Taking a new approach to perimeter security, Utah-based Xandem Technology is showcasing its intrusion detection technology this week at ASIS 2012 in Philadelphia.
The company, which was founded in late 2010 and has six employees, has developed a unique sensing technology that they’ve dubbed "Tomographic Motion Detection" or TMD for short. According to Dr. Joey Wilson, the company’s founder and CEO, the technology works similar to that of CT scan used in the medical field.
"We’ve coined the phrase Tomographic Motion Detection because it’s unlike anything that is out in security right now," Wilson said. "Tomographic Motion Detection, it’s not X-rays, it’s a much safer form of radio power, but the concept is the same. The area is surrounded by our Xandem nodes and as people cross through the interior of that area, these radio waves go through the area just like a CT scan goes through your body and if something changes in there, that’s how we detect motion."
Wilson said that Xandem is more of a sensing company than a security company and has other products coming out in the near future for other industries, including retail analytics and automation systems. However, Wilson said they felt that TMD technology could be used in commercial security applications for a variety of reasons across several different vertical markets.
"This system senses through walls and obstructions. Because it can do that, it leads to a lot of incredible features that are applicable to commercial security," Wilson explained. "For example, let’s say you have a museum or something along those lines that needs to be secured. Well, it’s so easy to sneak by a passive infrared detector or even a beam detector, because they’re so limited and they're so easy to fool. With Xandem, you can’t beat the sensing for a couple of reasons. One is that it is based on radio waves and you can’t hide your body from a radio wave. Secondly, integrators can install this thing in a museum and it can be completely invisible, so intruders can’t go in during regular hours and see where the security system is setup."
Because the Xandem solution can be installed hidden from view, it’s also more aesthetically appealing for many end-users. The nodes used in the system can are also not affected by dirt or other types of debris.
"If you’ve got a warehouse or another large area that's difficult to protect, these things can get completely dirty," Wilson said. "You can literally cake these things with dirt and dust and it doesn’t matter, it doesn’t hurt our sensing. If you use a beam in a warehouse, if it gets dirty it’s not going to work, if someone puts a box down in front of it’s not going to work."
Essentially, the technology works like "connect the dots," according Wilson.
"Basically, you just surround the perimeter in somewhat of a regular fashion. It doesn’t have to be exact, (the nodes) don’t have to point in a certain direction," he explained. "You just mount them to the wall at about a meter off the ground and they form a mesh network – each one talking to the others. And then when you walk in between them, that’s where the sensing occurs."
In addition, Wilson said that their solution works the same as any other motion detector in the industry and that it has been designed to be compatible with security systems that are currently installed in the market. The technology has already been deployed in several applications including at the warehouse of one commercial construction company that had been victimized by several costly break-ins.
Though they won’t turn end-user customers down completely, Wilson said their goal is bring the technology to the market through the integrator channel and that they’re offering resellers a discount and a support program to help accomplish that.
