RF card readers via Bluetooth,” said Young S. Moon, the CEO of Suprema Inc, adding “Installation is as easy as adding a sticker. No wire, batteries or construction is required.” Suprema Mobile Access and Airfob Patch were developed by MOCA system, a Suprema affiliate company that began in 2019 to focus on mobile access card solution. MOCA system has developed solutions that use stable Bluetooth-based wireless communication method that are being evaluated for patents. “SIA congratulates Suprema Inc. for being selected as the recipient of the Judges’ Choice Award in SIA’s 2020 New Product Showcase,” said Don Erickson, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of SIA, adding “It’s this type of continual innovation and drive to succeed that advances the security industry and which contributes to the safety and security of our world.”

Suprema, a globally renowned provider of access control, time & attendance, and biometric solutions, has announced the launch of Suprema Thermal Camera that can be used in combination with FaceStation 2, the company’s face recognition device, to detect users with elevated skin temperature. Suprema Thermal Camera Suprema Thermal Camera is expected to enhance security and safety at sites by combining face recognition and skin temperature measurement. Suprema has increased the accuracy and consistency of temperature measurement by using the face recognition algorithm of the FaceStation 2 to pinpoint the upper area of a person’s face. FaceStation 2 Suprema Thermal Camera and FaceStation 2 can be configured differently for varying needs FaceStation 2 displays the 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. Suprema Thermal Camera and FaceStation 2 can be configured differently for varying needs. It can be set to deny entrance of users with elevated skin temperature while the ‘bypass mode’ will disable the face recognition feature and only admit users based on skin temperature. Integrated with thermographic technology System can also be arranged to trigger alarm and notifications to an administrator when the measured temperature is higher than preset threshold. Using advanced thermographic technology, Suprema Thermal Camera quickly and precisely measures temperature with 19,200 pixels per frame. With an accuracy of 0.5 degrees Celsius, Suprema Thermal Camera does not require blackbody reference for temperature measurement, improving ease of use. Easy deployment on new, retrofit installs Temperature data, which can be displayed in both Celsius and Fahrenheit, can also be saved as event logs. Suprema’s Thermal Camera can be conveniently connected to FaceStation 2 via USB cable, enabling easy deployment on new and retrofit installs. “The new Suprema Thermal Camera demonstrates our market focus. There has been a growing demand for temperature measurement devices to be used at access points and Suprema’s Thermal Camera was designed to meet this need. Our cameras can be conveniently installed on FaceStation 2, enhancing safety as well as security,” said Young S. Moon, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Suprema Inc.

Suprema, a global provider of access control, time & attendance and biometric solutions, recognized the trend towards contactless, biometric and cellphone credentialing long before the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. The company's premier biometrics solution, FaceStation 2 Smart Face Recognition Terminal, employs intelligent facial recognition ensuring highly accurate personal identification and authentication for improved overall security with contactless operation. MobileAccess, Suprema's contactless credentialing solution, eliminates the need for costly access cards and proximity devices by utilizing iOS and Android smartphones as a secure personal access credential. Face Recognition "Suprema has been pioneering contactless access control solutions long before the COVID-19 pandemic and heightened market demand for safer and more secure access control solutions," said Young S. Moon, CEO of Suprema Inc. "Our FaceStation 2 Smart Face Recognition Terminal and Mobile Access contactless solutions seamlessly integrate with our BioStar integrated security platform to deliver comprehensive functionality for the most demanding security and workforce management applications." Suprema FaceStation 2 Smart Face Recognition Terminal delivers outstanding performance including: up to 3,000 matches per second; a memory capacity capable of accommodating up to 30,000 users, 50,000 image logs and 5 million text logs; live face detection with IR-based fake face blocking (anti-spoofing) technology; and multi-band RF reading technology to support the latest RFID standards for multi-modal credentialing when required. Suprema Mobile Access contactless solution The ergonomically designed and highly aesthetic device features an Android-based intuitive touchscreen LCD providing ease of use that requires little to no training for both users and system administrators. Suprema Mobile Access turns virtually any iOS or Android smartphone into a highly secure contactless access credentialing device, eliminating the cost associated with issuing access cards and proximity devices. FaceStation 2 will soon become compatible with Suprema Mobile Access, providing a seamlessly convenient and fast operation. Users can simply tap their smartphone on an RFID reader to gain access from distances within 10cm without the need to wake the host smartphone.