Ongoing research results with regards to video analysis or counter-terrorism will be shown at the event

In 2014, Security Essen will portray the latest trends in security technology and the efficiency of the international security sector. It will be illustrated that security technology has developed into a high-tech sector: the latest technological developments are being taken up at an early stage and converted into solutions, e.g. in video surveillance technology where the first 4k network cameras according to the new HDTV standard (resolution: 3,840 x 2,160 pixels) are already being offered or in contactless admission checking for which a few manufacturers will introduce solutions which already use the future-oriented near-field communication (NFC) standard. Furthermore, ongoing research projects which were promoted within the framework of the civil security research of the EU and the federal government, e.g. with regard to video analysis or counter-terrorism, have led to marketable results which will be shown at the premier global fair in Essen.

In fields in which the advances in information and communication technology have only indirect influences (e.g. for the mechanical and mechatronic protection of buildings and outdoor sites or for armoured vehicles), the high level is being maintained by continuous product refinement. Often, new features ensure more customer benefits. The security service providers are also working on satisfying the more stringent requirements relating to their tasks, e.g. for state assignments or event security. However, the most important driving force behind the development of the security sector is the growing efficiency of IT. With quicker, more powerful and economical processors as well as expedient protocols for data exchange in security technology, IT is making it possible to collect more data, to evaluate this in a rapid and intelligent way in spite of the rising complexity and to distribute it into the most diverse networks.

Thus, security technology has long since arrived in the "Internet of Things". Above all, the following topical trends in the sector and at its premier global fair are emerging:

Apps for All Security Fields

Mobile terminals such as smartphones or tablets are indispensable tools in security. With regard to the organisation of security services, the checking and maintenance of security technology, live surveillance or the reaction to security incidents, the combination of radio communication and mobile computing capacity saves costs, supports decisions and accelerates processes. For nearly all Internet-capable security systems (especially in danger alarm technology and video surveillance), the exhibitors will offer apps for the common mobile device platforms. For example, the latest system statuses can be requested or occurrence reports processed. In the future, it will even be possible to use an app in order to carry out focused/blurred switching operations for burglar alarm installations in particularly endangered objects.

At Security Essen, it will also be possible to see a lot of security solutions in which apps not only constitute utilisation extensions to well-known systems but also form the core for new solution concepts. This can be seen most clearly in the case of door control, time recording and admission checking. Here, smartphone apps perform the function of the key or of any other proof of authorisation. However, security systems are geared to mobile utilisation in a targeted way also in the case of security services to be rendered in a mobile form, e.g. during patrols, the live documentation of operations or the control of deployments. In the case of cloud concepts in security (solutions in which the application is carried out at a service provider instead of on an internal computer), the smartphone applications are a central constituent anyway. Suppliers from admission checking and video surveillance are trailblazers as far as the cloud solutions are concerned.

Security Technology is Getting Smart

Modern security technology is expected to be smart, to adapt to the wishes of the users, to execute processes in an intelligent manner and to do this best of all in such a way that the user is only consulted whenever this is imperative. In view of the increased system complexity, a lot of Security exhibitors will therefore pay attention to ergonomics. Operating, installation and maintenance friendliness is correspondingly prominent in a lot of product announcements. Adaptation to the users' wishes means not only this but also an available diversity for the widest possible variety of utilisation scenarios, built in or retrofittable in a modular form. Correspondingly, it is now customary on the market that security systems can be addressed using all the modern communication channels - via LAN, WLAN and mobile phone connections (in the near field, these are RFID, Bluetooth and NFC).

Modern surveillance technology is becoming ever more "intelligent" and, while doing so, is covering more subject matter in a more precise way than just a few years ago. In the case of video images, this is shown in a higher resolution which portrays more details - even at a great distance. It reacts at an earlier stage and analyses the combination of several criteria in real time. The increased efficiency of the electronics installed in the latest systems will also be illustrated by the ranges offered for automatic image analysis in video surveillance or by the suppression of false alarms in fire or burglar detection.

Reliable Security Technology

However, with the higher status of information technology, the frequently direct connection with the Internet and the opening for mobile terminals or external cloud providers, security technology is increasingly being exposed to the growing dangers of the IT world. Bundesamt für Sicherheit in der Informationstechnik ("Federal Office for Security in Information Technology") and other exhibitors in the "IT Security Theme Park" (Hall 5) will provide information about where these dangers lie and how manufacturers and users of the security systems can counter these. Those spectacular hacks against admission checking solutions and building technology which have come to light in the past or even the capture of IP surveillance cameras prove that the readiness to avert IT attacks is playing an important role precisely in the case of security solutions. In "Live Hacking Sessions" in Security Forum I (Hall 5), IT professionals will show how easy it is for cyber criminals to sabotage poorly protected information technology. Suppliers of security technology are recognising these risks to an increasing extent. Therefore, the encryption of the data transmission will be a prominently highlighted characteristic not only amongst the manufacturers of secure communication devices but also amongst a lot of other exhibitors, particularly the suppliers of admission checking systems working without any contact.

Comprehensively utilised and efficient security technology is often seen in conflict with data protection stipulations. However, a lot of exhibitors in Essen will show that personal rights can be safeguarded even when security technology is used. For example in the case of video surveillance on which particular attention will focus, help can be provided by the automatic pixelling of people which can also be carried out live in the meantime or (not only since Security Essen 2014) by the particular protective measures for the access to cameras or stored video recordings.