ISC West was bigger and better than ever in 2017, and it remains my “go-to” show. Several technology areas really struck me in Las Vegas this year: artificial intelligence, drones and cybersecurity. Here are my takeaways:
AI: Artificial Intelligence and deep learning centered around NVIDIA’s presence. While NVIDIA has been visible at several recent industry events, this was the first time that they showed a significant booth presence. In addition to their taking the time to learn our industry, what struck me most was the number of partnerships already stuck with companies including Avigilon, Dahua, Hanwha, Hikvision, Pivot3 and FST Biometrics.
NVIDIA’s GPU (Graphics Processing Unit) technology lends the required horsepower to provide a capability that takes video analytics to another level. As an example, FST Biometrics told me they used 5 million video clips to train their analytic engine to learn behavioral characteristics of subjects – eventually leading behavioral analytics to overtake facial recognition in importance in their biometric offering.
In modest quantities, the NVIDIA Jetson TX2 GPU sells for as little as $299. Also available is a full-featured Jetson TX2 development kit, quoted at $599, providing a board with multiple means of interface, including USB 2.0 and 3.0, HDMI, PCI-E and Gig-E, and pre-flashed with a Linux development environment. One of the interesting features of the NVIDIA booth was a police car outfitted with a mobile computing platform, allowing enhanced use of technologies such as License Plate Recognition (LPR). Further, they had a drone sitting atop the police car to provide added surveillance capability – an urban aircraft carrier, if you will.
Drones: Speaking of drones, a number of manufacturers were exhibiting them as part of the new Unmanned Security Expo. I heard a compelling presentation from Nightingale, whose product appears military-like and solidly built. It requires a base station for charging and deployment, and specs include 30-minute flight time (when fully loaded), operational radius of 4 km, maximum height of 400 feet, and inductive charge time of 45 minutes. The product is available with a 5 MP camera, thermal camera or LIDAR scanner/sensor.
A recurring theme I heard on the drone conversation was autonomous perimeter security, augmenting human capabilities and extending the perimeter to 3D. Michael McManus of Imperial Capital, in covering technology trends from a financier’s standpoint, mentioned the other side of drone technology, i.e. drone defense. It is certainly going to become an increasing security concern and makes me wonder if we will reach a point where we have drones battling drones (read more from SecurityInfoWatch on anti-drone technology at ISC West: www.securityinfowatch.com/12321835).
The Unmanned Security Expo had a flying cage set up for demo purposes, but it did not appear to be large enough for the drones to show much of anything. I hope that a way can be found to expand this area, although I am pretty sure that the Las Vegas authorities do not want drone demos taking place on the strip outside the Venetian.
Cybersecurity: I am happy to see cybersecurity getting more discussion and exposure at the show. I was pleased to moderate a PSA-sponsored session on cyber, featuring Wayne Smith of Tech Systems, Chris Peckham of Kratos, and Andrew Lanning of Integrated Security Technologies. Not only was the room jam-packed, but more than half the attendees were end-users – most of whom indicated they felt that they themselves owned the primary responsibility for cybersecurity.
People in general are becoming aware of considerations such as password policies, certificate management, patches and updates, and encryption. Without question, integrators have a role to play – from selection and recommendation of cyber-secure products to advising their customers on best practices.
I had the chance to visit with Onclave, a boutique cyber company located in the Axis booth, which promises secure site solutions with proprietary gateway technology. It seemed intriguing, despite their hesitance to get into any of the real detail. I definitely got the vibe that cyber is more top-of-mind than ever – including the threat imposed by IoT devices that have not been engineered with cybersecurity in mind.
More Observations from the Show Floor
My vote for best booth and clarity of capabilities goes to Hanwha Techwin. I loved the side-by-side comparison of H.264 and H.265 cameras, focused on the same field of view, with a dynamic display of bandwidth utilization. They also featured a high-definition video stream from a submerged camera (bubbles constantly moving by the lens); and a comparison of two shaking cameras – one of which employed electronic motion compensation. While many fine products were exhibited at the show, it gets a little mind boggling to see row after row of static product displays. Hanwha did a good job of bringing its product capabilities to life.
I applaud vendors such as Axis for making space for smaller upstart partner companies to exhibit their products. Many of these are cutting-edge, but companies can arguably get a better exposure by subletting space from an established player, in lieu of their own cubbyhole in the far reaches of the hall.
Further to my column earlier in the year on doors rattling, SecuritySpecifiers ran a great panel dealing with the dilemma presented in specifying and deploying electronic door hardware. Who should take the lead in furnishing such devices? If the security integrator is called in at the tail end, not only might the installation be flawed and delayed because of what has been installed, but the integrator has to make it work and live with it after. There was universal agreement on the need for better coordination, and a recognition that the security integrator needs a knowledgeable door/lock resource either in-house or as a partner to insure a proper install.
All in all, kudos to ISC West and SIA for a great presentation of exhibits and educational content.
Ray Coulombe is Founder and Managing Director of SecuritySpecifiers.com and RepsForSecurity.com. Contact him at [email protected], via LinkedIn at www.linkedin.com/in/raycoulombe or on Twitter, @RayCoulombe.
