About 30 years ago, systems integration as we conceive it today was nothing more than a dream. Today this is a reality that allows the interaction of different technological solutions, although there are still many things to be developed.by Ana María Restrepo
When we think of technology, different concepts, major developments, giant infrastructures, robots and why not... thousands of science fiction elements such as teletransportation, cyberspace, cloning, genetic manipulation, among others, which until a few years ago seemed implausible, but today are our reality.
Another slightly amazing theme was the famous science fiction saga "Star Trek" with its touch screens, data boards, the transfer of data from one computer to another without cables, intercoms with hands-free systems, automatic doors or the scanner that sees through the body, are some of the elements and equipment with which we live as the palms, touch screens, bluethooth, cell phones and devices for medicine.
In the 70s and 80s, it was a fantasy to think about living on the moon, moreover, it was said that by the year 2000 we could live there in smart residential complexes, currently this is not a reality, but we see how you can already travel around the moon for 100 million dollars, yes, it is still something difficult to obtain, but at least it fits that dream that we were proposed more than 20 years ago.
And it is that all these ideas that were implausible, have become a reality that we see reflected in our day to day in the use of systems that control the interior temperature of the environment and water, lighting, access, elevators and security, which can be managed from the same point thanks to the integration and automation of buildings.
Working Group
To talk about these topics, SECURITY SALES interviewed four professionals from the security and automation industry, who told us about the benefits and conflicts of these theories.
Much has been said about the integration of security systems, their advantages and disadvantages, the possibilities of improving the action of the solutions through a union that provides new characteristics for each of the equipment and that allows to provide greater protection to the place where they are installed and therefore to the people who inhabit and visit it, but little has been touched on the issue of building integration and automation to achieve a set of effective, efficient and why not intelligent solutions.
According to what some experts have said, automation consists of the union of independent control and regulation units that operate under the same platform, establishing a logical interconnection between different systems such as heating / air conditioning / cooling / ventilation of premises, sanitary equipment, electrotechnical systems, security and vertical transport.
The concept of integration, although very broad, is based on sending data from one system to another for the other to make some decision. These integrations can occur at the hardware or software level.
According to Alejandro Angeletti, business development manager at Lenel, within the concept of software integration, there are many ways to perform that integration, ranging from the most secure, dynamic, flexible, to the most insecure and rigid, so it is important that software applications allow a perfect integration within the specialization segment for which they were created, to improve business management. "In this direction, it is advisable to have specialized systems in each segment, security, HR, building, with perfect integration capacity, that can send and receive data from the other systems in a bidirectional, flexible way, safeguarding the integrity of the data, but not interfering in the management of the related segments; this means that each application specializes in one topic, HR applications in the management of these human resources, security applications in terms of management in terms of physical and logical patrimonial protection, and building applications in issues related to comfort, management of electricity consumption, elevators and lighting".
Having then that integration is the union of systems, this union must involve the component of automation to be able to talk about a total integration of systems, however, there are many drawbacks at this point due to the lack of open architectures that allow the total interconnectivity of equipment from different manufacturers.
Behind closed doors...
And is that although the old adage says that "behind closed doors no mosquito enters", in the case of integration, closed architecture does not allow HVAC, energy, lighting and security solutions to work.
For Angel Méndez, product application engineer at Tour Andover Controls (TAC), this type of architecture negatively influences integration as it makes it impossible to associate the systems. "An installation with this feature means that other technologies cannot be integrated, thus becoming functionally limited and restrictive."
For the same line, Leonardo Cossio, technical support engineer of Bosch Colombia, focuses, for whom this architecture harms the users of the system in the main harmed, since they invest in an integration system that is not integrable with any subsystem and any expansion can be impossible or entails very high costs.
Angeletti supports Cossio's position on the costs and risks of implementing a closed system. "Imagine that the end user already has some proximity readers, biometrics, analog and IP cameras, fire stations, with different systems and wants to integrate everything into a single platform; if it does not opt for a system with an open architecture, it will have to make a strong divestment and buy all the new elements, when it could only divest in a minimum portion opting for a system that allows integration".
For his part, Oscar Silva, general director automation of EBC Ingeniería, explains that today due to globalization the standard communication protocols are increasing, so manufacturers with closed architectures will have to change their strategy or they will have to disappear from the market due to competitiveness.
Interrelation with your environment
Security solutions protect places and people, the old intrusion systems, accesses and CCTV, which generally work independently or autonomously are now converging in integrated conceptions that allow a greater mastery of security by controlling access, monitoring each space in real time and detecting fires or intrusions, but these solutions become more important by joining the other building technologies through centralized control. In a traditional scenario if a fire were to occur, the smoke detector would notify of the event, causing an alarm to sound and the fire to be controlled, while in an automated system, the fire detector will communicate with video surveillance to detect the precise place of the conflagration and in turn with the HVAC system, which will immediately close the air vent and send a signal to the safety subsystem to open all doors.
This rapid and efficient response will reduce losses, both human and material, and allow the situation to be controlled.
But by integrating these technologies one of the two platforms would be dominated by the other, subtracting management power, flexibility, scalability as Alejandro proposes. He believes that these should be two perfectly integrable platforms, which are able to do well what they know how to do independently and integrate by software the data that each system that can generate actions in the other system in such a way that it improves management.
It also states that "one consequence is that integration can be carried out but the capabilities of the integrated elements cannot be fully exploited; that is, I can integrate a biometric equipment but I cannot vary its parameters, or I can join a DVR but I cannot generate actions with from and to the video, etc. with this type of integration I would be degrading the potential of each integrated element".
Improvements and efficiency
However, Ángel believes that the integration of security with the HVAC, lighting, energy and transport systems of a building, makes it possible to maintain a balance between energy savings, safety and comfort. "On the energy side, great savings can be obtained, up to 24% compared to a traditional installation. Integrated systems will also help us to obtain up to 36% operational savings in time. With total integrations it is possible to have all the information at hand, with this in different situations we can make critical decisions with tangible and concrete data of what is happening in our facility."
We have then that when the different systems are integrated, the administration of a building becomes efficient and important information is available on each of the solutions and subsystems at hand and in the same place, in addition this union allows, as Silva explains, that the strategies of energy saving, comfort and safety do not depend on people to be executed but that the same system is responsible for it.
Some drawbacks
But what if there are problems when integrating the different solutions? Ideally, everything converges and that no matter the brand of each solution, all should speak a universal language or at least that can be translated as Leonardo mentions. In the same way, he assures that the simplest thing in this case would be to develop a software that is responsible for translating the signals and not waiting for the manufacturer to deliver a closed and proprietary hardware for each application.
However, the ideal is that at the time of thinking about performing an automation, a supplier with an open architecture is selected, which allows the security platform to have the ability to integrate these elements from third parties through direct commitments between the manufacturers; making it possible that before new versions of software or firmware, on both sides, they can with a predefined program to maintain the integration over time. "It is important that the manufacturer of the security platform has the appropriate mechanisms so that third-party manufacturers can generate their integrations and maintain them over time," says Alejandro.
As long as you have an open architecture it is possible to integrate different systems of the same or different brand, however, Oscar adds that if the protocols are not related by the manufacturer, the Gateway must be implemented, which includes most of the standard protocols to closed equipment, but if it is definitely not achieved there is an incompatibility problem that possibly must be solved by acquiring another equipment that if it allows integration.
It should be noted that there are also some communication problems that arise when integrating security with other building technologies, which start from the way in which the integration and maintenance that is given to it is carried out, as well as the updating of the products.
Conflicts can also occur when the integration is due to dry contacts, as false alarms are given due to the deterioration of the connections over time. Another drawback is when the integration is imperfect, that is, when two applications are required for an integral management of the integrated element (one that manages the security system and another that manages the system to be integrated), which will make it depend on the quality and integrity of the data pass, links, intermediate developments, type of database, quality of communication links, etc. It is also seen as a problem the union of old systems, since most were created to work alone or to have communication in a single direction leaving aside the possibility of control.
High usage, good advancement
Building automation is one of the most current issues due to its relationship with the efficient management of resources, human and physical security, energy saving and its contribution to the mitigation of global warming, which is why the different developed countries have implemented this method within their new constructions taking them to the residential area as is the case of home automation.
Generally, the economic sectors that most emphasize the use of automation are banks, hospitals, corporate buildings, department stores, airports, oil and gas companies, telecommunications and energy.
In Latin America there are many countries that are integrating and automating their buildings, however the lack of resources and high costs harm this trend.
Angeletti believes that in Latin America the path of integration by segments is seen, on the one hand goes what is security and on the other what is an HVAC / R. "Although everyone intends to have a system that integrates each element perfectly, most choose the best supplier for each segment; that is, the selections are framed in choosing the best integral security platform for both physical and logical, analog CCTV and IP, biometrics, smart cards, fire, etc. and with regard to building management and control systems, those in charge of these systems (in many cases they are different departments with profiles clearly different from those of security) seek a flexible platform, that saves money through the best use of resources, improves comfort and has a good graphical interface that allows you to see on a single screen the status of the different variables managed".
For his part, Ángel comments that in the region there has been growth and it is expected to continue like this. Safety and comfort have become a topic with greater importance which foresees a favorable future in the field. Likewise, the growth of computer networks in the region allows us to start thinking about other technologies, such as the use of cameras analogous to now IP cameras, devices that communicated by an RS485 information bus or similar to now IP networks.
Today, as we said at the beginning, technological evolution allows us to have elements that we only dreamed of before, with the high use of computers, many things changed: networks, new processors and the digital revolution caused a change of the entire panorama, facilitating the development of open languages and the birth of integrated systems.
These developments resulted in programs (software) that are capable of integrating all kinds of elements of a building but still with high costs.
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